We’re finally here, the year 2015! After a quarter century we’ve finally reached the age of Mattel™ hover boards and Mr. Fushion powered flying cars.
Thank you, Science! Thank you, Zemeckis!
Okay, so maybe anti-gravity and cold fusion was a bit ambitious. The far-off tech of Back to the Future II is sadly nowhere to be found in this year of our Lord. What do we have in our tomorrow world of today? Lots of gadgets that make Star Trek feel a far more accurate indicator of trending tech. With as much as Steve Jobs watched the show, this might have been more self-fulfilling prophecy than prediction.
The endless marketing and manufacture of iPhones and Androids represent a selfish, material side of civilization. On the other hand, these devices have helped chip away at the corporate media monopoly over information. Time was, having the latest tech fix was the premiere selling point. Now, just the idea of staying connected minute by minute to ongoing events and your comrades engaged in them – this has become advertisers’ main focus.
The America Dream of suburban life was marketed as quite the opposite. The nuclear family was all about getting away from the dirt and diversity of urban life. Generations later, branded isolationism has magnified self-obsession and violent school-shooter types like no other nation on earth. Long dead is the Dream, and the first generation to grow up on the internet is well aware of this fact.