Monday, January 22, 2007

Hello and Welcome


I first came across the word "Paleo-Future" in a Flickr group of the same name. However, the topic first sparked my interest when I visited Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center, (now Epcot), and realized that Disney's version of the future was based upon what they thought the future would look like in the 1980s. As is important when depicting the future, your opinions must change with the times, unless you happen to be omnipotent, which means you have no need to revise your vision of the future and have probably used your powers for such noble endeavors as guessing my weight at the local carnival or writing horoscopes that tell me, "you should find time for yourself tonight."

While I might poke fun at the outlandish ideas of 1950s America, corporate puffery, or Jules Verne I do it with an admiration for the idealism we seem to be losing in our post-modern society. The belief that technology has the potential to improve the lives of everyone on Earth seems rare. Just remember that an optimism for the future and the attempt to better the world for all humanity is hidden somewhere within each sarcastic comment about flying cars and space farms. In that same vein, I will always remember that the dystopian societies depicted by George Orwell or Alan Moore are just as plausible if we surrender freedom in the name of security. Here's to a "great big beautiful tomorrow."

Thanks for reading,
Matt

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5 comments:

Trixie Bedlam said...

it's a good word, isn't it? I started that group. cool blog.

Matt Novak said...

Very cool. Thanks for starting the group. Do you know the origins of the word? Did you invent it?

Anonymous said...

Is that Dan Dare in the pic?

Anonymous said...

This is like the evil twin/ cousin/ kindred spirit of brass goggles...Instead of imagining a past that never was you imagine a future that could have been. Cool.

Dave said...

This is an awesome blog concept. I have added a link to you to on my blogroll at Time, etc.
I hope there is enough material out there for you to keep it up.