Danny Tran
Professor Melissa Filbeck
English 114B
6 May 2014
Perception of the Future
Space travel, lasers, robots, transport pods, what’s the first word that comes to your mind when hearing those words? Future? Past? Present? The only way to tell is what time period you’re coming from. People might argue that these will never happen because of how unrealistic it sounds. Realistically these things can be achieved given the time and knowledge. In the past people have argued that space travel was out of this world. Slowly but surely, man went space traveling during the mid-1900’s. Some have said that cars can’t be fueled by electricity. In the early 1800’s the first electric car was produced that was powered by non-rechargeable primary cells (“Timeline: History of the Electric Car” par.1). Through knowledge and time anything that sounds futuristic will become the present. The technology in different time periods impacts the depiction of the future by their resources, and knowledge of the world.
In the 1940’s there were pulp magazines that gave a science fiction feel to the time period. These pulp magazines were called “Fantastic Adventures”, which depicted the “future” of their time period. In one of the issues of Fantastic Adventure, it shows a glimpse of what the future might come to. The images show a broken aircraft that has landed on a planet. Within this planet you see a shadow like creature. This creature resembles a dragon of some sort, and shows two humans in danger. I believe the illustrator thought that the future will have space travel and discovery of new inhabitable worlds. The first man to actually travel in space was Yuri Gagarin. Yuri didn’t travel space until he was 27 years old. He then went on board on the “Vostok 1” on April 12, 1961 (Rosenberg, Jennifer, par.1). This also brings up the fact that space travel wasn’t achieved during the 1940’s. This means that the illustrator predicts that humans will be able to fly to space using a type of air carrier. This eventually became a possibility in the early 1960.
Another pulp magazine from the 1940’s was the “Super Science Stories”. The issue on March 1940 shows interesting theories on how transportation works. The cover art shows pods landing on a planet. This issue is titled “World Reborn” which gives the reader a hint to what’s going on. It seems as if the illustrator is telling the reader that the future could have pods as a type of transportation route. According to the article named “Top 10 Inventions Discovered During WWII” it says that pressurized cabins were invented in the 1940’s. Pressurized cabins help revolutionized air transportation and basically help stabilize pressure, temperature, and oxygen conditions. I believe the fact that this invention was discovered during the 1940’s gave an idea to their future of space travel. A pod for example is a futuristic idea that the illustrator possibly thought of during the time of the discovery of the pressurized cabin.
However, the future of the 1940’s isn’t the future of the 21st century. In present time our depiction of the future is different but comparable to the 1940’s. From current space research we’ve been able to find “Habitable Planets” that us humans and other life forms can live on. According to the article named “3 new planets could host life” by Elizabeth Landau there are planets that we could live on. “Scientists announced Thursday the discovery of three planets that are some of the best candidates so far for habitable worlds outside our own solar system” (Landau, par.1). Although this might be different from the future of what the 1940’s had in mind, it is comparable because of the fact that both futures had a different planet other than earth.
Some of 1940’s future ideas actually became reality in our current time period. One of the main ideas was lasers. On an article named “Navy's future: Electric guns, lasers, water as fuel” by Brad Lendon, shows that the U.S Navy developed a warship with electric guns and lasers. “Imagine ships that fire missiles at seven times the speed of sound without using explosives, or that use lasers to destroy threats at the cost of about a dollar a shot, and vessels making fuel from the very seawater in which they're floating” (Lendon, par.1). It seems that weaponry has advanced not to only lasers but using water as a fuel. On a plus side , the navy spend less money on ammunition because of the rail gun. “The railgun projectiles could cost about 1/100th the price of current missiles, according to Klunder”(Lendon, par.16). This is one of the achievements the world has made that was depicted from the future of the 1940’s.
There are novels in our time period that give an interesting theory of what the future can hold. An example would be this graphic novel called “Pacific Rim”. The cover art shows a gigantic robot fighting a behemoth like creature. This gives a depiction of how the future is going to be. It would be a world where humans have to defend themselves by creating ginormous robots to kill of the monstrous creatures. Although this might be unrealistic, it could happen if we find different life forms on different planets. Another graphic novel would be “Guardians of the Galaxy”, this novel gives more of a friendly environment. The cover art shows different life forms uniting together to protect the galaxy. The depiction of this future is still possible but more on a friendly side. Compared to the magazines from the 1940’s this shows more of a friendlier side of aliens than an evil side.
