The article applies the Gnostic trope as the most suitable tool for analyzing religious components of contemporary mass culture. Christopher Partridge’s theory of occulture serves as a methodological framework. The Gnostic trope includes the following elements: the idea that our world is a prison created for the torment of man; that it is controlled by the evil Creator of this world — the demiurge; that some exceptional persons, the Gnostics, are able to unravel the deceptive nature of reality and offer gnosis — a kind of extra‑rational experience.

The article explores religious components in understanding death in Cyberpunk genre of the mass culture. Authors working in this genre tried to change and rethink the inherited sci-fi themes, which were deeply connected to a certain cultural code. In particular, previous works of mainstream art largely followed the Christian traditional view of death as a chance to attain resurrection and eternal life.