Originally Posted By DlandDug >>Interesting that Lawrence Samuel puts The End of Innocence at '64 - '65. For me and quite a few others it was November 22, 1963.<< I think every few generations there's a date tied to an event that is deemed The End of the World as We Knew It(or The End of Innocence). The first of which I recall in reading is April 15, 1912. Other candidates since are April 12 OR August 6, 1945, November 22, 1963, and (for the generation born since 1960), September 11, 2001.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Thanks for bringing this work forward, 2ny. And thanks to the author for dropping in to comment. I will be looking for this one.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Thanks for bringing this work forward, 2ny.<< Happy to! You'll enjoy this book, Doug. And the Easter egg Brian mentioned, too. (Like I'm going to give it away -- ha!)
Originally Posted By Dabob2 This sounds like something I'd enjoy reading. One thing about the 60's is that people really believed in progress - sometimes of very different stripes. For some people it was American industry and a sort of "Chamber of Commerce" progress that posited that America could do anything, and would, soon. For some it was a reaction to that - the counterculture and a desire to find new ways of doing things and NOT be defined by conventional expectations. (Every time I watch the early 60's of Mad Men, I remember what "the 60's" was rebelling against.) But both groups believed we were progressing, and both could point to tangible proof. For some, it was beating the Russkies to the moon. For some, it was ending a century of de jure segregation and making progress on where we needed to be as a nation on basic human rights. And again, tangible progress, all decade long. Belief in progress transcended age, ideology, and everything else. Everyone believed progress, however they defined it, was not only possible but almost inevitable. No coincidence, I don't think, that the best and most inspiring TL came in 1967. Dystopian futures may have been seen as more hip by the 70's, but not only are they not as inspiring (obviously), they're also not as INTERESTING to me. (Though it's worth noting that dystopia wasn't invented in the 70's either: see Metropolis or Brave New World or 1984.)
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Isn't it funny that the word "progress" somehow sounds retro and dated? It's a perfectly good word, and even now, some people are referred to as progressives. But if ever there was a word that brought to mind Stovall's Inn of Tomorrow and cars with fins and avocado-colored General Electric refrigerators, it's the word "progress."
Originally Posted By Brian Fies Checking back in to thank everyone again for the comments on my book. Knowledgeable Disney fans' opinions mean a lot to me. Building on what Dabob2 said, one of the things I always found interesting about the U.S. space program (and a point I make in Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow) is that it appealed to such a wide range of people, from buttoned-down patriotic conservatives who saw it as an extension of national might to counter-culture hippies who could embrace it as part of a mind-expanding "Age of Aquarius" ecological movement. It's remarkable how everyone seemed to see and take what they wanted from it. I can't think of anything else quite like it. Agreed on the '67 Tomorrowland. I think Disneyland lost a fundamental part of its vision/mission when later Imagineers gave up on our potential future in favor of Jules Verne and Buzz Lightyear. For example, I'm happy to have the submarines back, but am sorry the attraction lost its story--e.g., the true-life adventure of nuclear-powered undersea exploration--in favor of Nemo. But the kids love it, so what do I know? I'm just an old grump.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I think Disneyland lost a fundamental part of its vision/mission when later Imagineers gave up on our potential future in favor of Jules Verne and Buzz Lightyear. For example, I'm happy to have the submarines back, but am sorry the attraction lost its story--e.g., the true-life adventure of nuclear-powered undersea exploration--in favor of Nemo.<< Agree totally! (And I'm pretty sure when oc dean reads that post, he's going to buy at least 200 copies of your book as Christmas gifts.)
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "But the kids love it, so what do I know? I'm just an old grump." That makes me an old grump too, I guess. "(And I'm pretty sure when oc dean reads that post, he's going to buy at least 200 copies of your book as Christmas gifts.)" Ooooh... I hope on oc dean's Christmas list!!
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I'm still disappointed we aren't all driving in our own little 2001 Space Odysseys. I truly expected a futuristic world by 2001.Why can't we be like the Jetsons?
