From the rain-soaked streets of Blade Runner to the gravity-defying digital world of Tron, and more. Discover how cyberpunk's gritty visual world was shaped by 1980s politics, detective noir, anime, ziggurat architecture, and the extraordinary imagination of artist Syd Mead.

Featuring Graham Murphy, Anna McFarlane, and Elon Solo.

The Imagined Futures miniseries is produced in partnership with The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/

RELATED LINKS:

Object Substack: https://object.substack.com/

Hugh Ferriss and retrofuturist ziggurats (Public Domain Review): https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/modern-babylon-ziggurat-skyscrapers-and-hugh-ferriss-retrofuturism/

The 1984 Apple Macintosh commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvjbmoDx-I

EPISODE CREDITS:

Host, research & production: Ferren Gipson

Music: Tom Lloyd

Object cover art: Anna Bu Kliewer

Learn more at objectstories.co

Follow Ferren on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ferrengipson/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit object.substack.com