Science Fiction Today – Hover Boards

I’ve been amused to hear that Hover Boards are finally showing up, that people have been pushing forward to create them. The deadline they were aiming for was the date from Back to the Future 2 last year. Which made Hover Boards like a prophecy: that they would happen in that year.

More than anything else in that movie, the Hover Board is what seems to have captured and held our collective imagination. Or maybe because it seems easier and more likely than flying cars or Jaws 19. Maybe because it’s a sellable commodity that you can hope to make a bunch of money off of – but no, I think more than that. It seems like a labor of love. Of trying to bring a bit of the “future” here to us now.

Because this world we’re living in – as we pass dates from future visions, like Days of Future Past and Back to the Future – looks nothing like what science fiction envisioned. And what did science fiction envision?

Thanks, Commander Sisko.

We were expecting flying cars. Hover Boards. Things that move us around faster. And space travel, moving us into the stars. What we got instead, as the commercial says (and which has stuck with me all these years) is the Internet. Or maybe, drones, which work as a networked extension of ourselves, rather than us moving ourselves.

Rather than transmitting ourselves via improved transportation, we’re transmitting ideas. Meaning that we get to both bring the world – information-wise – to us, and we get to send our ideas back out. In such a way as science fiction somewhat failed to predict. That’s part of the reason why something like Neuromancer (a 1984 novel) is seen as such a classic: it was far closer to right than wrong when it comes to predictions of the future. Certainly better than so much other science fiction.

I’m not saying the point of science fiction is to perfectly predict the future. Nor that it’s our job to try to build the future that has been predicted. Which makes the anecdote of the Hover Boards being created just in time for their “predicted” date just so interesting. It’s a little piece of trying to create not the future we’re building towards, but the future we dreamed up.

And so maybe, if we can perfect the Hover Board, we can create some of the other things science fiction has dreamed up. Or solve some of the other societal problems science fiction shows us moving past. Maybe we can avoid some of the pitfalls science fiction warns us of. Maybe, just maybe…

We can dream.

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Happy Friday: X-Men Apocalypse First Official Trailer

As CompGeek Siblings, David and I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons together, especially X-Men. Personally I’ve been incredibly happy with the First Class movies (more so than I was with the first trilogy; as much as I love some of the actors, the second two movies fell a bit flat for me) and so I was really excited to see the first trailer for Apocalypse. The first two movies were fantastically done, and some of the new faces in this one have me super stoked (Sophie Turner as Jean Grey? Olivia Munn as Psylocke? Eeee!) I can’t wait for this to come out!

Thoughts? Are you as excited for this upcoming X-Men film?

 

Kitty Pryde in X-Men: Days of Future Past

Cover from Uncanny X-Men #139… 2 issues before Days of Future Past. One of the more iconic lines from X-Men lore.

I wanted to close out my week of looking at X-Men: Days of Future Past by looking at one of the biggest changes: the role of Kitty Pryde. She’s come up in my look at the mutant character adaptations, and of course in the LitFlix comparing the film to the comic source.

A quick breakdown of how she was used: in the comics, Kitty Pryde travels back in time into the consciousness of her younger self, a new member of the X-Men, to warn of the apocalyptic future. She goes from being brand-new character, to being one that you know has a future and a purpose and immense power.

So there were three elements of this that they had to try to adapt into the film: the time travel, and its method; the traveler, Kitty Pryde; and the impending doom of the future. The movie accomplishes two of these three, but loses Kitty Pryde in the process. Now, I don’t see a way to hit all three and work within the movie continuity, but let’s explore some of the problems and options!

X-Men: Days of Future Past, Comics and Movie – A LitFlix

One of the greatest covers in all of comics. Days of Future Past. Uncanny X-Men 141.

There’s plenty that could be said about X-Men:Days of Future Past. That’s why I’ve been highlighting it on our Tumblr this week, and am writing multiple posts about it. Expect another on Friday, focused on Kitty Pryde.

That means the goal for me tonight is simply to focus on our LitFlix style: comparing the movie to the comics. These comics are some of the X-Men’s finest, and come in at an astounding 2 comics. That’s it. For as enduring an idea and a storyline as it was, for as many characters and situations as it opened up, it accomplished an amazing amount in a short amount of time.

The movie goes both bigger than this, and smaller. It’s a time travel story, set both in a dystopian future and what is now decades past. The movie makes the future big, with no holds barred. The past, meanwhile, is pared down to only a few characters, and spends a lot of time going in-depth into their souls. Quick review? Great comics, read them, no question. Great movie, go see it, and enjoy.

Spoilers to follow for both!

All the Mutants! – X-Men: Days of Future Past

After my LitFlix of Amazing Spider-Man 2 yesterday, I wanted a bit of time before writing my next one on X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, I have a lot to say about this movie (well, I had a lot to say about Amazing Spider-Man 2 as well…) and so I am breaking it up into three posts. So consider this my X-Men: Days of Future Past week! I have X-Men related posts queued up all week on our Tumblr as well, so check them out!

Despite having a lot of known characters used again, there were a lot of new characters in the film as well. While they weren’t exactly pivotal to the plot, they were phenomenal additions, given a chance to use their powers, to have great scenes, and made for a really fun summer blockbuster. 

So between these known characters and new ones, there were a number used really well – and a number that weren’t. Here are some of my thoughts on all the mutants! (Spoilers!)