I believe the most accurate depiction of the future in our time period would be the book Feed by M.T. Anderson. Feed takes place in the future where humans created a chip called “The Feed”. The chip is then implanted into a person’s brain which gives them all the knowledge a computer would. You would be able to search up items on the internet in your mind without a computer, or communicate telepathically with other users of the feed. The feed would help assist you with pretty much anything. “Her spine was, I didn’t know the word. Her spine was like…? The feed suggested ‘supple’” (Anderson 14). The quote shows the feed helping the main character Titus with his problem. Another quote introduces the world to a newer world where everyone is “smart”. “Thats one of the great things about the feed-- that you can be super smart without ever working. Everyone is supersmart now” (Anderson 47). The quote says everyone in the future with the feed will become super smart. Even though technology is so useful there are always problems and people who are against it. “They were protesting all these things… They were shouting, ‘Chip in my head? I’m better off dead’” (Anderson 38). It seems as if the protesters were against the feed, because there were malfunctions within it.
As you can tell the resources we have on our time period changes the prediction of the future. With enough time and knowledge, the future of our time period will change just like how 1940’s depiction is different than our current depiction. However, some of the predictions were similar to our time such as living on a different planet or fighting aliens. This makes the future intertwine and help develop new theories. While our research is still in ongoing, who knows what the future has in hold for us.
Works Cited
Anderson, M. T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2002. Print.
Beacham, Travis. Pacific Rim Tales From Year Zero. Digital image. Legendary | Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero. Legendary Productions, 5 June 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Cover: Super Science Stories, March 1940. 1940. Special Collections and Archives, Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge. Milt Stevens Science Fiction Collection. Web. 5 May 2014.
Fuqua, Robert. Cover: Fantastic Adventures, September 1941. 1941. Special Collections and Archives, Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge. Milt Stevens Science Fiction Collection. Web. 5 May 2014.
Landau, Elizabeth. "3 New Planets Could Host Life." CNN. Cable News Network, 21 Apr. 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Lendon, Brad. "Navy's Future: Electric Guns, Lasers, Water as Fuel." CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 06 May 2014.
Mcniven, Steve. Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #1. Digital image. Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #1 | Comics | Marvel.com. Marvel Entertainment, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Yuri Gagarin - The First Man in Space." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., 05 May 2010. Web. 05 May 2014.
"Timeline: History of the Electric Car." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
"Top 10 Inventions Discovered During WWII - WAR HISTORY ONLINE." WAR HISTORY ONLINE. N.p., 22 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 May 2014.
Professor Melissa Filbeck
English 114B
6 May 2014
Perception of the Future
Space travel, lasers, robots, transport pods, what’s the first word that comes to your mind when hearing those words? Future? Past? Present? The only way to tell is what time period you’re coming from. People might argue that these will never happen because of how unrealistic it sounds. Realistically these things can be achieved given the time and knowledge. In the past people have argued that space travel was out of this world. Slowly but surely, man went space traveling during the mid-1900’s. Some have said that cars can’t be fueled by electricity. In the early 1800’s the first electric car was produced that was powered by non-rechargeable primary cells (“Timeline: History of the Electric Car” par.1). Through knowledge and time anything that sounds futuristic will become the present. The technology in different time periods impacts the depiction of the future by their resources, and knowledge of the world.
In the 1940’s there were pulp magazines that gave a science fiction feel to the time period. These pulp magazines were called “Fantastic Adventures”, which depicted the “future” of their time period. In one of the issues of Fantastic Adventure, it shows a glimpse of what the future might come to. The images show a broken aircraft that has landed on a planet. Within this planet you see a shadow like creature. This creature resembles a dragon of some sort, and shows two humans in danger. I believe the illustrator thought that the future will have space travel and discovery of new inhabitable worlds. The first man to actually travel in space was Yuri Gagarin. Yuri didn’t travel space until he was 27 years old. He then went on board on the “Vostok 1” on April 12, 1961 (Rosenberg, Jennifer, par.1). This also brings up the fact that space travel wasn’t achieved during the 1940’s. This means that the illustrator predicts that humans will be able to fly to space using a type of air carrier. This eventually became a possibility in the early 1960.
Another pulp magazine from the 1940’s was the “Super Science Stories”. The issue on March 1940 shows interesting theories on how transportation works. The cover art shows pods landing on a planet. This issue is titled “World Reborn” which gives the reader a hint to what’s going on. It seems as if the illustrator is telling the reader that the future could have pods as a type of transportation route. According to the article named “Top 10 Inventions Discovered During WWII” it says that pressurized cabins were invented in the 1940’s. Pressurized cabins help revolutionized air transportation and basically help stabilize pressure, temperature, and oxygen conditions. I believe the fact that this invention was discovered during the 1940’s gave an idea to their future of space travel. A pod for example is a futuristic idea that the illustrator possibly thought of during the time of the discovery of the pressurized cabin.
