Changing Sexual Mores

“I had sex with my brother but I don’t feel guilty”

Our society’s opinion on different sexual behaviors has changed drastically over the last few decades. For example, before the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, having pre-marital sex with multiple partners was considered a serious moral faux pas. Now this idea is not only acceptable, but popularized in TV shows such as Sex in the City among others. Homosexuality is another topic upon which American opinion has changed; once widely viewed with disapproval, the homosexual lifestyle is now accepted by a larger portion of our society. A few futuristic writers have chosen to discuss sexual attitudes in their books, including Aldous Huxley in his book Brave New World. Huxley describes a society that encourages casual, emotionless sex even among children. While the vast majority of us would all agree that five-year olds having sex is wrong, the book still makes us think about future sexual mores.

The article I am posting is one I found online this summer. I thought it would be nice to write about the social changes of the future as opposed to the technological ones. In this article a woman describes her former incestuous relationship with her brother and begs the readers for acceptance. She states that her relationship was loving and devoid of abuse; therefore, people should not look upon her behavior with repugnance. This article along with the comments directly following it show a degree of acceptance that make me question if incest will one day be tolerated in the American future.

Television, Gentrification and the American City

So, I was just on the internet [finally] and looking up future sort of things and decided to Google: Gentrification of the American inner-city [just because I felt like it], and found FlowTV which is a "critical forum on television and media culture published by the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of Texas at Austin." Random, right? I did not know such a forum existed.

But the main purpose of this post is to share a blog posted by a Tim Gibson guy from George Mason University and his peculiar observation on Television, Gentrification and the American City all culminating from a cast photo promoting Grey's Anatomy.

In brief, this Gibson guy analyzes the course of sitcoms based in the city, from the Reagan era to present, and how the views of the city and its inhabitants--also (or formerly as you'll see from the article) known as the inner-city poor have changed (positively?) over the past two decades to what they are now. Citing shows such as Sex in the City, Friends and even MTV's: The Real World, Gibson claims that such shows attempt to glamorize inner city living and give shape and example to city developers to make cities into real life sets mocking the look and life in these shows to make way for young professionals and move out the un-fabulous natives (inner-city poor).

Overall, I see this blog as a strong view of the future of the American inner city and can even relate it to Houston, or better yet the East End of Houston where I am from and of which is undergoing a slow, subtle gentrification, outwardly seen as a face-lift or “revitalization of a historic neighborhood.”

Radio-powered...everything?

The picture above is a vision of future life from 1922. It depicts an average day in the life of a business man 50 years into the future. The emerging technology of the 1920's was the radio and it is apparent that people believed the radio would be the answer to everything by the year of 1972. The items in the illustration are all powered by the radio and looking at how technology is now, I find it very humorous to know that this is how people many years ago envisioned what the future would be like. These days if someone suggested anything be powered by radio, it would seem pretty ridiculous. The idea of "radio controlled airplanes" and "radio power roller skates" is very laughable today but people back then were amazed at the possibility of these things. I found the "television and automatic radiophone" particularly interesting because the man in the picture is able to operate his "radio business controller" and communicate with his family at the same time. Someone mentioned in class that many of these visions of the future show convenience in every day life and I think this illustrates that idea very well. People in the past envisioned their lives being much more simple with the advancement of technology. Life today is much easier with all the resources available to us but just not in the way they imagined it.


http://www.lessons-from-history.com/Level%202/Visions%20from%20the%20Past.html

This is a link to a larger view of the picture since the larger one would not fit on the page

Disney's Carousel of Progress

Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress was introduced at the 1964 world’s fair held in New York City. The ride begins at the turn of the 20th century. The attraction features the average American family and how they lived during different time periods in history. It shows the progress of electricity and technology through several generations. Each generation considers their time period to be the most advanced and they can’t imagine it getting any better. The Carousel of Progress was considered Walt’s favorite attraction because he loved the idea of progress and how through advances in technology we could better ourselves as a society. This is an example of a utopian-like society where innovations lead to the improvement of mankind.

I AM LEGEND

The film I Am Legend, based off the 1954 novel by Richard Matheson of the same name, envisions an apocalyptic future in which humanity has caused its downfall by becoming too inquisitive and eager to use technology to solve its problems, a theme found in many novels and films which depict portentous visions of the future. In the film, scientists had been conducting research into fighting cancer with viruses. Predictably, the virus gets loose and eventually either kills or mutates the entire global population into vampire-like creatures. The once bustling streets of Manhattan are now desolate ruins, overrun by rampant flora and fauna, a solemn monument to humanity. The protagonist, Robert Neville (played by Will Smith), is a former solider from whose blood the virus was created, is the sole survivor, and the last human on earth. He divides his time between waiting hopelessly for human contact and attempting to use the same technology that created the monsters to try and develop a cure. I Am Legend  warns us that even the best laid plans can always go awry, no matter how smart we think we are, or how technologically advanced we may become in the future. We must be careful and judicious in our actions and consider all possible outcomes and ramifications.