Domotic drama
F
POP CULTURE CORNER
rom humanoid helpers to interactive
was a tablet device that let them make their
wife, Mildred, who embodies the current
media, household robotics has been
media and chat features mobile. They also
state of affairs, constantly drowning out her
a mainstay of science fiction and fu-
had a robotic vacuum cleaner.
own thoughts through wall-sized televisions
turistic pop culture. Though depicted in a variety of ways, there is one common theme running through the few TV shows, movies and books the Mission Critical staff chose here: People really need a robot to get them out of bed and make them coffee and breakfast in the morning. Robot makers,
Named the 14th best robot of all time by
and pill popping.
pop culture magazine Paste in a 2011 poll,
A common scene to anyone walking down
Rosie, the Jetsons’ housekeeper robot, re-
the street in a city, Mildred usually drowns
mains one of the most popular depictions
out Guy by keeping a Seashell radio ear-
of how robots could be fully integrated with
piece in her ear, much like modern ear
families in the future.
buds or Bluetooth headsets.
take note.
When Mildred eventually overdoses on
“The Jetsons” actually predicted quite a few technologies that are standard home features now. They watched television on flatscreens and used a video chat feature, a lot like Skype, to communicate. A few episodes depicted a “TeleViewer,” which was a tablet device that let them make their media and chat features mobile. They also had a robotic vacuum cleaner.
‘The Jetsons’
‘Wall-E’
Perhaps the most relevant pop culture imag-
Relegated to a spaceship after abandoning
ining of what future living could look like
a trash-covered Earth in 2085, the humans
was embodied in the characters and gad-
in the Pixar movie Wall-E live on a smart
gets in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, “The
ship full of creature comforts.
Jetsons.”
Due to lack of gravity combined with severe
Originally released in 1962, “The Jetsons”
bone loss, all humans turn into morbidly
depicts typical family life in 2062 with high
obese couch potatoes thanks to their per-
tech home features that often go awry. Each
sonal hover chairs that keep them constant-
day, George Jetson, the father figure, gets
ly occupied with video chats and the latest
ready for work by moving through a con-
“cupcake-in-a-cup” trend as nourishment.
veyor belt system that showers, dresses and brushes his teeth for him, and Jane Jetson, the mom, can create breakfast at a push of a button.
sleeping pills, an automated blood transfusion machine filters in new blood to keep her alive. Other automated features of Guy’s house include a spider-like hand that autonomously makes toast dripping with melted butter. Guy finds a confidante in Faber, a former English professor that is against the totalitarian state but is too fearful to act against it. In one scene, Faber reveals to Guy a small tablet television device that he occasionally watches instead of the popular wall-to-wall
‘Fahrenheit 451’
TVs.
A book about a dystopian anti-intellectual
“I always wanted something very small,
future, society has abandoned — and has
something I could talk to, something I could blot out with the palm of my hand if neces-
“The Jetsons” actually predicted quite a
started burning — literature and instead fo-
few technologies that are standard home
cuses on mind-numbing non-stop electronic
features now. They watched television on
entertainment. Hmm … sounds familiar.
shout me down, nothing monstrous big.”
Guy Montag, the novel’s protagonist, is a
Ironic to say the least, Universal Pictures
flatscreens and used a video chat feature, a lot like Skype, to communicate. A few episodes depicted a “TeleViewer,” which
40
Mission Critical
•
Fall 2011
firefighter, and thus a book burner, who is starting to question his way of life. It’s his
sary,” he says to Guy. “Nothing that could
made a movie of the book 15 years after its release, and in 1986 it was turned into a video game.