However, the future of the 1940’s isn’t the future of the 21st century. In present time our depiction of the future is different but comparable to the 1940’s. From current space research we’ve been able to find “Habitable Planets” that us humans and other life forms can live on. According to the article named “3 new planets could host life” by Elizabeth Landau there are planets that we could live on. “Scientists announced Thursday the discovery of three planets that are some of the best candidates so far for habitable worlds outside our own solar system” (Landau, par.1). Although this might be different from the future of what the 1940’s had in mind, it is comparable because of the fact that both futures had a different planet other than earth.
Some of 1940’s future ideas actually became reality in our current time period. One of the main ideas was lasers. On an article named “Navy's future: Electric guns, lasers, water as fuel” by Brad Lendon, shows that the U.S Navy developed a warship with electric guns and lasers. “Imagine ships that fire missiles at seven times the speed of sound without using explosives, or that use lasers to destroy threats at the cost of about a dollar a shot, and vessels making fuel from the very seawater in which they're floating” (Lendon, par.1). It seems that weaponry has advanced not to only lasers but using water as a fuel. On a plus side , the navy spend less money on ammunition because of the rail gun. “The railgun projectiles could cost about 1/100th the price of current missiles, according to Klunder”(Lendon, par.16). This is one of the achievements the world has made that was depicted from the future of the 1940’s.
There are novels in our time period that give an interesting theory of what the future can hold. An example would be this graphic novel called “Pacific Rim”. The cover art shows a gigantic robot fighting a behemoth like creature. This gives a depiction of how the future is going to be. It would be a world where humans have to defend themselves by creating ginormous robots to kill of the monstrous creatures. Although this might be unrealistic, it could happen if we find different life forms on different planets. Another graphic novel would be “Guardians of the Galaxy”, this novel gives more of a friendly environment. The cover art shows different life forms uniting together to protect the galaxy. The depiction of this future is still possible but more on a friendly side. Compared to the magazines from the 1940’s this shows more of a friendlier side of aliens than an evil side.
I believe the most accurate depiction of the future in our time period would be the book Feed by M.T. Anderson. Feed takes place in the future where humans created a chip called “The Feed”. The chip is then implanted into a person’s brain which gives them all the knowledge a computer would. You would be able to search up items on the internet in your mind without a computer, or communicate telepathically with other users of the feed. The feed would help assist you with pretty much anything. “Her spine was, I didn’t know the word. Her spine was like…? The feed suggested ‘supple’” (Anderson 14). The quote shows the feed helping the main character Titus with his problem. Another quote introduces the world to a newer world where everyone is “smart”. “Thats one of the great things about the feed-- that you can be super smart without ever working. Everyone is supersmart now” (Anderson 47). The quote says everyone in the future with the feed will become super smart. Even though technology is so useful there are always problems and people who are against it. “They were protesting all these things… They were shouting, ‘Chip in my head? I’m better off dead’” (Anderson 38). It seems as if the protesters were against the feed, because there were malfunctions within it.
As you can tell the resources we have on our time period changes the prediction of the future. With enough time and knowledge, the future of our time period will change just like how 1940’s depiction is different than our current depiction. However, some of the predictions were similar to our time such as living on a different planet or fighting aliens. This makes the future intertwine and help develop new theories. While our research is still in ongoing, who knows what the future has in hold for us.
Works Cited
Anderson, M. T. Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2002. Print.
Beacham, Travis. Pacific Rim Tales From Year Zero. Digital image. Legendary | Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero. Legendary Productions, 5 June 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Cover: Super Science Stories, March 1940. 1940. Special Collections and Archives, Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge. Milt Stevens Science Fiction Collection. Web. 5 May 2014.
Fuqua, Robert. Cover: Fantastic Adventures, September 1941. 1941. Special Collections and Archives, Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge. Milt Stevens Science Fiction Collection. Web. 5 May 2014.
Landau, Elizabeth. "3 New Planets Could Host Life." CNN. Cable News Network, 21 Apr. 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Lendon, Brad. "Navy's Future: Electric Guns, Lasers, Water as Fuel." CNN. Cable News Network, 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 06 May 2014.
Mcniven, Steve. Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #1. Digital image. Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #1 | Comics | Marvel.com. Marvel Entertainment, 30 Sept. 2013. Web. 05 May 2014.
Rosenberg, Jennifer. "Yuri Gagarin - The First Man in Space." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., 05 May 2010. Web. 05 May 2014.
"Timeline: History of the Electric Car." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
"Top 10 Inventions Discovered During WWII - WAR HISTORY ONLINE." WAR HISTORY ONLINE. N.p., 22 Nov. 2012. Web. 05 May 2014.