I *was* expecting a piece on Back to the Future and have now read and digested that too. Thank you!
I’ve yet to watch Severance so I’ve skim read some of this to come back to later. It seems to me though that most dystopian tales need to be backward looking (at least in the modern day) because they have to reflect the loss of something but I like this take on it as a metaphor for bureaucracy. I also loved the etymology/entomology word play on computer bugs!
Adore this. Another recent piece of fiction that strips away technology from an otherwise seemingly modern world is the film Fingernails on AppleTV+. It's still a story about control, but in a micro sense (individual personal relationships) rather than in a macro, societal sense. I love it.
Nice. The obvious gen X part is the last sentences, like "stop worrying and leave everything to someone — or something — that knows better". See where that took us. Btw, while on recent movies that are the epitomy of just that X-bit, try the triptych Paterson (2016), Fallen Leaves (2023) and Perfect Days (2023). Maybe worth a piece here.
Very good, but at the risk of being pedantic I would say 80s computer systems weren't really often called "master slave" (that terminology was/is used, but at a different level - below user level - for describing more automated interactions). They /were/ often called "dumb terminals" or server-client systems
Masterful. Brazil is one of my faves and you've just inspired a rewatch.
I also love the overlapping / adjacent genre, Films Where The Main Character Is Trying to Escape From a Futuristic Society (think THX 1138, Logan's Run, etc.).
I *was* expecting a piece on Back to the Future and have now read and digested that too. Thank you!
I’ve yet to watch Severance so I’ve skim read some of this to come back to later. It seems to me though that most dystopian tales need to be backward looking (at least in the modern day) because they have to reflect the loss of something but I like this take on it as a metaphor for bureaucracy. I also loved the etymology/entomology word play on computer bugs!
Adore this. Another recent piece of fiction that strips away technology from an otherwise seemingly modern world is the film Fingernails on AppleTV+. It's still a story about control, but in a micro sense (individual personal relationships) rather than in a macro, societal sense. I love it.
Nice. The obvious gen X part is the last sentences, like "stop worrying and leave everything to someone — or something — that knows better". See where that took us. Btw, while on recent movies that are the epitomy of just that X-bit, try the triptych Paterson (2016), Fallen Leaves (2023) and Perfect Days (2023). Maybe worth a piece here.
Very good, but at the risk of being pedantic I would say 80s computer systems weren't really often called "master slave" (that terminology was/is used, but at a different level - below user level - for describing more automated interactions). They /were/ often called "dumb terminals" or server-client systems
Masterful. Brazil is one of my faves and you've just inspired a rewatch.
I also love the overlapping / adjacent genre, Films Where The Main Character Is Trying to Escape From a Futuristic Society (think THX 1138, Logan's Run, etc.).