The Future, According to Cinema of the Past

Science fiction film sets, alien props and flying cars are now on view at the German Cinema Museum for Film & TV in Berlin as part of Things to Come, an exhibition which looks at science fiction films and their visions of the future.

On view until April 23 in 2017, the show is co-curated by Kristina Jaspers, Nils Warnecke and Geraldine Waz, who draw a parallel between the film and TV screens and reality.

"Sometimes we get the impression that we are living in a science fiction movie because a lot of technology is so futuristic," said Jaspers. "We were interested in this correlation between film and reality."

Some films are strikingly similar to reality, like in Avatar, a 2009 film which shows how humans colonize the planet of Pandora. Or Children of Men, a film based on a book written by P.D. James in 1992, which looks at how refugees are treated by oppressive immigration laws in 2027.

The three-floor exhibition is divided into three sections, the first being "Space," which looks at how outer space is portrayed in science fiction films like Solaris, Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Alongside the mock up spaceship deck and sleeping chamber, there are film costumes on view, like Jane Fonda's Barbarella costume from 1968 and a millennium falcon costume from the 1977 space opera, Star Wars: A New Hope.

The second floor, "Society of the Future," looks at how our surveillance-driven future could get out of hand with futuristic news broadcasts about natural disasters and terrifying post-apocalyptic scenes. There is a futuristic set painting of Los Angeles from the 2013 film Elysium alongside a handheld computer from Minority Report from 2002. There is also a model of a flying taxi used in The Fifth Element from 1997. This show suggests where we are at now with robots could be a small step away from actually having flying cars on the streets.

The third floor is devoted to a section called "The Other," which looks at aliens and extraterrestrials being closer than we imagine. The museum managed to get a variety of aliens loaned from films like Enemy Mine, Aliens and Independence Day, which are shown alongside space station. There is also a white Pan Am stewardess costume from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The goal of the show was twofold, said Jasper. "The exhibition sets out to be a source of entertainment and reflection," she said. "The exhibition design refers to different scenes of a science fiction film and is shown with installations displaying awe-inspiring images and special effects which relate the science fiction genre to our present time."

Several films and TV shows have already predicted the present, as Metropolis from 1927 had videophones like today's Skype and flying objects that could be seen as drones, while 2001: A Space Odyssey featured tablet computers similar to the iPad.

"Star Trek anticipated mobile telephones, holographic space and body scanners," said Jasper. "Plasma displays, swipe touchscreen navigation and 3D image aesthetics were used in films like The Matrix and Minority Report before this technology conquered consumer markets."

With this obsession of predicting the future, what will our current world look like in 2025? Jasper says the films of the past may have already predicted it, specifically three features made in 2013.

"Will we live in a two-class society where the majority can no longer afford proper medical care, like in Elysium," she said. "What political measures will be taken to confront possible viruses and epidemics in a globalized world, like in World War Z? And do humans master technology or does technology master humans, like in Oblivion?"

From touch screen watches and futuristic wearables, our technology-driven culture could suggests that science fiction films tap into a kind of elaborate marketing for products that don't exist yet. "Science fiction looks into all technological developments for daily life, from futuristic refrigerators to brightly-colored nutritional drinks, wristwatch computers and glasses that allow us to see through walls," said Jasper. "Science fiction films are creating 'objects of desire' that everyone wants to get."