Originally Posted By patrickegan Regulation has a lot to do with it. Flying cars, manned space flight (Mars) as well as unmanned technology have huge hurdles to overcome before they are viable. I don’t believe that the U.S. version of the 1960’s were under such monetary and liability restraints. Our technological progress is safety driven…
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo add me to the grumps (toons in tomorrowland arrrrghhhhhh!) I need to get a hold of Brian's book I think. As many of you guys know, I work in trying to progress human services over here in the UK. And a lot of inspiration was from the view of progress as painted by It's a Small World, the World on the Move at Tomorrowland, the Carousel of Progress and Epcot. Mix in the fantastic ideas of Jules Verne, H.g. Wells and Gene Roddenberry, and I grew up wanting to architect a better tomorrow. And yet living as a proud American in Europe, I have these memories to call upon and also the amazement of the psace programme (which sadly the average contemporary European sees as a waste of money or concern for environmental degradation). I yearn that my children grow up with the same optimism, and I am certain that a lot of the unhappiness and ills (including the credit crunch) come from the diminishing of optimism and a faith in progress, in fact one could argue there is a collective distain. So every Disney attraction I hear about tied to an animated licence fills me with dread as a dystopic leadership continue to hammer a nail in the coffin that contains the notion of progress. It chills me to the bone and at the same time makes my blood boil. I want to see maglev trains, united federations, and other cool progressive ideas, inventions and lifestyles. Let's hope our kids do too!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Well, I was very pleased to find this is available in the UK, so on Kar2oon man's recommendation, I should hopefully get my copy no later than next week. I look forward to commenting then.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Oh, and if you guys have not seen it, I still think both the animated feature of Robots and Disney's own Meet the Robinsons still has some (albeit child orientated) futurism to offer.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer We would have loved to see a Tomorrowland exhibit in 1969 that showed us the technological side of the world we live in today. Picture the last scene of the Carousel of Progress set in 2009, complete with Kindles, iPhones and iPods, Uncle Orville using a wireless Netbook to make reservations at the Disneyland Hotel and the Blue Bayou, a hybrid car in the driveway, a big flat screen TV with video on demand, and realistic computer games. We're living in a world that, technologically at least, would have thrilled Walt. The problem is the unintended consequences of all of this technology. The glut of information available to us makes us less able to communicate with each other. Tiny headphones isolate us from the world and people around us. The feast of entertainment options in the home make us less likely to spend time with other people, which is where community is formed. Our kids spend their time on a long road trip glued to the TV screen in front of them instead of looking at the world passing by outside their windows. It really is a classic science fiction scenario - we've built the world we envisioned, but we didn't foresee how that world would affect the humans living in it.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Excellent, the book has arrived and I have leafed through. I am hoping to make time to read it this weekend. Tom - very valid points. My kids have DS's etc, but we have rules about when and where they can be used. Sadly, my wife's 17 year old cousin sets a terrible example, because when we dine out as an extended family, the minute he's finished eating, he's fiddling with his iphone or DS rather than communicating. I still tell him off, but get dirty looks from his parents. Lol.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 I do agree with Tom also...the thing I hate the most is that there are so many kids that get into the texting language and can barely put together a grammtically correct sentance anymore. I have received resumes that would make any English teacher break down in tears. I have to say, I do love a lot of the gadgets that around though. The iPhone and DS are two of my favorites.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Okay, you last minute Tomorrowland Christmas shoppers. Another shoutout for my favorite book of 2009. Available at fine bookstores and dot.com sources. If Santa doesn't bring you one, treat yourself to a copy of Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow by Brian Fies. Work this good deserves support.
Originally Posted By crapshoot SGV <<Walt's idea had much to do with relying on transportation systems to solve many of the ills of society. I've seen the same (emphasis on transport) in other men's visions.>> One of my favorite visionaries was Bucky Fuller - Architect Wikipedia: Richard Buckminister (Bucky) Fuller (July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) published more than thirty books, inventing and popularizing terms such as "Spaceship Earth", ephemeralization, and synergetics. He also developed numerous inventions, mainly architectural designs, the best known of which is the geodesic dome. Aerodynamic Dymaxion car (1933) (One of my favorites)
Originally Posted By cheezman20 The mascot at my junior college is Bucky the Beaver. This semester I'm doing a comic strip for the paper and am writing that Bucky is named after Buckminster Fuller.
