Episode 276: The Optimist Behind Blade Runner’s Dystopia

The late Syd Mead was a visual futurist who was hired to imagine the worlds of Blade Runner, Tron, Aliens, Elysium and other sci-fi films. His work in Hollywood has been lauded for decades, but there’s a new exhibit in New York that shows a different side of the artist. Syd Mead: Future Pastime is a collection of his personal and commercial paintings, which are all works of science fiction. Despite his connection to the dystopian world of Blade Runner, Mead’s personal vision of the future was unwaveringly optimistic. I talk with Mead’s husband and business partner Roger Servick, and the curators of the exhibit, Elon Solo and William Corman, about Mead’s predictions for the future of technology, sexuality and spirituality. All photos are courtesy by Syd Mead Inc.

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The Optimist Behind Blade Runner’s Dystopia transcript

MUSIC LIST

• Pulse by Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen

• Pixel Pal by Sanctus

• Behind the Curtain by Blue Saga

• Silent Flow by Shinji Wakasa

• Axon Terminal by Out To The World

• Masters and Students by Sanctus

• Interlude by Clemens Ruh 

Slideshow above is from the gallery show Syd Mead: Future Pastime. The image below is from the 1969 US Steel Catalog. As we discussed in the episode, this painting inspired the AT-AT walkers in The Empire Strike Back.