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But I was promised a flying car: Movies set in the future

post #1 of 103
9/14/07 at 11:40pm
Thread Starter 
Was watching "Until the End of the World" (1991) for the first time in a while last night and it got me to thinking about movies set in the future. What surprised me about that movie was the things it got right (albeit a few years later than '99 in which the film is set)

GPS systems in cars
portable video devices
palm sized computers
video on the internet (here it's "video faxing")

Of course zoot suits and 40's style hats didn't make a comeback but it didn't miss alot of marks either in concept or theme. Plus I loved the search engines used in that movie.

A few of my favorite future movies:

Blade Runner: What can be said about it? It literally changed how we view the future in movies

1984: 20 years too early

Metropolis: The future I want to live in.

(Edit: Can't believe I forgot this one)Children of Men: Most realistic future ever put on screen

Things that will never happen

Flying Cars: Never going to happen. Do you really want those idiots you see on the road to have access to the Y Axis?

Video Phones: A staple in every future movie. They exist today. Who wants to dress up or put on makeup to answer the phone though? Will never take off.

Anyway, discuss.
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post #2 of 103
9/14/07 at 11:57pm
I'm interested in the highway system that was in Minority Report. Progress is already being made on self-driving cars/self-parking cars so it seems like a possibility. I think it is silly to dismiss flying cars. If it was automated, then user error would be less of an issue. Based on how bad congestion is in every major city, flying seems like an obvious goal.

To me the most interesting advances will be those that are completely unexpected, like the internet. To assume advances in technology will be limited to things related to present technology is a mistake.

EDIT: Video conferencing is widely used in corporations. Since we are increasingly in a 'global society', I imagine it will become more prevalent as time goes on. Also, where's my fucking hoverboard?
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post #3 of 103
9/15/07 at 12:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by englebert
Also, where's my fucking hoverboard?

It's under the foot of a little brat that's using it as a scooter. Slap her to the side and break those handles off, because Biff is on your tail!!!
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post #4 of 103
9/15/07 at 12:59am
Don't bother giving it back though, she'll have a Pit Bull (tm) by then.
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post #5 of 103
9/15/07 at 1:01am
Where is my holodeck good sir I am fairly certain I have fapped to every Kate Winslet picture in existence
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post #6 of 103
9/15/07 at 1:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca S.
Where is my holodeck good sir I am fairly certain I have fapped to every Kate Winslet picture in existence
You know the porn industry will lead the way if that tech ever becomes reality.
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post #7 of 103
9/15/07 at 1:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca S.
Where is my holodeck good sir I am fairly certain I have fapped to every Kate Winslet picture in existence
You beat me to it. I demand my own personal holodeck now. I'd never leave it...how could reality ever compete with it?
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post #8 of 103
9/15/07 at 2:05am
Fuck the hoverboard. I want my Pizza Hydrator!

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post #9 of 103
9/15/07 at 2:13am
Maybe I'm just cynical, but did you notice the four choices you had were all some oddly dystopian, run-down, piece of shit future? I mean, Children of Men had cool future elements, but holy shit, I would not want to live in a world like that, no matter how much unprotected, guilt free sex I could score (which would be a lot, by the way).
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post #10 of 103
9/15/07 at 2:19am
The general idea of the webcam is not that different from that of the video phone as portrayed in movies and on TV shows. So I'd say the basic concept isn't far-fetched at all and is already widely in use, albeit in a slightly different form.

As for what technology I'd like to have that has been promised by countless works of fiction, I'm afraid I'll have to go with two of the most obvious answers: interstellar space travel and teleportation. But since those fit into the "impossible or at least really far from being possible at the moment," I'd settle for a holodeck or the sort of hyper-realistic and immersive virtual reality goggles that were in so many movies and TV shows in the 80's and 90's.
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post #11 of 103
9/15/07 at 2:32am
I want to be able to eat Chinese food from my apartment window served by a man flying a rickety Chinese boatcraft!

"You are fai-ahd!!!"

