One of the most fascinating aspects of science fiction is that it can present us with paradisiacal futures, or true hells on Earth. Some works add a dose of mystery by ignoring the calendar completely, but others share almost immediately a year, a temporal reference that lets us project forward. Art director Dan Méth publishes on his official page a series of charts focused on pop culture, and among them appears a timeline with some of the most important sci-fi works of recent times.
2001 shows us humanity transformed into a spacefaring civilization, with frequent flights to the Moon and fabulous orbital stations. But in 2019 we have Blade Runner, which mentions colonies built using artificial slaves without rights or protections (because technically they are not human). If that sounds bad… Soylent Green takes us to 2022, a year in which we eat people processed as wafers.
A year, one story. Explorers, warriors, scientists, tyrants, accomplices, servants, and liberators. Science fiction has it all, and art director Dan Méth decided to take advantage of that detail to create a very special timeline. Some of the examples that appear there are well documented, but it's very likely you'll find one or two surprises…
A Year, One Movie: A Sci-Fi Timeline
For example, the timeline mentions that A Clockwork Orange takes place in 1995 (or later), perhaps referencing the car Durango 95 (M-505 Adams Brothers Probe 16 in real life). However, other sources suggest the film is actually set in 1980, a not-too-distant future. It also mentions RoboCop as a story in 2015: that's just one of four possible years, but Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner (the writers of the original screenplay) never confirmed any.
Now, where are we? At the moment, between Soylent Green (a world with overpopulation) and Children of Men (a world without births). On one hand, Charlton Heston delivers a new dramatic ending (after The Planet of the Apes, obviously), and on the other, Alfonso Cuarón and Clive Owen made a solid adaptation of the original story. Beyond some typos and the occasional unconfirmed date, I think the timeline is pretty good, but if you spot an error, leave a comment!
Official site: Click here
