Visions Of The Future

Yesterday as I was walking home from school I was having an interesting conversation with my boyfriend. Why does our vision of the future change as the years go by? And how does this show in films?

Companies have always attempted to make their products 'futuristic'. Just look at cars. How many ideas where considered 'futuristic' at the time? How many of those supposedly futuristic cars look much like what we're driving around in today? Companies are always trying to design things so that they look like what we expect the future will look like but by the time the future has got here we discover that it's completely different and then our expectations of the 'new' future change.

For an example in films and TV, just look at Star Trek. It's the same space ship with the same shape, the same technology and the same ideas. But just on a basic level there are differences. Everything is so much shinier in 2009 than in the 60s. Everything is brighter and cleaner. The whole colour scheme has changed and the look of the technology has developed.

The bridge from Star Trek: The Original Series. (1966-1969)

The bridge from Star Trek 09. (2009)

This is a really interesting example to look at because it is set in the same time period with the same characters, albeit in an alternative universe, and yet the sets are so different because of how the audience's perception of the future has changed.

Our perceptions of the distant future change for a number of reasons.

Our technology advances. In 1966 the clunky control panels and the large, box shaped computer processors felt new and exciting. If an audience of today watched that it would look old fashioned and wouldn't have the same effect. When we pass by the technology of the 'future' then we have to change our ideas, which is why in 2009 the same Star Trek bridge uses technology closer to what we use today.

Also, our ideas of the future change based on what is happening in the world in the present. In the sixties the vision of the future was an exciting breakthrough into space travel that would last forever, where humans and aliens worked together and discovered new galaxies. That's Star Trek. Take a more modern film, Wall:E for example. This Disney Pixar animation, made in 2008, shows a vision of the future based on the current threat of global warming. Wall:E, a futuristic robot, is dirty and roughly made. The Earth is uninhabitable because of rubbish and pollution and humans are living in a space ship where they spend their time staring at a virtual reality on a screen in front of their faces. Oh, and they're all obese. Not such a pleasant view of the future, but one that is more realistic based on today's situation.

Of course as the present continues to change so will our predictions of the future. I wonder what we'll think of next.

The Wedding Of River Song

To be perfectly honest I've been apathetic about this half of series six.

The first half was amazing. There were some truly terrifying episodes (in my opinion at least) that reminded me of the first series and the ninth Doctor. Hiding behind the sofa cushions when you're a ten year old is one thing. When you're sixteen I'm pretty much sure it means that some brilliant writing is involved. Moffat's writing and story telling definitely improved after the childish series five which, although had some nice story lines and an impressive finale, felt like it was aimed at five year olds. I expected scares and was given laughs. I wasn't impressed. But series six part one did this better. The arc of the characters and the storyline was told well and built up from the very beginning, having me on the edge of my seat whilst at the same time cowering behind the cushions as I waited for each secret to be revealed.

But A Good Man Goes To War felt like it should have been the end, not the middle. It built and built and built and then exploded! And then we got told that we had to wait a few months. It was during those few months that I lost interest. Forgot the important bits. Got the enigmas mixed up. The gap was too long and too many questions had already been answered. I think splitting the series was a huge mistake.

But I put that aside and I sat down to watch Let's Kill Hitler all ready for a new load of Doctor Who. My excitement had been rekindled over the summer by a visit to the Doctor Who Experience in London and I was ready to put my faith back in Moffat.

The episode was poor. The setting was irrelevant and so many things could have been done to make the story more interesting. The best lines were 'shut up Hitler' and 'put Hitler in the cupboard', and that was about it. Although the story of Melody Pond was told quite well the whole feel of danger and excitement was missing.

I was hoping that this half of the series would build up like the first half, leaving me begging for more, but before I watched Closing Time I couldn't have cared less whether the Doctor dies or not. I didn't care that Amy and Rory had left the TARDIS and I didn't care that the series was coming to a close. The stories hadn't been connected in the way I had expected them to be and we weren't left the usual barrage of clues and hints.

But then I watched Closing Time. I'm excited again. I think that Moffat can pull it off. And this is mainly because of the last few scenes of the episode, joined by the teaser trailer and the preview. I wish that Moffat had written this half better, or even just hadn't split the series, but in the end if the finale blows my socks off then I'll be happy.

You'll find out on Saturday night whether or not my faith in Doctor Who is restored. Until then, we'll have to be satisfied with the list of spoilers, the prequel and the trailer. Enjoy.

DreamWorks BFG film

http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110925/film_nm/us_dreamworks

So DreamWorks has bought the movie rights for Roald Dhal's The BFG. I'm not sure what I think about that.

I love the story of the BFG. It was one of my favourites as a child and I adored the beautifully told story with its wonderful characters. The orphaned child, the friendly but misunderstood giant, the evil giants eating children... And the visit to the queen of England! That was my favourite part of the whole book.

So I should be happy about DreamWorks making a movie of it? I'm still not so sure.

I love animated movies. They're my favourite kind of movies. And although DreamWorks isn't my favourite animation company (I'm an Pixar fangirl), I've got to admit they've made some of my favourite movies. The Shrek movies, with their witty scripts and all those jokes that make the films enjoyable for both adults and children. Flushed Away, a film I remember seeing and enjoying but embarrassingly can't remember much of the plot. I found the rat funny though. I adored Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Or Wallet and Grimace, as my grandmother calls them.

But there's already a BFG movie. And that's where my issue with this lies.

The BFG, produced by Cosgrove Hall Films and released in Britain on the 25th December, 1989. It was directed by Brian Cosgrove and was released straight to video, after a TV premiere.

In my opinion the animation is beautiful. Others have called it flat and have complained that there wasn't a sense of danger when the giants are on the screen, but I think that it is a lovely retelling. The songs are funny, the characters likable and the man eating giants terrified me when I was younger.

I don't doubt that DreamWorks is up to the challenge. I don't doubt that they can make a much better film. But I'm scared to see a piece of my childhood get flushed away.