"Meow..."
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post #12 of 103
9/15/07 at 3:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by englebert
I'm interested in the highway system that was in Minority Report. Progress is already being made on self-driving cars/self-parking cars so it seems like a possibility. I think it is silly to dismiss flying cars. If it was automated, then user error would be less of an issue. Based on how bad congestion is in every major city, flying seems like an obvious goal.
There was a really good article in the (I might be off on this) Spetember/October '06 Esquire that was about the future of highways. The writer visited a site in New Mexico or somewhere where they built a "smart road" that that can detect if cars are coming or not and changes road signs and the frequency of road lights so traffic flows neater.
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post #13 of 103
9/15/07 at 3:10am
I honestly believe flip-open cellphones would not have happened if it weren't for Star Trek. And the many SF movies featuring a viewscreen for conversations probably have a lot to do with the development of webcams, which are basically a frill in terms of communication--you really don't need to *see* the other person, and in some ways it's a disadvantage. (There's an amusing and logical bit of business in the book "Infinite Jest" about why visi-phones/viewscreens/webcams/whatever probably won't ever become a mainstream thing.)
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post #14 of 103
9/15/07 at 3:22am
Screw flying cars! I want my jet pack! I want to soar like Rocket Robin Hood, Astro boy, The Rocketeer, Tom Cruise in Minority report, and Cj in San Andreas. Of course if I could have the aformentioned holodeck I could design one myself. Me want jet pack now!
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post #15 of 103
9/15/07 at 3:56am
Explain why CoM is more "realistic" than the other films you listed. Are there any common thematic elements between CoM and any of the others you listed?

I didn't see one Applebee's in Metropolis. Why would you ever want to live there?
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post #16 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Luca S.
Where is my holodeck good sir I am fairly certain I have fapped to every Kate Winslet picture in existence
Wouldn't you rather have that brain wave transmitter or whatever it was called from "Strange Days"? Well, as long as it doesn't fry your brain too much.
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post #17 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:28am
I thought the future tech in AI was a fairly realistic extrapolation of what we have now.
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post #18 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stump
Explain why CoM is more "realistic" than the other films you listed. Are there any common thematic elements between CoM and any of the others you listed?

I didn't see one Applebee's in Metropolis. Why would you ever want to live there?
There was a TGI Friday's, though.

Fritz Lang: Casual Chain Dining Restraunt visionary.
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post #19 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert K.
Wouldn't you rather have that brain wave transmitter or whatever it was called from "Strange Days"? Well, as long as it doesn't fry your brain too much.
That actually is even better!
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post #20 of 103
9/15/07 at 9:53am
I guess at least virtual reality could have a comeback. Back in the day graphics looked like shit, but I bet this could pretty much enhance gaming nowadays.
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post #21 of 103
9/15/07 at 10:36am
But I was promised a two-way wrist-radio! Dick Tracy had these things more than 70 years ago, but the smallest cellphone still isn't wearable, dammit.

Anyone who has used I-95 knows we need the highway/intracity transport system advertised in Minority Report, but we've gotta still be a long way from that.

Meantime I'm patiently waiting for all the restaurants to convert to Taco Bells.
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post #22 of 103
9/15/07 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrianM
But I was promised a two-way wrist-radio! Dick Tracy had these things more than 70 years ago, but the smallest cellphone still isn't wearable, dammit.

Anyone who has used I-95 knows we need the highway/intracity transport system advertised in Minority Report, but we've gotta still be a long way from that.

Meantime I'm patiently waiting for all the restaurants to convert to Taco Bells.
"You are fined one credit for violation
of the verbal-morality statute."
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post #23 of 103
9/15/07 at 10:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by stump
Explain why CoM is more "realistic" than the other films you listed. Are there any common thematic elements between CoM and any of the others you listed?
Don't know if CoM is going to be the future we're going to have BUT out of all the movies I've seen depicting the future, it seems to be the one of the more fully realized visions of what's to come. I think it was the way that the future tech was presented. Most times, whenever you watch a movie about the future, there are sweeping panaramas of the world to come and all the cool stuff the film makers come up with to fill that world. In CoM, the cool future stuff was tucked in corners or in the background. Similar to how a movie is shot using a present storyline.

