The Academy Museum’s Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema exhibition examines the global impact and lasting influence of the science fiction sub-genre cyberpunk on movie culture. Featuring near-future storylines set in worlds that resemble our own, cyberpunk films juxtapose technological advances with social upheaval, ecological crisis, and urban decay. Central to these stories are outcasts and rebellious characters who fight against corrupt political systems, technology gone haywire, global mega-corporations, and colonialism.

The Museum’s exhibition features production materials, costumes, props, and concept art from iconic cyberpunk films including Blade Runner (USA, 1982), Tron (USA, 1982), and eXistenZ (Canada, 1999). It also spotlights international films like Sleep Dealer (Mexico/USA, 2008) and foundational animated features such as Ghost in the Shell (Japan, 1995). At the exhibition’s core, an immersive installation explores themes and visual motifs of cyberpunk and futurist films. With a voice-over scripted by writer-director Alex Rivera, the installation illustrates cyberpunk’s 20th-century origins and the new, global directions it has taken in the 21st century as it has expanded into genres like Afrofuturism (Neptune Frost, Rwanda/USA, 2021), Latinxfuturism (Alita: Battle Angel, USA, 2019), and Indigenous Futurism (Night Raiders, Canada/New Zealand, 2021).

The accompanying catalogue offers new perspectives on cyberpunk cinema and its legacies, and a mixed-reality experience, created in partnership with Magnopus, explores the creation of a dystopian cyberpunk landscape.