The world of cinema comes with many movies that failed to predict the future (we didn’t get to Jupiter by 2010, and the Soviet Union dissolved by then) but many that manage to. These films, while certainly nothing like Nostradamus, have predicted technology, crime, and even what will be popular.
10
The Truman Show
Yes, real-life reality shows are usually started when the focus of the show agrees to it, but The Truman Show predicted that in several years, reality shows would be common. That was 1998, when there were few reality shows. Now in 2012, television is filled with them: Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Mob Wives, and the worst of them all, Jersey Shore. Back in 1998, the idea of making a show about someone’s life was strange enough to make a movie about it. Today’s society has been reduced to watching idiotic celebrities insult each other, horny people punch each other, and wives of criminals at each others necks. Oh well, there’s still 30 Rock…
9
Blade Runner
No, we don’t have flying cars (at least not widespread) or robot slaves, but one thing is certain: Our iPhones expire after about 1-3 years. The robots in Blade Runner expire after 4 years. Both now and in the 1982 film, our technology is set to expire so we’ll simply go back and get more and more technology. That mistake was made multiple times throughout history, never turning out well, but perhaps the appeal of the iPhone and iPad will make sure that the cycle works.
8
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001 is more often associated with terrorism than with the space age, but one thing became true: robots, like HAL, have killed humans. Drones are often set out to kill terrorists (for example, Alwaki) to spare soldiers that might have otherwise been killed during the mission. If you’re asking why they didn’t get Osama with the drones, it is because it might have alarmed Pakistani civilians if their neighbors were suddenly killed by a bomb. Of course, they must have also been alarmed when US Soldiers finally killed their evil neighbor.
7
Videodrome
On YouTube, 4 Million videos are uploaded every 5 seconds. And do you find it hard to doubt that at least one of those videos is filled with people attacking each other, torture, and even murder? While it is not shown on TV like in Videodrome, just think that as you read this, some messed-up sociopath is killing someone while taping it. These snuff or even real torture videos may remind old-film lovers of an even older film, Peeping Tom.
6
A Clockwork Orange
If you read the news, you might have heard about the riots in England in early 2011. Crime and lawlessness were everywhere… much like Alex’s violent gang that goes around paralyzing writers, killing women with statues and raping people while chanting “Singing In The Rain.
