Science fiction is one of the most popular film genres in the world.It can be used to tell classic adventures like star wars or scarier stories like the recent NoRegardless of the tone, however, new technology in movies is often expected, real or imagined. However, just because it’s new doesn’t mean it’s always done well.
More than half a century has passed since the golden age of science fiction in the 60s and 70s, and many film techniques that seemed advanced at the time now seem obsolete. Today’s reality has moved beyond what was once considered science fiction, and Redditors gathered to discuss some of what they consider to be the most obvious examples.
display screen
Reddit user Rondaru had to ditch the LCD screen when asked which movie technology would do a better job in reality. Apparently, old movies used vintage monitors in sci-fi scenes. According to them, “It’s always a giggle to see all those CRT screens on the Nostromo or Discovery.”
But, despite its widespread use today, LCD display technology is actually fairly new. CRTs were standard equipment until the mid-eighth century, but it’s hard to imagine life without them for decades. So it’s no surprise that older movies didn’t foresee the technological shift.
deep face swap
Classic 80s Action Movies running man, there is a scene in which the footage is edited by Jesse Ventura’s character. This clip changes the scene completely to show one character killing another. Redditor Bodymaster thought it was totally fake as a kid. Still, if they say, “Of course, now we have deepfake technology that can do this, and we can do it on a phone. It still blows my mind.”
What the film has is an early version of deepfake technology. While it’s technically “better” than what we have today, most people would consider today’s technology preferable. Today’s deep dive still shows a lot of signs of change, mostly used as a special effects tool rather than a manipulation tool. People shudder at the thought of what would happen if the technology got this good.
Hackers and Internet Security
Hacking in Hollywood movies is notoriously impractical. This is something that takes a long time to do in real life, and it’s usually not exciting.However, according to dihydral3, the film Mastermind Take it to the next level.they saidMastermind The hysterical dude has to play a mini video game to hack into some game company’s servers to leak new releases. “
Obviously, in the real world, cybersecurity is much more advanced than this. The movie also has the audacity to have hackers hack using floppy disks with circuit boards on them. This is a very big joke, very exaggerated.
User Interface
User interfaces are one of the most complex areas in technology. They’re often visually striking, but mostly for ease of browsing. The movie doesn’t really get that. As Redditor YZJay commented, the UI shown in the movie is “very unusable in terms of design, low contrast, weak indicators for interactivity, waaaay too many animations, etc.”
There are too many UI animations in movies to be useful, and they have too many transitions and sparkles. As mentioned earlier, ease of navigation is a top priority, and UIs in movies are often overly complex or difficult to use. It makes people appreciate a more basic, minimalist design.
spaceship computer
BilliamBaggins commented that they love the retro-futuristic look. They say, “Oh man, I love the old sci-fi books from the 50s and 60s because the futuristic visions are so outdated. The computers on the spaceships still run on those big tapes and shit.”
Redditor captainhaddock added that this aesthetic was very common in 70s sci-fi movies and shows. 2001: A Space Odyssey That’s probably the biggest culprit, but plenty of classic sci-fi movies do this. Technologically advanced spaceships from the turn of the century still run on tape and nodes. The clunky old tech used in sci-fi is charming, but probably prefers today’s sleeker designs.
touch screen
Holograms are undeniably cool, and it’s really cool to see people interact with them. The technology has become a huge part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Tony Stark often using them to make even cooler tech. However, Redditor Scotland83 asked a salient question: “How does it compare to a solid screen?”
The touchscreen controls really only work because there’s something to apply pressure on. Swiping in the air doesn’t really provide any haptic feedback. Anyone who’s ever played with Microsoft’s Kinect knows how weird a completely virtual menu can be. The futuristic holographic touchscreen seems to be staying in the movie.
the Internet
Reddit user Batmanlover1 has a very prominent point. Science fiction writers of the past have speculated about a huge number of different things that might exist in the future. They point out that, despite their visions of the future, something like the internet is often lacking. They say “there’s very little to do with data other than using hyper-futuristic things like data sunglasses.”
There weren’t many information storage servers in old science fiction, even if there were, such as Ender’s Game, they are restricted to the forum. Images and instant messaging are often left out, making the Internet of today definitely superior to how it was perceived in the past.
car
The history of automobiles is full of ups and downs. With the integration of today’s cars with a plethora of smart devices, they may be the most advanced ever. Throughout history, the development of the automobile has not always been a straight line. But it’s easy to accept that real cars are better than the ones in the movies.
Redditor ZorroMeansFox summed it up nicely. They say, “Cars. In the real world, they’re not as ‘fancy’ as they are in the movies.” Cars in movies often set off big fireballs with little provocation. Even the hottest cars are no match for them in reality. It’s safe to say everyone’s cars are safer than what you’ve seen in movies of the past.
communicate
When asked in which areas humans have advanced more than movies, Redditor ronearc gave a somewhat general answer: “communication.” They say, “Both near-future science fiction and far-future science fiction tend to assume too much advance in military technology and too little advance in communication technology.” Indeed, most science fiction fails to predict the advance of the telephone.
While hyper-advanced sci-fi weapons are often common, sometimes a machine similar to a fax machine is used for communication. The term “communication” can include the Internet, but also telephone, mail, writing, and so on. The way people communicate has changed a lot in modern times, and while video calling happens more or less like something you see in a movie, streaming is completely unpredictable.
speech synthesis
Redditor king_of_the_nothing made a really salient point about the robots in the movie. Their answer to movies where human technology has surpassed it was “movies where they’ve achieved high-end artificial intelligence/sentient computers, but still have crappy speech synthesis.” monotonous. In fact, we have more advanced speech reproduction technology.
Anyone who has ever used a robocall to make a call can attest to this. There’s even deepfake technology dedicated to imitating voices. However, the technology in the movie seems to be stuck in the past. Robots in movies sound just like audiences expect computers to sound. In modern times, however, technology has gone beyond film to simulate a variety of convincing sounds that the human ear cannot distinguish.