Quote:
I didn't see one Applebee's in Metropolis. Why would you ever want to live there?
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post #24 of 103
9/15/07 at 11:04am
CoM more realistic than Idiocracy? The hell you say!
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post #25 of 103
9/15/07 at 11:07am
Thread Starter 
Nah, Idiocracy isn't the future. It's already here. Although I'm waiting on Gator-aid to replace tap water. Need my electrolytes.
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post #26 of 103
9/15/07 at 11:10am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Happenin
Maybe I'm just cynical, but did you notice the four choices you had were all some oddly dystopian, run-down, piece of shit future? I mean, Children of Men had cool future elements, but holy shit, I would not want to live in a world like that, no matter how much unprotected, guilt free sex I could score (which would be a lot, by the way).
Dunno. Found those visions of the future the most interesting(edit) from a cinematic perspective. As far as other futures I wouldn't mind living in, I'd have to go with Back to the Future 2, Star Trek, and maybe Logan's Run (as long as I never learn the truth about what happens when you become 30).
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post #27 of 103
9/15/07 at 2:24pm
I'm waiting for when I can get Stacy Keach's mullet from Class of 1999.
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post #28 of 103
9/15/07 at 3:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcnooj82
I want to be able to eat Chinese food from my apartment window served by a man flying a rickety Chinese boatcraft!

"You are fai-ahd!!!"

"Meow..."
Was it not Thai food? (On boatcraft's red banner)
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post #29 of 103
9/15/07 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by El Thain
Was it not Thai food? (On boatcraft's red banner)
Was it? It could be. It's not like I know what it is for sure. Chinese food is the usual go-to Asian ethnic food in Hollywood movies.
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post #30 of 103
9/15/07 at 4:49pm
What year will Taco Bell emerge victorious from the franchise wars?
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post #31 of 103
9/15/07 at 5:15pm
Given the advances in "toys", and since its now scientifically possible for women to create artificial sperm and impregnate their lesbian lovers, how long before they take over and put men to work in the tampon factories? how long? They don't even need us for breeding anymore, man. That holodeck might be our only option. This is like a bad Sci Fi Channel Original come true!
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post #32 of 103
9/15/07 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Prankster
I honestly believe flip-open cellphones would not have happened if it weren't for Star Trek. )

I fully agree, but am stunned that Paramount never had a communicator based cell phone. Certainly there would have been a market for them.
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post #33 of 103
9/15/07 at 5:31pm
Sci-fi has definitely influenced a lot of technological advances. I can't think of any examples right now, but I recall hearing about a lot of advances in aerospace that were first seen in sci-fi
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post #34 of 103
9/15/07 at 6:57pm
If flying cars ever become commonplace in our lifetimes, I have a feeling they'd be restricted to emergency vehicles like ambulances and cops. It would be madness otherwise, methinks.

