Yes, we are waiting for a lot of things we were pr promised! In retrospect, flying cars probably aren’t the best idea. In general, though, we are going to have to make the future we want.
Your post has uncanny timing for me, as the subject of retrofuturism has been on my mind due to the very recent (only two days old, as I write this) leaked Comic-Con teaser for next year's Fantastic Four movie, which will be set in an alternate, retrofuturistic 1960s (complete with flying cars). The teaser is positively drenched in Space Age optimism.
Here's is the teaser (although I don't know how long this link will stay online):
My own view regarding the optimistic futurism of the past, and especially the 1930s-1960s, is that it wasn't completely misguided; it had much real potential that was partially squandered due to bad choices and partially intentionally thwarted for sinister reasons. And a lot of the former was probably caused by well-meaning people being misled by the the people doing the latter.
For example, you noted in your poem that we still don't have cures for cancer, cold, or flu. However, I'm strongly inclined to believe that this is not due to the limitations of science. Cures for most forms of cancers and likely the cold and flu have probably been developed long ago, but suppressed.
To quote Brian Niemeier:
"Pretend you're the CEO of the biggest cancer drug co. in America.
A Dr. comes into your office with a new drug that will cure 99% of cancers with 0 side-effects for pennies on the $ compared to current treatments.
Your problem is how to get rid of his body."
That's has probably actually happened multiple times. Just look at how furiously the medical establishment and news media worked to keep the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin in curing COVID-19 under wraps. And the more I find out about ivermectin, the more it appears to be likely in potentially curing a few forms of cancer. Another anti-parasitic, fenbendazole, appears to be a potential cure for even more cancers. There's plenty of information about that very subject on Substack, here:
And if an anti-parasitic like ivermectin can cure COVID-19, what if that's not the only virus it can cure? At least one group of researchers is looking into using ivermectin for the flu.
And all of that is probably not even the tip of the iceberg. There are likely dozens if not hundreds of suppressed cures.
The issue of microplastics in the human body was also not inevitable. Much like the ubiquitous nature of items made in China, it came about due to bad decision-making born out of a desire to make everything cheaper.
A lot (not all) of the optimistic ideas of the 20th century were possible, and some of them still are. The trick is in figuring out how to make the most genuine improvements that we can (technological and otherwise) while avoiding as many potential pitfalls as we can, all while learning from and correcting the mistakes of the past and present. In an odd way, maybe it's a good thing going forward that there were so many mistakes along the way - it gives us more knowledge on what not to do going forward.
It absolutely wasn’t misguided! I tried to express that: you have to be gracious to people who were wrong if there was no malice behind their wrongness. Nobody is perfect and nobody can see the future. I’m happier being raised to hope in a better future instead of being told most everything will suck for me as an adult (which it kind of does, but that’s no single person’s fault).
Well, to be fair, they've tried to keep up the aesthetics with the architecture. It just doesn't work because it doesn't include the accompanying technological wonders, and it clashes with the established designs. It ends up looking like a hodge-podge dystopian nightmare.
I come back to this every few months for my whole life. I was into science magazines and sci-fi books. You only have to look at The Jetsons to see the dream that was there.
I imagine corporations went with the highest profit margin. I remember Project Venus back in the day. Had many futuristic components.
Much of what we saw (and what we see) regarding the future was artists renditions. Easy to get caught up in those.
I have great hope for the future of medicine.
I have great hope for the further of mankind.
I also realize that flying cars = personal aircraft = wealthy people things. I also don’t want people flying around when they drive like shit.
I still expect it to happen.
Rock on brother! Same here.
Where were the flying cars and robots to do our jobs while we chill out that we were told would come by 2000! Still waiting.
Yes, we are waiting for a lot of things we were pr promised! In retrospect, flying cars probably aren’t the best idea. In general, though, we are going to have to make the future we want.
