Since the dawn of the electronics revolution, (say like, 1920, just to round it off) people have had crazy ideas about what technology could do or what it could do for them. Their expectations were monstrously huge to begin with and in the decades since have been equally impossible, but have thankfully have leveled off. For instance, in the 20’s, people had huge expectations about electronics and thought that a trip to the moon (made of green cheese, of course) was going to be standard for everyone. We actually have proof of this on film, maybe you’ve seen it on PBS. You know the one where the rocket hits the man in the moon’s eye. Anyway, this was the era of jet packs and laser guns which have not really been perfected yet, but we do have TV in our cars. That’s pretty good.
The 40’s were a time when society was really banking on electronics to save their boring lives, not knowing that their boredom would soon be remedied by a war. An era of superhighways with no more smog was ‘just around the corner’ but didn’t they stop to think that these two things really just worked against each other? They were expecting to just tell their kitchen to make dinner, call them to the table, feed them, wipe their mouths, wash the dishes and put them away. Then “The Jetson’s” cartoon showed up and made kids everywhere think that they were getting a robot for Christmas. Radio serials like Flash Gordon only added to the eventual disappointment that interstellar travel and subsequent meeting of alien races was not in our future.
The peace loving 60’s and hairy 70’s was, ironically, a time of conflict and haircuts. The reality of technology not solving EVERY problem we had finally sunk in and people moved to communes to get away from it all. If they only knew that their favorite bands were using technology to make music. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” album contains more electronic music than most 80’s bands, but we’re not in the 80’s yet, so hold on. Some groups thought that technology would be the answer to certain, shall we say, “Red” issues. This just scared the people instead of calming their fears.
The 80’s brought forth new technology such as cable TV, but also strange movies that led us to believe that technology was capable of anything. Apparently, a ‘freak storm’ and your buddies’ computer could create a woman, as seen in “Weird Science”, also that some kid could bring on nuclear destruction with his home computer in the Matthew Broderick vehicle “WarGames”, and continuing the theme of ‘technology gone wild’: “Short Circuit”. Hopefully Honda’s Asimo robot won’t get struck by lightning and wreak havoc. And if you think “RoboCop” or the original “Terminator” movie are even better examples, they are not, as those movies portray events in the future.
Today we have come to the realization that electronic devices are not meant to rule our lives, but enhance them. We are going to remain human, (that is, until nanotechnology changes us) even if bionic parts don’t really make us run super fast, they don’t cost six million dollars. Still, we have benefited from the use of electronic devices to communicate, to entertain, and do your banking at home. The best part is that you have the choice whether to use technology or to shun it, and if you do shun technology, why are you reading this online?
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