Sci-fi is undoubtedly one of the most popular movie genres out there. It’s loved widely by moviegoers from all across the world. There is nothing like watching a sci-fi movie on a big screen that opens your mind to the endless technological possibilities and is giving you a glimpse into the future. When we walk out of the cinema after watching movies like Star Wars or Inception, we wonder how much of this is actually possible in real life. Most people think that the technology we see in movies is surreal and exists only in fantasy land. And while this might be true in the case of most movies, there are still some movies that have introduced us to technologies that are not just a fantasy. It is only a matter of time that we will be able to see those technologies in real life as well. Science fiction really does often lead to science fact, because the writers aren’t scared to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
If you go back in time and analyze the sci-fi movies that came out in the 70’s, the ’80s, or 90’s, you might be amazed at some of the predictions they made. The technology no one would have thought was possible in those times was displayed in many movies, and today, some of it is in our reality. Let’s take a look at a few of those movies who predicted our future quite accurately.
James Bond
Sean Connery’s original James Bond series was everyone’s favorite action movie back in the ’60s. The highly skilled and classy secret agent 007 always had a trick up his sleeve, literally. There were so many gadgets in those James Bond movies that felt too far fetched, but today they are a reality. From smartwatches and folding phones to x-ray glasses and biometric guns, a lot of things we saw in those movies are a reality today, in some way. Of course, the smartwatches we have today are nothing like the one we saw in “The Spy Who Loved Me” 1977. Today we have smartwatches like the koretrak fitness watch that not only allows us to view messages but offers other features like health monitoring as well. Just give all those Bond movies a binge-watch, and you will see how many things they predicted accurately.
Total Recall (1990)
Total recall is popular among its fans because of its over the top R-rated action and quirky one-liners. But there was more to that movie, and you simply cannot ignore the double-header of technologies it put on display: the self-driving car and advanced security scanners. In the year 2020, self-driving cars are not a fantasy anymore; as you can see, self-driving Tesla cars are already in the market. Similarly, the security scanners at the airport have also become extremely advanced.
The Net (1995)
Back in the 90’s the internet may have started to become more and more common, but people were still not very aware of hackers and other cyber attackers. One of the things that this movie accurately predicted was online identity theft. Nowadays, identity theft has become quite common, and the majority of people take precautionary measures while sharing their personal information online. But back in the day, people were oblivious to this. Who would have thought that Sandra Bullock’s ‘The Net’ would have been so educational!
Enemy of the State (1998)
Another classic that predicted the future of technology quite accurately was Will Smith’s Enemy of the State. When it comes to security surveillance back in the day, nobody thought how advanced it could get. In fact, the people who used to think that they are being watched back then were labeled as paranoid. But just like the movie’s tagline, it is not really paranoia if they are actually watching you. Finding someone through security surveillance was quite easy in that movie, and it is not much different then what our governments are capable of in the modern world, not to mention the social media giants.
Back to the Future Trilogy
The Back to the Future trilogy was an instant classic as it did time travel as no movie had ever done it before. I’d love to say that time travel was possible today, because I really want to go back to do a few things in the 80s again, but sadly it isn’t. But the time machine was not the only piece of technology that was displayed in those movies. Technologies like a hoverboard and self-lacing shoes were also fun gadgets to watch in the movie. Interestingly these two ideas have actually been made into reality, with some experimental hoverboards and Nike’s self-lacing shoes. Would these ideas ever had been worked on if it hadn’t been for Back to the Future? It’s hard to say. All I know is that I hope scientists keep watching sci-fi movies, as that makes our future very exciting.