This is beautiful, and oddly fills me with such hope. Thank you for writing this Alexander, please continue to write poetry, you've a gift.
Thank you!
Bienvenue!
Your post has uncanny timing for me, as the subject of retrofuturism has been on my mind due to the very recent (only two days old, as I write this) leaked Comic-Con teaser for next year's Fantastic Four movie, which will be set in an alternate, retrofuturistic 1960s (complete with flying cars). The teaser is positively drenched in Space Age optimism.
Here's is the teaser (although I don't know how long this link will stay online):
https://streamable.com/qn2oit
Here's a backup link, although it doesn't allow streaming (just downloading):
https://tinyurl.com/fftrailer1
My own view regarding the optimistic futurism of the past, and especially the 1930s-1960s, is that it wasn't completely misguided; it had much real potential that was partially squandered due to bad choices and partially intentionally thwarted for sinister reasons. And a lot of the former was probably caused by well-meaning people being misled by the the people doing the latter.
For example, you noted in your poem that we still don't have cures for cancer, cold, or flu. However, I'm strongly inclined to believe that this is not due to the limitations of science. Cures for most forms of cancers and likely the cold and flu have probably been developed long ago, but suppressed.
To quote Brian Niemeier:
"Pretend you're the CEO of the biggest cancer drug co. in America.
A Dr. comes into your office with a new drug that will cure 99% of cancers with 0 side-effects for pennies on the $ compared to current treatments.
Your problem is how to get rid of his body."
That's has probably actually happened multiple times. Just look at how furiously the medical establishment and news media worked to keep the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin in curing COVID-19 under wraps. And the more I find out about ivermectin, the more it appears to be likely in potentially curing a few forms of cancer. Another anti-parasitic, fenbendazole, appears to be a potential cure for even more cancers. There's plenty of information about that very subject on Substack, here:
https://fenbendazole.substack.com/
And if an anti-parasitic like ivermectin can cure COVID-19, what if that's not the only virus it can cure? At least one group of researchers is looking into using ivermectin for the flu.
And all of that is probably not even the tip of the iceberg. There are likely dozens if not hundreds of suppressed cures.
The issue of microplastics in the human body was also not inevitable. Much like the ubiquitous nature of items made in China, it came about due to bad decision-making born out of a desire to make everything cheaper.
A lot (not all) of the optimistic ideas of the 20th century were possible, and some of them still are. The trick is in figuring out how to make the most genuine improvements that we can (technological and otherwise) while avoiding as many potential pitfalls as we can, all while learning from and correcting the mistakes of the past and present. In an odd way, maybe it's a good thing going forward that there were so many mistakes along the way - it gives us more knowledge on what not to do going forward.
It absolutely wasn’t misguided! I tried to express that: you have to be gracious to people who were wrong if there was no malice behind their wrongness. Nobody is perfect and nobody can see the future. I’m happier being raised to hope in a better future instead of being told most everything will suck for me as an adult (which it kind of does, but that’s no single person’s fault).
Hope enlivens every single moment of life. Without it, we can’t go on.
Truth! That’s what I was trying to get at.
You did. That’s what spoke to me through this poem.
Well, to be fair, they've tried to keep up the aesthetics with the architecture. It just doesn't work because it doesn't include the accompanying technological wonders, and it clashes with the established designs. It ends up looking like a hodge-podge dystopian nightmare.
They try the aesthetics but they have no heart or soul behind them.
Like a Tesla car
I come back to this every few months for my whole life. I was into science magazines and sci-fi books. You only have to look at The Jetsons to see the dream that was there.
I imagine corporations went with the highest profit margin. I remember Project Venus back in the day. Had many futuristic components.
Much of what we saw (and what we see) regarding the future was artists renditions. Easy to get caught up in those.
I have great hope for the future of medicine.
I have great hope for the further of mankind.
I also realize that flying cars = personal aircraft = wealthy people things. I also don’t want people flying around when they drive like shit.