As you may have noticed, the site is having some issues today. For whatever reasons those issues are affecting the message boards much less than the main site, so here’s a project that will hopefully spur you into finally signing up for that board account and getting involved in the conversation.
io9 ran a really fascinating article today based on one of the meta-topics that I love best: science fiction futures that never came to be. One of the greatest dangers in writing any science fiction set in the future is that your audience may find themselves in the year about which you’re writing… but without any of your predictions coming true. Well, it’s not really a ‘danger’ unless you’re Jean Dixon, but it is something that’s often worth noting. I remember when 1984, probably the most provocative year in science fiction literature, came and went without the introduction of Big Brother (it would take British TV and CBS many years to get around to that).
io9’s list is interesting but woefully incomplete. Where are the Eugenic Wars from Star Trek that spawned Khan? Where’s Conquest of the Planet of the Apes‘ 1997, where cats and dogs are dead and apes have replaced them as pets and slaves? Hell, where’s 2001‘s space tourism, among other things?
So what I propose is that the collective nerdity of CHUD’s readers come together to create as comprehensive a list as possible of all science fiction movie futures that never came to pass, as well as some that seem really, really unlikely as of today (like 2010‘s manned trips to the outer planets).
Here’s the only rule: the movie must be set in the future. It can’t be characters seeing the future or even characters coming back from the future to warn everyone. And the future can’t be the result of an alternate present day reality.
Head down to the message boards to start your pitches. If message boards aren’t your thing, drop me an email at devin at chud.com and I’ll throw your contributions into the mix.