My Review of the Cyberpunk Exhibition at the Academy Museum
Do Android Dreams of Electric Museums? An affective but ultimately limited display of some icons from the genre. But there is more...
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is hosting the Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema exhibit from October 2024 to April 2025. I just visited in November 2024 (important context, as things will change).
I saw an advertisement for the exhibit on my Facebook page, where the museum marketing people are apparently pushing hard as there is a discussion about the same Facebook ad on r/Cyberpunk subreddit.
I’ve long been interested in the Cyberpunk aesthetic from my childhood, watching the classic movies or old anime shows and even playing related video games.
I even ran a popular Blade Runner fan account on Instagram for a while. Nerdy, I know. It was quite popular, at its peak the account had over 120,000 followers and we received a lot of media attention. We retired the account in November 2019 as an homage to when the original film was set (we just got too busy to keep up the hobby).
Nonetheless, I have some credibility to offer a review of this Cyberpunk museum exhibit.
The Cyberpunk Exhibit
As of November 2024, there are two areas of exhibit space, one on the second floor and another on the third floor. Unfortunately, both are fairly tiny. The second one is barely a hallway. That being said, I still enjoyed the experience.
The first room started with some of the classic tomes of Cyberpunk—such as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? or Neuromancer—that laid the early groundwork for the genre. Being a museum by the organization that hosts The Oscars, the exhibit was mostly about movies, though.
The highlight of the entire exhibit was a short film that spliced together clips from fan favorites of the genre like Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Tron, along with some hidden gems from around the world. There was an original narration over the video with impressive writing that tied together the themes from the various films. In typical artistic fashion, it was trying to make the audience connect these issues to the real world. It was effective.
Moving through the small exhibit, there were other movie props and materials from various productions. Syd Mead, the legendary industrial designer whose work inspired much of the genre’s aesthetics, was featured prominently. As a personal fan of his, it was cool to see a few of his original illustrations and sketches in person.
Due to its small size, the movie prop area was small and quite limited. There were only a handful of items and movies covered. For me, the size was the main let down. Being in LA, I would have guessed that these props were just down the road at the studios, but the space wasn’t adequate to have much more than this. It was already packed tight in there.
One important note is that the full exhibition had not been setup during my visit, even though it had already been open for over a month. In December 2024, the museum will be offering mixed reality experiences. This should bolster the experience a bit beyond the two small rooms.
"Using MR headsets, they will explore a short narrative on virtual production techniques, highlighting cyberpunk production techniques.” -Museum map and guide
Given how small it was, I don’t think the exhibit could give the full weight and depth of the genre. It was more of a taste, perhaps an entry point for people who may not be familiar with the various works. I also couldn’t help but feel the absence of video games, which hold a special place for the genre. I know the Academy focuses on movies, but it still felt like a missing piece.
All together, I spent $25 on two tickets—one regular adult and one student discount, along with a Chase credit card discount. We found free parking down the street and walked over. We were ok with a two-hour limit, but be wary that parking is limited. We almost paid $17 at a paid structure right across from the museum instead.
Cyberpunk Reality
The exhibit itself did cause me to reflect on our city and current reality. Walking over, I will say that we had to cut through a homeless encampment that was between our parking spot and the museum. I did not feel any sense of danger, only the irony that we were going to a museum of the cyberpunk aesthetic in science fiction when our reality so closely matched the aesthetics already.
Of course, LA did inspire a lot of cyberpunk. Blade Runner was famously set in the city. Some of the inequalities that the genre stresses have only gotten starker since the 1980s, especially considering some of the added real technology we have today like self-driving cars.
Reflecting on the reality of LA combined with the genre’s themes was an affective, meta experience. From the commentary in the short film, I think the artists were trying to elicit this kind of response from the audience. I guess it worked on me.
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
I know the cyberpunk exhibit brought people out to the museum who may have not normally gone, such as myself. I saw a couple people wearing fan gear like a Ghost in the Shell shirt. And some of them must have felt the disappointment of the small offering.
I kept hearing the museum attendants saying, “There’s more sci-fi stuff” in other parts of the museum. And they were right! Along with some other fun displays that might appeal to a broader audience.
There were five floors of stuff to do, some of them are a lot more family friendly than the Cyperpunk exhibit. Although, I wouldn’t exactly say the museum’s big draw is to kids. Overall, there is a more serious theme.
The first floor was the lobby, which might not seem like much, but actually it is fairly interesting in its own right. It had a swanky bar restaurant that we didn’t have time to try, which looked like fun.
There were three other floors with full exhibitions that were all much larger than the cyberpunk offering. It covers all genres of movies. I was especially enamored with a circular room that spliced together movies related to outer space to create an immersive experience.
Some of the displays were more technical, such as how studios used to create colors from powders. Others were more historical, like the exhibit Hollywoodland: Jewish Founders and the Making of a Movie Capital. Because the focus is on movies, a lot of it was just fun, with film props, clips, and various material that is all easily accessible. There is also The Oscars Experience that costs extra and we did not do.
One of the highlights was on the top floor of the museum. Go up there to see an impressive rooftop deck and patio with amazing views. From there, you can see the beauty and majesty of LA, including the Hollywood sign. It was a rare gloomy day and we could still see the sign in the distance. The roof was a nice change of pace to just relax after going through dark exhibits.
Of course, you cannot leave a museum without going to the museum shop. They usually have a lot of interesting stuff that connects to the exhibits, and the Academy Museum was no different. There was some great Ghibli books and movie soundtrack records that I ultimately passed on.
In the end, if the Cyberpunk exhibit was the only thing we did at the museum, I would have been fairly disappointed. But after finishing the exhibit, the rest of the museum is worth a trip. Seeing all the other film icons and displays is worthwhile in its own right.
Final Verdict
Don’t go if you just want to see the Cyberpunk exhibit; too small and limited.
Do go if you want to see the Cyberpunk exhibit and the broader museum, especially if you have a student ID or a Chase credit card.
