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What Lies Ahead?

(The Future of Our Technological Society)

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Exploring Science Through Science Fiction

Part of the book series: Science and Fiction ((SCIFICT))

Abstract

As we discussed in the previous chapter, the distant future of our technological society will depend on the decisions that are taken now and in the near future, regarding what research projects to fund or not to fund, and how to use the new discoveries that are made and the new technologies that are developed. In this chapter, we will explore some visions of the future, as presented in science fiction. We will also consider how cultural and historical context can influence the way in which a classic science fiction story is told, and how our understanding of technology can influence how we think about culture. But we begin with a brief survey of some sci-fi predictions which have already come to pass, and a few more which may be coming very soon.

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References

Accurate Predictions

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  2. Forbidden Planet (Fred McCleod Wilcox, MGM 1956). Holographic image [DVD scene 14]

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  5. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 20th Century Fox 2008). Reaper drones (UAV) useless against giant alien robot [DVD scene 13]

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  10. When Worlds Collide (Rudolph Maté, Paramount 1951). Detection of exoplanets [DVD scene 2]

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  11. Mad Love (Karl Freund, MGM 1935). Hand transplant [DVD scenes 8, 9]

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Coming Soon

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Science Fiction in Historical Context

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  2. The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, Paramount 1952). Aliens emerge from what was believed to be a meteor [DVD scene 3], conventional military weapons useless [DVD scene 5], experimental flying wing aircraft and A-bomb also ineffective [DVD scene 9], death of Martians from natural causes [DVD scene 13]

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  5. The Day the Earth Stood Still (Scott Derrickson, 20th Century Fox 2008). Humans are killing the earth. The Earth must survive. Therefore the humans must die. No warning. No opportunity for repenting and reforming. Just die! [DVD scene 17]

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Visions of the Future

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  2. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, UFA 1927). A future society divided into a technological elite and a laborer class [DVD scene 1]

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  3. GATTACA (Andrew Niccol, Columbia 1997). Society divided into genetic haves and have-nots [DVD scenes 3, 4, 6, 7]

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  4. Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, United Artists 1936). The end of the movie offers a choice between rejecting technological progress and living like the animals, or embracing progress and conquering the universe [DVD scenes 10, 12]

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  5. WALL-e (Andrew Stanton, Disney PIXAR 2008). Humans of the future have become overly dependent on technology [DVD scenes 12, 14]

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  7. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (Jonathan Mostow, Warner Brothers 2003). Startup of SkyNet and the beginning of the machine war against humans [DVD scenes 22–24]

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  8. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (George Lucas, 20th Century Fox 1977). Holographic chess [DVD scene 27]

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  9. Forbidden Planet (Fred McCleod Wilcox, MGM 1956). The Krell plastic educator translates mental images into holographic images [DVD scene 14]

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  16. The Thirteenth Floor (Josef Rusnak, Columbia Pictures 1999). Simulated characters discover that their world is not real; real characters fall in love with simulated characters [DVD scenes 18, 22]

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

    Barry B. Luokkala

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  1. Barry B. Luokkala
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Luokkala, B.B. (2014). What Lies Ahead?. In: Exploring Science Through Science Fiction. Science and Fiction. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7891-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7891-1_8

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  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7890-4

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