Ever since I was a child, I hve been fascinated by science-fiction, whether it be in books, TV shows, movies or video games. I’ve grown up seeing this medium as a form of ‘escapism’, but in latter years I’ve started to think that perhaps some of these science-fiction writers have known more than was ever let on at the time. Or perhaps it was always a case of “life imitating art”?
As I watch our future enveloping around us and becoming reality, I’m drawn back to sci-fi I’ve seen in the past, and in particular I’ve been meaning to write a bit about old sci-fi shows and movies, because I’m starting to see some parallels – perhaps it was always the case that ‘sci-fi’ was a way of predictively programming us for what was to come? Or just a way of revealing what was going to happen to us in the future, but present it as ‘entertainment’, so that when people start noticing what’s going on and trying to warn others, we get dismissed with “don’t be silly, that was a sci-fi movie, it’s not real!”
There are a lot of examples that have sprung to my mind recently, so I thought the time was right to begin a series of articles where I look at science fiction stories from the past, and explore how they have either become ‘actual reality’ or otherwise dangerously close to becoming reality.
Future ‘tech’ we now take for granted
I thought I’d start things off with a movie originally written and released way back in 1968, namely “2001: A Space Odyssey”, a collaboration between science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick.
As you can see from the featured image at the start of this article, one of the things it introduced as a ‘sci-fi concept’ was that of ‘video calling’.
Bear in mind that this movie was produced in 1968, so this kind of technology was unheard of at the time, and I doubt many people thought it would ever become a reality, “it’s just a sci-fi movie” and all that.
Fast forward to 2022, and well, erm, this has been a ‘reality’ for several years already. Everyone knows how to use the likes of ‘Skype’ to make video calls, either from a desktop computer with a webcam, or using a mobile phone or tablet.
On the subject of ‘mobile phones’, it can also be argued that the original “Star Trek” series, first aired in 1966, introduced the concept of a mobile communications device.
Again, unheard of technology at the time, but something we all take for granted nowadays. Funnily enough, the original ‘communicator’ from Star Trek had a ‘flip-open’ design, which became popular as mobile phones began to take off and became more compact in design.
Gerry Anderson’s series “Space: 1999”, originally released in 1975, expanded on the ‘mobile communication device’ with it’s own “com-locks” – a portable comms device which allowed the crew members to communicate with each other visually.
Of course, the “comm-locks” in Space: 1999 were also multi-functional devices, they also acted as remote controls to operate and open locked doors, amongst other things.
And here in 2022, your smartphones are not just ‘communication devices’, there are all sorts of ‘apps’ you can install which allow you to remotely control such ‘smart’ devices you have in your home, whether that be your motorised garage door, or even your lighting.
The younger generation who have grown up with all this ‘tech’ and take it for granted, must look back at these ‘old’ sci-fi shows and find them a bit bizarre.
But is it the case that “life imitated art” – in other words, tech entrepreneurs attempted to make ‘real’ what was portrayed as ‘science-fiction’ back then – or was it the case that these science-fiction writers already ‘knew’ what our future looked like, or knew that such technology already existed, though it wasn’t known to the general public at the time?
Brace yourselves, as I have more thoughts and ramblings to come!
