Futurists are Obsessed with Control Centers (1960)

Whether we watch classic science fiction movies or reviewing future visions from the past, there is one common theme that some people d...

Whether we watch classic science fiction movies or reviewing future visions from the past, there is one common theme that some people don't realize - our fascination with an all-seeing control center that oversee every aspect of human life in the future.

The advancement of human technology has made us obsessive-compulsive on total control so that we can see a future where someone is monitoring us on what we do and anticipate on what we intend to do so that we can envision a world that will be constantly under surveillance and all actions are weighed and analyzed down to the last detail. Actually, we are living that dystopian world right now!

For our own nostalgia, there are a plenty of vintage control panel with all the buttons, dials, toggles and lights to look at. During the height of analog technologies, every form of function has its own physical control system of some sorts.

Although some of us may say that physical buttons are now passe and we are now used to touchscreen and voice control technologies, there is still the allure of the big, chunky, tempting red buttons we see in the control panels of the USS Enterprise of "Star Trek." Interestingly, many of these make-believe control panels don't have labels on it and you may wonder if you have pushed the self-destruct button or not!

In "Star Wars: A New Hope," the X-Wing's control panels will remind you of classic Atari video games with the analog display panel showing the Death Star's profile. During the time before computer graphics imagery, such aiming system is already hi-tech.

Nowadays, control panels don't cover much of the cockpit's dashboard but during analog days, the Nostromo spaceship from the first "Alien" movie has that type of system in place. Although it has 1980's computer technology, it doesn't necessarily feel dated. The dark and dingy look of the control system makes it look futuristic without being too obsolete or anachronistic.

In the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy," the spaceship appropriately called Heart of Gold has a very vintage interior that somewhat resembles classic home appliances with its wood panel and aluminum inlays. Big buttons and vector display reminds us of the classic world of tomorrow concept videos of the 1960s.