As for the realism of Children of Men, I think we'll have to wait a few years to judge that one. That said, the tech seems very plausible.
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post #35 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:17pm
The holodeck is the worst fictional invention ever. Real life would grind to a halt if that thing became a reality. We would cease to develop as a species. More to the point, nothing they showed the crew doing in it would actually happen. Ever. Robin Hood? Please. The holodeck would become a sex simulator within 24 hours. People would go in and never come out.
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post #36 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nexus-7
If flying cars ever become commonplace in our lifetimes, I have a feeling they'd be restricted to emergency vehicles like ambulances and cops. It would be madness otherwise, methinks.
This is exactly what I've always said when the subject comes up. It's a natural idea. It would give emergency services unfettered access to the most congested parts of the city, without all the idiots in the general populace getting in their way. And I just cannot see a time when the average driver gets to fly. Does anybody really want to see that?
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post #37 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg David
The holodeck is the worst fictional invention ever. Real life would grind to a halt if that thing became a reality. We would cease to develop as a species. More to the point, nothing they showed the crew doing in it would actually happen. Ever. Robin Hood? Please. The holodeck would become a sex simulator within 24 hours. People would go in and never come out.
Can I at least get a Lucy Liu Bot?
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post #38 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg David
The holodeck is the worst fictional invention ever. Real life would grind to a halt if that thing became a reality. We would cease to develop as a species. More to the point, nothing they showed the crew doing in it would actually happen. Ever. Robin Hood? Please. The holodeck would become a sex simulator within 24 hours. People would go in and never come out.
But think of all the wonderous, terrible shit that will be on the news about underground holo-deck program writers who were selling programs that allowed you to fuck The Elephant Man, or Ann Boleyn's headless body!
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post #39 of 103
9/15/07 at 8:33pm
I'm still waiting for the first celebrity to authorize a RealDoll in their likeness. That will be the first step to the Lucy Liu Bot. And once there's a Lucy Liu Bot, Bachelor Chow can't be far behind.
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post #40 of 103
9/15/07 at 9:23pm
As you can tell from my avatar... Futurama references warm my heart.

Thank you all!

As for Bachelor Chow... that time has already come. KFC's mashed potato bowls fill our need to have a plate of mush that is everything you want for dinner (if you're to believe Patton Oswalt).
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post #41 of 103
9/15/07 at 9:28pm
There is a cell-phone communicator someplace. It costs about 500 dollars. I'm not sure how it works however.
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post #42 of 103
9/15/07 at 11:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg David
The holodeck is the worst fictional invention ever. Real life would grind to a halt if that thing became a reality. We would cease to develop as a species. More to the point, nothing they showed the crew doing in it would actually happen. Ever. Robin Hood? Please. The holodeck would become a sex simulator within 24 hours. People would go in and never come out.
Correct except for one crucial point. You were far far far too generous in alloting 24 hrs for the holodeck to become a sex simulator.
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post #43 of 103
9/15/07 at 11:09pm
I'm assuming that the deeply religious would hold out for a few hours before abandoning their beliefs for their biological imperatives. Maybe I am being too generous.
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post #44 of 103
9/15/07 at 11:21pm
I think Barclay had a religious experience in there with Crusher and Troi.
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post #45 of 103
9/16/07 at 12:56am
Quote:
Video Phones: A staple in every future movie. They exist today. Who wants to dress up or put on makeup to answer the phone though? Will never take off.
I'd never want video phones because why would you want to let the other person see you make facial expressions that would only piss them off further. Not to mention you'd be prevented from answering the phone because the other person would see you in a compromising position.
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post #46 of 103
9/16/07 at 12:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Bola
What year will Taco Bell emerge victorious from the franchise wars?
I figure it was the same year when the Schwartzenegger presidential library opened.
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post #47 of 103
9/16/07 at 2:17am
Thread Starter 
My question is: When is toilet paper going to be replaced for the 3 sea shells?
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post #48 of 103
9/16/07 at 5:22am
Re: Flying cars, I once saw a show where they put forth an idea that while we WOULD have flying cars, there would be methods to prevent it from being total anarchy in the skies. One method suggested would be that cars are "attatched" to a signal (either radio or digital) based track which would theoretically act like a road. The car would be unable to veer off of the track, and there would be a network of these sky-tracks all over the country replacing the existing highway system.
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post #49 of 103
9/16/07 at 6:01am
Thread Starter 
This was posted in the Youtube thread but thought it belonged here as well. Even though some of the details are off, it's still uncanny how accurate the basic concept of what they were talking about actually came about.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...74762025998102
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post #50 of 103
9/17/07 at 10:33am
I always liked the visions of the US in the "Escape from [..]" movies.
You know a religious right wing nut case fascist as president who governs from his home and deports everyone in opposition to the new morality to a prison colony that was established after a huge disaster which the president capitalized on.
So outlandish!
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