Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Anachronisms of the Future (1911)

The June 17, 1911 Evening Post (Frederick, Maryland) ran a blurb about "Anachronisms of the Future."

An article in Popular Mechanics suggests some historical absurdities which future authors may attempt to perpetrate on the gullible public. The illustrations show Joan of Arc at her sewing machine, an X ray examination of a civil war soldier, the sinking of the Maine by bombs dropped from an aeroplane, George Washington posing for his photograph, etc. With the lapse of centuries historical boundaries are apt to become hazy, and these anachronisms which appear impossible now may pass unchallenged later.

3 comments:

Alan Krueger said...

Historical boundaries might also become hazy due to ignorance. "Man on the street" interviews like those done on The Tonight Show with drawings illustrating these scenes could easily pass ordinary American citizens right now.

Example (Granted, there was alcohol involved in a couple of the people in this video, but it's still representative of the genre.)

Unknown said...

This is undoubtedly what will happen because it already has. For example, it's not uncommon to see movies set in the middle ages or the classical period where clothing, weapons, and architecture are out of place. Gotta watch out for those ancient Egyptians bearing iron weapons!

Unknown said...

Here's a modern version.