http://www cnn.com/2015/01/22/world/gallery/future-unknown-getty-creative/
In this aesthetic representation of what members of popular culture imagine the future to be like, there is a strong undercurrent of that which society values today. Though we are removed from the Jetsons-like future detailed in William Gibson's fictitious account of the future, there is a desire for streamlined, monochromatic humanity with a drastic emphasis on environmental consciousness. As artistic mediums provide us the opportunity to analyze current concerns, the creation of this idealist future that seemingly avoided environmental plagues and humanitarian disasters reflects the current desire of society to stamp out these ills. The globalization of concern over environmental degradation and sustainability could get us to this future, but there is never any guarantee in our predictions about what tomorrow will hold. The series of images collected by analysts for CNN also suggest a strong dependence and development of current technological standards. Considering the capital and resources that the world has invested in the technology industry in past decades, this massive expansion of technological prowess seems a well-founded prediction for the future. The final image of the series is one which evokes a sensation of overwhelming surveillance; does this highlight our current concerns over the sovereignty of the individual, the right to privacy on a global scale? The degree to which these concerns will play out in the decades to come can only be determined with time, but the globalization of ideas and ideologies surrounding the future of environmental, social, political, and security standards has the potential to expedite the rate at which these positive changes suggested by the images in the gallery can occur.
I think that the final image is representative of of our current fears. Since surveillance technology is still evolving and becoming for encompassing of what is available for all people to utilize people are still more afraid of everything being monitored. Soon there will be laws and guidelines for what is monitored and how to avoid being monitored and then fear will subside more and the fear of being constantly watched will not be there as much in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteMichael, the final image was one which resonated the most with me. I think that as we have briefly touched on global security, it is possible that international concerns over state security will grow - could this lead to civil wars or attempts to overthrow the government?
DeleteThis is really cool Sarah! Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteYou mention, "Considering the capital and resources that the world has invested in the technology industry in past decades, this massive expansion of technological prowess seems a well-founded prediction for the future," and "The globalization of concern over environmental degradation and sustainability could get us to this future."
These are certainly possible of course, but why do you think that the visions of the future in the 1930s failed? It wasn't because there was no expansion of technological prowess. It wasn't because they didn't want it or there weren't powerful people that wanted it. I would argue it was because they were unable to think through the implications of what science and technology woudl mean for society - hence we have pollution, the holocaust and nuclear deterrence instead a utopia. All of which is a long way of asking what you think the hidden dangers of these pictures are (putting aside the surveillance one of course)?
Professor Shirk:
DeleteWhile I do not think that we have the ability to determine what the greatest problems we face in the future will be, I think that these images definitely showcase the problems that we are grappling with in the present. This being said, the hidden dangers presented here are those involving biotechnology (are we willing to cross the borders of science for the sake of human development), environment (how will we preserve a sustainable Earth even though development is rapidly expanding), and how humans will be able to adapt to these new challenges.
It always fascinates me that we talk about how predictions about the future are so different era to era. while i agree that the aesthetics are certainly different (and usually indicative of the time period the predictions were made), the broader themes are similar. Jetson like robots, for example, are in almost all representations of the future in some capacity though they look different era to era. The picture you posted certainly follow this trend and I think you are correct in your assessment of globalization and the future
ReplyDeleteNoah, I also think that the aesthetics of our future predictions are fascinating.The recurring themes for decades seem to be something sleeker, and much more technologically advanced. On this note, do you think we will be able to predict the singularity when it is upon us? Are our current predictions of the singularity going to be far off because we can't even consider its implications now?
DeleteThe picture that strikes me the most is the one where the plant is being placed virtually through a screen. It calls into question how the environmental issues we have today will effect our future. It is telling that this is a picture used to describe the future since it is such an issue that we face today. I think this whole series comes back to our main discussions in class about how our projections of the future or based on our concerns of today.
ReplyDeleteGrace, I think it will be fascinating to see how environmental problems evolve into the future. I think the artistic allusion to the environment in this gallery really showcases how we have current concerns over it, and it remains to be seen whether or not we will conquer problems of global environmental degradation in the future.
DeleteI also since it is highly interesting how different predictions of the future differ from different generations. As we spoke about in class, current issues influence our ideas of the future. Especially since we are currently facing problems of environmental degradation and its effects along with issues in monitoring technology use by the government. However, I do not think we can fully grasp such ideas of the future because we do not understand their implications.
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