I went to an event for an new streaming channel whose niche is the future ( Futurestates ). After a preview of some the videos there was a discussion panel.
As I listened to the panel two things came to mind:
1) One of the worst things humans do is predict the future,
2) It almost impossible to truly know the present.
Although the video previews were about the future I couldn't help but notice how topical the plots were and how familiar the point of view. A fallacy in predicting the future is the assumption that it will conform to our point of view.
Of course the future zeitgeist could revolve around the themes in these videos, but I doubt it. Not that the topics (surrogate births and corporate greed) weren't valid it's just that the narrative was from a western point of view and by all indications the west won't play as major role, as it currently does, in the future global scheme of things.
So then what exactly was being said that evening. I left with the impression that the real attempt was to project the present into that murky future in order to work through our current concerns.
Maybe that is what science fiction and other futurescapes are, attempts to better understand our current state.
(Malcom McLuhan said that the great art movements are reflections of the immediate past, never the present.)
I think part of this has to do with the fact that we assume we understand the current state more than we do. After months of hearing the media coverage on the tea party conservatives no one seems to know what their significance will be.
Maybe there was some similarity between the evening's presentation and the Tea Party in that some of the fear of the future is the misgivings, misunderstanding, we have of the present.
edit: 13NOV11
