Top 10 Movie Predictions That Came True
#10: Various
Top 10 Horror Movie Theories That Turned Out To Be True
“Back to the Future Part II” (1989)
“Back to the Future Part II” may not have gotten everything about 2015 right, but it still got a surprising number of things correct. Technologies like drones, video calls, wearable technology and hands-free gaming, biometric scanners, and smartwatches are all common today, and Marty McFly encounters them all on his trip to 2015. Even things like hoverboards and flying cars are technically real, even if they’re not up to the standard set by the film. We still need roads, after all. And we’re not willing to discount things like “Jaws 19” from coming true either… eventually.
#9: Targeted Ads, Self-Driving Cars, Smart Homes, & Gesture Computing
“Minority Report” (2002)
This sci-fi thriller feels far less futuristic than it used to. Granted, the idea that we can predict crimes before they happen with mutant psychics is still pretty far-fetched, but a lot of the technology surrounding this central premise is available today. John Anderton is bombarded with personalized advertisements in public spaces, just as many of us are online. He also has a smart home that responds to verbal commands and can operate a computer by using gestures. Anderton’s car also drives itself. Granted, vertical highways haven’t caught on yet, but city planning may yet necessitate them.
#8: Lunar Exploration
“A Trip to the Moon” (1902)
An early, French silent short film, “A Trip to the Moon” proved incredibly influential on later cinema. While not the first piece of fiction to posit that travel to the moon was possible, it was the first put on film. Other aspects of the plot have aged poorly, granted. We’re pretty sure you can’t reach the moon by getting fired out of a cannon, and it’s probably not inhabited by insect people. Also, despite the whole “man in the moon” legend, our biggest satellite doesn’t have a face. Still, the capsule touching down in the ocean after leaving the moon is surprisingly accurate.
#7: Holograms
“Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977)
The original “Star Wars” film may be set a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but its technology is far in advance of our own, in most cases. One of the few we’ve managed to replicate from it is holograms. Princess Leia’s iconic message for Obi-Wan Kenobi looks far less impressive now, particularly since some performers or presenters are able to deliver projected performances onstage remotely and in more colors than just blue. Some of them aren’t even alive when they do it! While once “Star Wars” was our “only hope” for this technology, we have found new hope for ourselves.
#6: Climate Change
“Soylent Green” (1973)
The future depicted in “Soylent Green” is a disturbing one. Although some parts of it, including the lack of authentic food and living space haven’t come true (yet), many parts of it ring frighteningly true. Most of the worst aspects of “Soylent Green”’s future are the result of climate catastrophe, which has caused most of the oceans’ life to begin dying. Food can’t be grown in most places because the land and climate won’t allow it to be grown. While we haven’t reached this stage (again, so far), the film is one of the earliest to examine the long-term effects of climate change.
#5: Reality TV Competitions
Top 10 Virtual Reality Movie Moments
“Death Race 2000” (1975)
Plenty of movies have heralded the rise of reality TV. As tempted as we were to choose “The Truman Show,” another film was ahead of the curve. You might say it “raced ahead.” “Death Race 2000” is set in a dystopian year 2000 where the American populace is kept pacified from its totalitarian leaders by ultra-violent entertainment, namely the eponymous cross-country death race. Although none of the current crop of reality competition shows are as violent or outlandish as this one, people still enjoy watching contestants engaged in prolonged races with strange rules.
#4: Robots
Top 10 Good Movie Robots
“Metropolis” (1927)
“Metropolis” is a German expressionist film and one of the most influential science fiction films ever made. It follows the tensions between the working and ruling classes in the titular fictional city. These tensions explode when an inventor creates a robot that impersonates a woman named Maria, who sows chaos amidst the city. While the idea of artificial beings has been around for millennia, robots were a relatively new idea at the time, and “Metropolis” was one of the first to depict one on the silver screen. While the robots we have today aren’t quite able to mimic human appearances and behavior to this degree, it’s only a matter of time.
#3: Self-Driving Cars, Holograms, & Video Messages
Top 10 Wrong Movie Predictions About the Future
“Total Recall” (1990)
Arnold Schwarzenegger has made a career out of movies set in the future, and “Total Recall” is no exception. The film follows a man who awakens the memories of another man as he gets embroiled in a plot on Mars. Space travel isn’t quite there yet, but plenty of other technologies are. Video messages like the one Quaid leaves himself are common in the age of smartphones. Likewise, we also have self-driving cars, even if we don’t have malfunctioning robot drivers. We’ve even got holograms! You probably wouldn’t be able to use one in a firefight, though.
#2: Digital Billboards, Climate Change, Voice Commands, & Video Calls
“Blade Runner” (1982)
2019 may have come and gone without realistic robots or new lives in the off-world colonies, but “Blade Runner” still got plenty of things right. The Los Angeles depicted in the movie may have gotten the kind of climate change affecting California wrong, but it’s still not in great shape. The city also features huge digital billboards on the sides of buildings, not unlike those seen in places like Times Square. Rick Deckard also makes use of voice commands to his computer while doing investigations… even if “enhancement” doesn’t and has never worked like that. Plus, there are video calls, despite phone booths not really being a thing anymore.
#1: Artificial Intelligence, Tablet Computers, Video Calls, & Much More
Top 10 Movie Characters with Badass Artificial Limbs
“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
This game-changing science fiction film was ahead of the curve in many ways. We may not be traveling to the moon or Jupiter on the regular, but people are using technology like tablet computers and making video calls. One of the most memorable aspects of “2001: A Space Odyssey” is HAL 9000, the artificial intelligence aboard the Jupiter expedition. In contrast to some of the other depictions of A.I. before him, HAL feels very close to most of the ones in real life, with his monotone voice and chess playing skills. Thankfully, we haven’t had a real life homicidal A.I. yet. Can you promise us that won’t happen HAL? “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.” Well… that wasn’t ominous!
