Oscar Wilde was onto something when he wrote: “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life”. We see this through the decades as creative screenwriters wrote about unthinkable technology that is now part of our daily lives.
Were they writers time travelers? Well, since that question could open up an insightful and rough debate, we rather stay with another question in mind: What kind of crazy inventions and technologies we are seeing today in movies are going to become realities in the next couple of decades?
In the next few paragraphs, we will show you how science fiction from films, movies, and TV shows has become our reality. To do so, we are going over five films and TV series from the past that predicted technologies and inventions!
Do you have some other TV show or movie that predicted the future in mind? Don’t hesitate to write about it in the comments section below. Now, it is time to be amazed by these predictions we might have not seen when we first watched these films… Ready? Let’s begin!
5 movies and TV series that predicted future technology
There are a few things we do know about the future. There are some statistical facts about what the world’s population will be in 10 and 20 years from now. There are some things we can indeed say about the near future in terms of innovation, and even healthcare.
Nevertheless, there is no way to know what the technology of the future will look like and which kind of technological solutions will be available for use by 2050. That is why it is simply fascinating to see how the movies and shows we are going to show you predicted things we use on a daily basis when the ideas for these things were not even conceived yet.
Take a look at these 5 movies and shows that predicted the future in an impeccable, surprising way!
1. Back to the Future: Video calls
Although it was one of the saddest scenes from Back to the Future, Robert Zemeckis and his team showed us video conferences before they actually existed. Marty McFly got fired in a video call more than 15 years before this kind of technology was massified.
How many times a day do you have video conferences? Well, let us remind you of that one time Marty McFly had his own…
2. Star Trek: Tablets
We don’t think Nyota Uhura, Captain Kirk, or Spock went to college with Bill Gates. We also believe that most likely, Geordi La Forge didn’t use the garage next to the one in which Steve Wozniak started Apple.
So, how does a production from 1966 predict tablets? Well, it is all about imagination, innovation, and thinking about elements that could solve our everyday problems in a creative, resourceful way.
You don’t believe us? You say that you cannot remember any Star Trek character using a tablet? Well, check this out:
3. The Jetsons: Robotic assistants
What an amazing animation! Lovely characters, entertaining stories, and phenomenal predictions of a future they knew nothing about.
Today, it is very common to have robotics assistants at home. We’re not talking about humanoid robots, but rather about tiny artifacts that can clean our floors, and even cook for us.
When Rosie first appeared the audiences didn’t really believe that one day – sooner rather than later – we would all have some kind of robotic help at home to clean, cook, heat, and play. What other artifacts from the Jetsons do you use on a regular basis? Let us know in the comments section!
4. Hackers: Virtual reality
This movie from 1995 shows us an invention that was launched only a couple of years ago. Here, we can see a teenager using a virtual or augmented reality device in a year in which even the internet was still in diapers.
The similarity of the artifact shown in the movie with “Oculus”, the VR device owned by Facebook and founded in 2012 is just astonishing! Take a look, here:
5. Face-Off: Face transplant technology
This amazing movie shows us the story of a man who decided to get a face transplant so he could look exactly like his major enemy. The first partial face transplant in history occurred in France in 2005, but this movie touched on this sensitive and important subject back in 1997.
We know that many of you would like to look like Nicholas Cage or John Travolta, and thanks to the progress of health technology, it is now possible. Now, how could Mike Werb and John Woo think about this so much time before it actually became possible?
Your kids can create their own movies and stories. Give them the tools they need!
All these movies were created and produced by innovative minds who – without knowing about it – predicted the future. These creators came up with ideas that sounded crazy but turned out to be extraordinary solutions to our everyday problems.
The invitation is for you to ask your kids which kind of inventions they can think about, even if they sound crazy and unreachable, to then offer them the possibility to create a story around these inventions.
In the live and online YouTube course offered by Tekkie Uni, your children will learn how to tell stories in an audiovisual way. Your kids will discover that all the ideas they have in their minds can actually inspire others. Your kids will realize, through a hands-on learning experience, that they can do extraordinary things… especially, in a video format.
What are you waiting for?
