Roll back the Way Back Machine to the era between the late 20's and 1950's and "The Future" as epitomized in pulps and film was a glorious and wonder filled imaginary place of flying cars, finned rocket ships, moderne cities interspersed with aeroplanes, steam powered super trains and massive moving sidewalks. The future was bright, exciting and we couldn't wait to get there.
Then, society changed and with it came a new skepticism. Between the late 60's and mid 1970's, most science fiction films represented the viewpoint of many in society: things were going to get worse, not better in the future. A number of movies were produced which reflected this viewpoint and which also fit into our blog's theme. Perhaps you might have missed some of these gems over the years (and with five hundred cable/satellite systems unable to show anything more than reality shows), you will have to dig deep to find them.
Soylent Green. The future is overpopulated and hungry. The Soylent Corporation makes New York City's most popular food, but also holds a dark secret.
Rollerball. The world of the future is bleak and run by souless corporations who distract the masses with an insane ultra violet game called RollerBall.
Logans Run. You are young, beautiful and can have anything you want. There's only one catch - You must die at 30.
A Boy and his Dog. After World War 4 has ended, the world is sparsely populated with gangs of wild boys, telepathic dogs and a hive of underground hidden fallout shelters.
Planet Of The Apes. Astronaut Taylor leaves earth and crash lands on a planet entirely run by apes.
The Omega Man! Chuck Heston again as possibly the last man on earth fighting vampires in the ruins of LA.
In 1977, science fiction movies found their happy spot again with the release of Star Wars. Later, we would have hopeful flicks like ET and Close Encounters. While bleak future movies continue to come out, nothing matched the negativity of the wonderful 1970's science fiction scene.
No comments:
Post a Comment