There has been much discussion on how the advancement of technology is bringing new ideas to the big screen. Technology such as the memory wiping device in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the seductive AI computer interface of the movie Her, and the Exoskeletons used by Matt Damon in Neill Blomkampf’s Elysium have been discussed at length. All the way back to Marty McFly’s Hoverboards and Kung-Fu uploads directly to the brain, courtesy of The Matrix, every since moving images were projected technology has been at the forefront of our greatest cinematic endeavours.
The advent of mobile phones was an advancement which had to be factored in to almost every contemporary horror film made in the last ten years. (The lack of a solid mobile phone signal comes to the rescue is an obvious answer). Alternatively shows such as Electric Dreams and, more prominently, Black Mirror show us a world perhaps too reliant on technology and every ounce of trust we’ve put in these machines is turned against us as everything goes proper Skynet.
The spiraling, multi-layered cities of Metropolis, a film whose Maschinenmensch gave us the first popular movie robot and Méliès’ Trip to the Moon were early indicators of the technological advances predicted by the early pioneers of cinema. We still look forward; with current technology such as nanobots, gene-splicing and VR-inspired visual interfaces part and parcel of horror and sci-fi films. An intriguing offshoot of this technology viewpoint is imagining how classic movies would have been affected had today’s technology been available then.
Take a look at the whole list right here, it’s an excellent way to spend your time and it may get you thinking about other movies that would be over in seconds if a character had a mobile or laptop at their disposal.