A nuclear arsenal near Kiev and an alien president: how 2022 was presented in cinema

A nuclear arsenal near Kiev and a military coup in Ukraine, options for the development of a pandemic and constant fantasies about space exploration. The authors of science fiction films that made predictions for 2022 often contradict each other, but agree that not everything is moving in the right direction. BBC.

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We will tell you how the creators of science fiction saw 2022.

Soylent Green, 1973

Civilization is close to collapse. Serviceable equipment is not enough. Only the boss has a watch, so subordinates meet all claims of being late with jokes. Book printing has long ceased due to lack of paper and information is searched for in library rarities.

There is no need to rely on electricity, so an exercise bike is installed in the hero's apartment, with which he recharges the batteries in order to have at least some kind of light. But some television is still working.

However, the main thing is the catastrophic state of the environment and, as a result, the lack of food. Vegetables, not to mention meat, are a valuable scarcity that a simple policeman can only steal from a murdered rich man's apartment.

The main diet - energy concentrates from soybeans, plankton and something else unknown.

The policeman in the film was played by Charlton Geston, he is one of 40 million New Yorkers. The population predicted by the filmmakers is nearly five times the real number today.

The main occupation of the police in 2022 is to contain street protests. But the hero, despite pressure from the leadership, persistently investigates the murder, which leads him to reveal a terrible secret that politicians hide.

Time Runner, 1992

Several American films from the early 90s, such as “The Dark Side of the Moon” and “Guest from Outer Space,” predict sufficient progress in space research by 2022.

But in the Canadian film The Time Runner, the space program is artificially slowed down. Therefore, alien invaders begin to invade Earth with impunity.

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The last hope in the fight against aliens turns out to be 11 nuclear missiles that were found in Ukraine, not far from Kyiv - “the damned scoundrels hid them from us all this time.”

It is noteworthy that the tape was filmed in 1992, shortly after the collapse of the USSR, when the United States was especially afraid of new nuclear states.

Another curious coincidence that the famous fortuneteller Wanga said that in 2022 aliens would invade the planet, sending an asteroid in search of life on Earth... According to Vanga, everything will end badly for earthlings.

However, in the film, the Ukrainian arsenal will already come in handy in the fight against a larger enemy.

In the tape, all countries are united under the leadership of the World President, however, several missiles continue to hide under Kiev. And it is not unreasonable that the new leader himself turns out to be an alien and stops funding all defense programs that can prevent an alien invasion.

The film's abandonment of the space defense campaign coincides with the actual US presidential election and the decline in support for the program known as Star Wars, which was launched by Ronald Reagan in opposition to the Soviet Union.

Escape is impossible \ No Escape, 1994

The prisons of the future came under the private control of corporations and began to be used for profit. Corporations are not required to report to the public, so some educational activities are kept under wraps.

Particularly recalcitrant criminals are sent to an isolated island where they live out the rest of their lives as they please. This method of confinement is similar to the walled prison city in the classic film Escape from New York (1981). And on the island itself, life resembles the usual stories about “new barbarians” according to the tradition from “Mad Max” (1979).

Since the main action takes place on a prison island, little can be said about the achievements of the outside world for 2022, except that corporations are actively using computers and helicopters.

But the inhabitants of the island master all technologies from the basics: “there are no antibiotics here, so the slightest infection can kill you,” “I always wanted to read the book “Basket Weaving. Creative solutions."

The prisoner played by Ray Lyota, once on the island, joins more or less peaceful criminals who are trying to rebuild civilized life and defend themselves against the attacks of savage gangs.

However, the main goal is to escape from the island and tell people about the inhumane methods of corporations, publicity must stop them.

The Purge, 2013

The tape gives unexpectedly optimistic forecasts for 2022. Unemployment in the US is less than one percent. Crime is at an all-time low, violence is almost non-existent... with one exception - the so-called Judgment Night, when for 12 hours all crimes, including murder, are permitted and not punished by law.

Ethan Goak plays a security systems salesman whose business has been doing well since the beginning of Judgment Nights. The rich turn their homes into fortresses, and the poor become prime victims of state-regulated violence.

The hero Gouk, whose family will soon be forced to defend themselves from attacks, does not join in the bloodshed, but supports it: “This night allows people to free themselves from all the hatred, cruelty and aggression that they hold within themselves.”

Someone is hunting for a hated boss, a teenager is going to kill the father of his beloved, who does not allow them to meet, and neighbors come to the house of those whom they suspected of superiority.

The film is a radical and action-packed critique of “simple solutions” from populist politicians.

The next films in the series also continue to respond to the political situation in the United States.

Thus, The Purge: Election Year (2016) depicts the political confrontation between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, while The Purge: The Beginning (2018) suggests the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In short \ Downsizing, 2017

It may seem that the film also deals with a simple solution to complex and almost all problems at once, but it was preceded by a great scientific breakthrough. If there are a lot of people and not everyone has enough material wealth, you need to reduce the size of people!

In 2022, a scientist goes to a presentation with a small bag and says that this is the garbage of 36 reduced people in four years. The researchers conducted a successful experiment and are now inviting everyone to change their size.

Even a small abundance will allow you to meet the needs for food until the end of your life, a bottle of alcohol will last for several years, and you can make knightly armor from a gold ring if you are 10 centimeters tall.

Thus, the issue of overpopulation of the planet is being resolved. All industries will reduce production, which will reduce carbon emissions. The planet will breathe a sigh of relief if people are smaller.

The main part of the action takes place ten years after the beginning of the program. Among the acquaintances, more and more people are satisfied with their new size and the main character played by Matt Damon decides on a still unusual procedure.

However, Damon's wife refuses to shrink at the last moment, and after the procedure, their marriage falls apart. The hero goes to the newly created commune of the Lilliputians, where he tries to enjoy life.

However, it turns out that shrinking does not solve all the problems.

Years and Years, 2019

Each episode of this British TV series provides an overview of the main news of the near future.

In 2022, the authors predict the death of Queen Elizabeth, and in Ukraine there will be a military coup, which the authors tactlessly illustrate with the footage of the Revolution of Dignity. And behind it - the Russian occupation and a wave of migration from Ukraine to Europe.

However, some of the series' predictions have not come true - in particular, Donald Trump did not become the President of the United States for the second time.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

But the show's main prediction and warning remains relevant to humanity. The authors warn against political populism and the danger of rapid degradation to totalitarianism.
The series begins with the line: “I don’t understand this world anymore.” But it ends with the conviction that everything can be changed for the better if you see and admit the problems.

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