Asa D. sent in an animated 1958 Disney segment titled “Magic Highway USA.” The cartoon extols the virtues of the highway system of the future (the interstate highway system was authorized by President Eisenhower in 1956). Apparently it is farther into the future than 2010, as my windshield does not have a radar, and road construction around here doesn’t seem to be instantaneous:
The segment of course illustrates gender expectations of the time — dad goes off to work while mom and the kid(s) go shopping. But as Asa points out, this example of the “techno-utopianism” of the post-World War II era, with faith that modern technologies will lead to a happy future that increasingly frees us from unpleasant work, boredom, wasted time, and so on, is truly fascinating.
Providing a nice contrast to that earlier vision, Dmitriy T.M. let us know about the stop-motion short video Metropolis by Rob Carter. The entire video, which is 9 1/2 minutes long, gives an abridged history of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Here are the last 3 minutes (you can see the entire video here). In this segment, we see the unfolding of a large highway system and urban construction/destruction/reconstruction. At about a minute in, “the video continues the city development into an imagined hubristic future, of more and more skyscrapers and sports arenas and into a bleak environmental future” (quote found here):
Metropolis by Rob Carter – Last 3 minutes from Rob Carter on Vimeo.
NEW! (May ’10): Kris H. sent in another example of envisioning the future. The Futurama, an exhibit at the 1939 World’s Fair, promised a future in which interstate highways will allow people to bypass slums, relieving us of the work of fixing them (found at Neatorama):
Comments 17
Ryan — April 29, 2010
According to Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, Walt Disney corporation was politically very invested in the development of highways across the US. The video cited in this post emerges around the same time as family farming started to lose the battle to corporate agriculture. One of the interesting features of Schlosser's book is the interwoven history of US corporate interests that end up partnering with corporate agriculture.
Jadehawk — April 29, 2010
punchcards, how adorable :-p
they did predict some minor things right, like GPS and video-converences... but I'm just amazed at how all these non-walking people manage to stay skinny, and at the apparently unlimited resources at everybody's disposal
Maya — April 29, 2010
If this type of futurism is your bag be sure to check out http://www.paleofuture.com/ it's a blog with a great collection of vintage "predictions." I always find it fascinating how the future of the past is so often just an *amplified* version of contemporary social mores.
What's more looking at historical predictions is a wonderful way to highlight just how incapable we are of imagining a world that extends very far from the boundaries of our own experience.
Regan — April 29, 2010
I enjoyed how fixed they were in taking their modern advances and placing them into the future. Much of what they talked about has been changed indefinitely by the advent of the internet. I also thought it was interesting that family time became something to do during the travel time (which would take less time) and there was no focus on family time at home. This new modern world seemed to have little time to be in one place, instead it was all about movement and connecting places in as little time as possible. There was also no time spent actually being in nature. They were always separated by some sort of window. They could see the beauty without actually enjoying it. I think this says a lot about our attitudes towards the environment.
queenstuss — April 30, 2010
Was it just me, or did the predictions become more far-fetched as the movie progressed?
It started with coloured laneways and big, easy to read signs, before moving on to automated travel, and then onto automated travel in airconditioned tunnels.
I don't think Dad going to work and Mum and the kids going shopping was so much gender expectations but a reality of the time. Something I noticed, however, was the expectation that Great American would provide the solution to bringing the whole world together.
Lyndsay — April 30, 2010
I see there will be no gridlock. The highways will be big enough to accommodate everyone driving cars. Ha.
Brianna G — April 30, 2010
They did accurately predict urban sprawl in the first video.
Jen Pruett — April 30, 2010
dad goes off to work while mom and the kid(s) go shopping. Thats my favorite, Jen
Butter — May 1, 2010
It's funny (in a sad sort of way), because while at that time they were pushing for highways and decentralization, we are now having to undo all of that. Many cities are now trying to go in reverse, building back up the city centres and increase the population density of the core.
It is also amusing that the car is needs no one to be in control (and is completely de-skilled), but the father is remains the one in control by being able to pick the destinations by pressing the button. As if the wife couldn't handle that (or shouldn't, cause you know, father know best)! sigh...
Nathan — May 4, 2010
Nice to see the future does away with that pesky mass-transit silliness.
Sociological Images Update (May 2010) » Sociological Images — June 1, 2010
[...] updated our post on envisioning how highways would affect the city of the future with an exhibit from the 1939 World’s Fair that pointed out that benefits of being able to [...]