The human intellect has been interested in things to come, and a big subgenre of science fiction are stories set in future. Films too, ever since their inception, have been toying with the idea of how humanity could have evolved many years from now. The audiences’ fascination doesn’t just stop on their own changes as well but how the mind has crafted new technologies, philosophies, and even problems.
It is interesting to note, however, that the future has changed in cinema over the years. What began as a filmmaker’s simple and often whimsical prediction has evolved into the more serious, and sometimes dystopian, theme. In addition to this, the future has lost its sheen and cleanliness, being replaced by the uneven lines and faded look that prove to a draw at the box office.
Georges Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon is considered the first science-fiction-themed film in an industry that was just even finding its foothold. The film explored the possibility of space flight and the dream of stepping to the closest heavenly body to earth. The approach is understandably simple by our current standards and at times even comical. And by the time the astronauts landed on the moon, fantasy and mythology took over.
Successive attempts in depicting the future seem to have been influenced by the improvements of science at that time, or how society views science and its possible contributions. Films such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis portrayed a highly advanced city with tall buildings, flying airships, and robots made from smooth lines and shiny metal.
Similar films such as the Flash Gordon serials, Conquest of Space, and Logan’s Run show people wearing clean and fashionable garments, riding shiny cars or spaceships, and living in majestic quarters were everything functions properly. Even enemies wear costumes that are easy on the eye, and they shoot laser beams from elegant weapons. The best example of the clean future (and science fiction, in general) is Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Kubrick crafted a world where everybody was prosperous and space travel was possible even for the middle class. White was main color of spaceships and suites. Everything appeared to be in order with the exception of HAL computer.
George Lucas’s Star Wars started the idea of adding more realism to futuristic film. The trilogy of Lucas showed a city filled with ugly aliens, ships whose rivets and internal parts were revealed, and clothes that seemed to have been worn out. There were even devices and robots that didn’t work perfectly, along with the occasional rust and oil that were allowed to show on camera. This created a future that mirrors society in the last quarter of the century: technology is visible everywhere, but not everything works as advertised. Coupled with the age-old story of good versus evil, the film has been considered one of the best and most successful science-fiction films of all time.
Moviegoers felt the film was more believable due the nuances the director added to his world. Audiences have started to realize that due to the actions that we are currently doing, the future may not be a very good place to live in. Other films started to follow suit such as Ridley Scott’s Aliens and George Miller’s Mad Max. Aliens featured horrific elements found in earlier science-fiction films but combined with a derelict spaceship with a crew more apt for a fishing vessel. Mad Max showed Australia in the near future with weak law enforcement and where gangs ruled the streets.
Several films after Star Wars started to explore deeper themes and depicted future as sometimes more distraught than our own. Blade Runner, another Ridley Scott film, questions the idea of what constitutes being human told in a backdrop of an overcrowded city, inviting everyone to leave earth for colonies. Recent films such as Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men show the world at the brink of a social collapse due to infertility.
The future as shown in film will continue to be closer to reality than we expect. In fact, the new film by Christian Volckman, Renaissance, involves corporations and conspiracies. And because of this, audience’s idea of escape through cinema will change as well.
Oddly enough in Children of Men, the last bastion of humanity is England.
Milafel Hope Awe is a writer, SEO specialist, and a movie enthusiast. You can read more of her thoughts and what-nots at Thoughts and Scribbles.
This is a bit off topic for this blog, but I just have to post something about my new toy. As anyone whose read this blog enough will know I’m a bit of a film nut and I have a large screen and 
My blog is mainly about programming in .Net 2, website promotion and affiliate marketing although I do have the odd ramble on about anything that comes to mind.
