This year has been heavy on movies about the uncertain future. From Oblivion to After Earth, from Star Trek to The Purge, were taking lessons about future living from our most consistent teacher: the movies.
The 5 Best Things About the Future, According to 2013 Movies
You apparently dont have to get sick and die anymore. As Star Trek Into Darkness told us, bio-enhancement technologies have advanced to the point where we can now create humans with magic healing blood. Which is terrific news for the rest of us. Khan may have been a giant thorn in the side of the Enterprise crew, but when the chips were down for Kirk, that magic blood certainly came in handy.
Teamwork is prioritized over individual glory. The most repeated phrase in Oblivion is a question posed to Tom Cruise and Andrea Riseboroughs future aerial surveillance workers: "Are you an effective team?" Similarly, Will and Jaden Smiths father/son duo have to work together to survive their unfamiliar environment. And of course everybody on the Enterprise is an essential member of the teams success (even/especially Scotty!). Glad to see how collaborative our future is!
The air quality is pretty good, actually. At least in Oblivion, the air quality is good enough that Tom Cruise and Andrea Riseborough can live in a condo up in the clouds and then spend their days flying around the planet, keeping an eye on things. So whatever else bad happens to the planet vis-a-vis aliens or whatnot, at least the atmosphere is pretty good ... at least, in the good areas. Some of the planet IS declared uninhabitable. But were looking on the bright side here.
Alien planets are the PRETTIEST. The opening sequence in Star Trek Into Darkness sees the Kirk and McCoy racing around an alien planet, trying to escape pursuing natives. And theyre doing so through a jungle of bright red foliage. It probably has something to do with atmosphere and chlorophyl or something, but whatever it is, these alien planets are utterly gorgeous. If you are a photographer in the future, plan an off-world vacation ASAP.
No more debates about evolution. After Earth says it quite plainly: all the beasts on Earth have evolved in order to be able to kill humans most effectively. That doesnt explain why certain animals have evolved to be blind to everything but human fear, but save those questions for Future Charles Darwin.
The 5 Worst Things About the Future, According to 2013 Movies
Apparently gun control never happened. The good news for Ethan Hawke and his family in The Purge is that they have a whole arsenal of crazy assault weapons with which to defend themselves. The bad news is that everybody else in the world has the same weapons. Oughta keep everybody on their toes!
Global warming has gotten CRAZY. In After Earth, every night, the temperature drops to sub-freezing levels, in the span of like 20 minutes. So if you think the temperatures are at extremes now, just WAIT until Will Smiths vision of the future comes to pass.
We have a whole new form of government. At least according to The Purge, a new governmental regime known as the New Founding Fathers took over and started instituting crazy new programs, like this idea to make all crime legal for one night a year.
You dont ever know who youre dealing with. So apparently, at least according to Oblivion, alien technology is so advanced that there are not only humanoid clones but also computer programs/holograms that stand in for the aliens themselves. So good luck figuring out whether youre talking to a person, a clone, a hologram, or what. Thats a lot of paranoia to deal with.
You should maybe not live in London. This has been happening a lot lately, and not just in future-set movies. Just recently Fast & Furious 6 became the latest movie to bust up London for sport. But in the future universe of Star Trek Into Darkness, London is still the subject of near-constant, very cinematic terror attacks. Maybe just live in the countryside?
--
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
17/07/2025
Early Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate voted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR in a bill that also included cuts for foreign aid. In a 51-48 vote, the act...
17/07/2025
GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions across IBC2025 (12 15 September, RAI Amsterdam) feature a remarkable 34 companies, each providing unique, innovativ...
17/07/2025
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers today introduced its Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group (S...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Despite widespread concerns about a soft advertising market, NBCUniversal said it closed its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle with a record ad sales v...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, ac...
17/07/2025
ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Manage...
17/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following up on his first major policy speech just two ago, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is promising to buck the usual summ...
17/07/2025
Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission.
O...
17/07/2025
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards Twenty-three Berklee alumni received nominations across categories in sound mixing, sound editing, and compositi...
16/07/2025
It's Emmy nominations day, and Sundance Institute storytellers are basking i...
16/07/2025
Spotify's podcast editorial team is always on the hunt for shows and episodes that spark conversation, push boundaries, and keep us coming back for more. As...
16/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/07/2025
Join us at IBC this September and take control of your content. Discover how we're bringing a new level of purpose and precision to the application of AI in...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
16/07/2025
TV SIM, the SBT affiliate serving Esp rito Santo state in Brazil, has launched a transmitter upgrade initiative with the installation of a Rohde & Schwarz R&S T...
16/07/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, is turning its vision to the future of automation with its demonstrations ...
16/07/2025
Ikegami announces a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the introduction of the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera: The new version has the same f...
16/07/2025
Today, Amazon Web Services added TwelveLabs as a new model provider to Amazon Bedrock, delivering what could be the most significant breakthrough in enterprise ...
16/07/2025
NEW YORK Streaming platforms continued to dominate TV viewing patterns in June, with data from Nielsen's 50th monthly report of The Gauge showing that strea...
16/07/2025
MAHWAH, NJ Ikegami has introduced the the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera, a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the same feature set, operatio...
16/07/2025
LONDON IBC2025 organizers said global attendees will have access to a new feature that will integrate Amsterdam's GVB public transport pass into the officia...
16/07/2025
July 16th, 2025
Tribeca Films to Release the Acclaimed LARPing Doc WE CAN BE HEROES by Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons, Alongside a Slate of Festival-Favori...
16/07/2025
Deltatre Acquires Endeavor Streaming in Major Streaming Industry Move The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 By Brandon Costa, Direc...
16/07/2025
SVG Regional Sports Production Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch ...
16/07/2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Sky and ITV today announced an extension of their long-standing partnership, which will see ITV's content and services remain seamle...
16/07/2025
Sky Sports lifts the lid on Lions life with hilarious behind-the-scenes mockumentaryWednesday 16 July 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
16/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year's 77th Emmy Awa...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
15/07/2025
L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
15/07/2025
SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...
15/07/2025
As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...
15/07/2025
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...
15/07/2025
Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...
15/07/2025
Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...
15/07/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...
15/07/2025
IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...
15/07/2025
Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...
15/07/2025
The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...
15/07/2025
SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...
15/07/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...
15/07/2025
Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...
This year has been heavy on movies about the uncertain future. From Oblivion to After Earth, from Star Trek to The Purge, were taking lessons about future living from our most consistent teacher: the movies. 
