Seven months into 2012, so shouldn’t we all be traveling around in flying cars by now? That was the prediction in the Jetsons cartoon tv show. Set in 2062 the futuristic series – first produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1962 – depicts life 50 years from today. 2012 is the halfway point, so we’ve still got some time before we are all “flying” our cars. But many other technology advances from the Jetsons are already with us. Just have a look at this fabulous skyline from the city of Dubai…
Dubai Metro July 2012: NIKON D3000 f/4; Exposure 1/3200sec; ISO-400
The Jetsons represented a happy optimism of technology and the future, neither utopian nor dystopian; just circuitry and solar cells at their best (but of course still malfunctioning, same as today, and irritating all but the youngest of family members.)
The Jetsons
Lets now ponder the vision of the creators of The Jetsons: television was still partly black and white. It was the first program to be broadcast by ABC in colour. No personal computers, no mobile devises, and of course, no Internet. But the predictions of a very Jetsons future are here, now. Just cast your eyes once more at this image of the city of Dubai, taken from the moving carriage-way thrust high in the air: modern architecture combined with modern technology. What a way to fly through the future.
