Sunday, January 28, 2007

The Future was Built on Steel


Apparently U.S. Steel never saw Dustin Hoffman in 1967's The Graduate. According to this U.S. Steel commercial from the 1970s, the future will be built on steel rather than plastic. The future will also be built piece by piece in beige factories to make beige buildings.

Disney's Contemporary Resort in Walt Disney World, Orlando is a testament to the forgotten future. The Mary Blair designed mosaic is by far her ugliest creation, reminiscent of a 1970s kitchen that threw up brown acid on itself. The hotel stands as a reminder of misplaced creativity for Disney and Mary Blair and arguably the dying breath of the steel industry.

1 comment:

Mark Pritchard said...

 
Extra points for the music, which is equal parts Disney-fairy-movie harps and triumphalist angel choir, and for the USS slogan "We're Involved," no doubt a sop to early-70s pseudo-humanist feelings.