Futuristic Sci- Fi Movie Concepts That Could Actually Happen. While star Matt Damon and writer/director Neill Blomkamp have been repeatedly stating that there is no inherent social message to their new futuristic thriller “Elysium” (review here), it’s something of a dubious claim. There are a number of real- life social and political parallels that you can draw between burnt out future of “Elysium” and the slightly less charred world we live in today (everything from the Occupy movement to Blackwater’s involvement in American military actions in the Middle East).

And if it isn’t a social commentary (as the filmmakers claim), at the very least, it is a work of extraordinarily vivid speculative science fiction, one in which Los Angeles looks like an unruly Mexico City (where they shot the film) and robots hassle you on your way to work. It’s enough for us to start wondering which of the concepts trotted out in “Elysium” (and there were a bunch) have the possibility of actually coming true. If “Elysium” isn’t a social movie now, it might be a crystal ball instead. Science fiction has always been a genre to deal in the tantalizing possibilities of what if…? And along with more obvious, whimsical flights of fancy (there’s probably not going to be a device that instantly zaps you to Mars, at least anytime soon), there are genuine attempts at capturing what life will be like in the not- too- distant future. Sometimes these events come about as a fortuitous combination of luck and happenstance, but sometimes the filmmakers use their collective imagination to really take a stab at where we could be headed.

We’ve collected ten instances of futuristic sci- fi concepts featured in sci- fi films that could actually come true, with real world evidence to back these claims up. After all, weren’t 3. D printers and cell phones, both originally used in “Star Trek,” as examples of far out speculation? Elysium” (2. 01. 3)Viable Element: A sustained orbital space station that is like the Hamptons in space. Why? In the future world of “Elysium,”Eearth has become a ruinous wasteland, full of overpopulation, crime, poverty, pollution and unhelpful droids that look nothing like Daft Punk. The establishment (the 1%- ers of the year 2. Elysium, a wreath- shaped space station that houses the cultural, political, and social elite.

The economics of Elysium are never broken down, but there is constant reference to the price of a ticket. There are undoubtedly more costs once you reach the station.) Everything is clean on Elysium and seemingly important decisions about the burnt out planet it orbits are made on this station, since it seems like the president and all other important political officers are located here. It’s filled with nifty gizmos like a medical pod that eliminates cancer cells and can regrow damaged organs, bones, and facial hair. Plus, everything that doesn’t look like the Hamptons in space has a cool Death Star- as- designed- by- Ikea vibe.

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Chances Of Actually Happening: While a clear divide between rich and poor seems like something more metaphorically rich than hypothetically possible, physicist Stephen Hawking, who is probably the smartest man on the planet, said recently that sustainable space station life could be the key to mankind’s survival. Glad to know everyone thinks we’re fucked.) Hawking said, somewhat ominously, “Our only chance of long- term survival is not to remain lurking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space.” And with several space stations already in orbit, it’s not inconceivable that that an ambitious sort will attempt to tackle something much more sustainable and long term.“The Matrix” (1. TRON” (1. 98. 2)Viable Element: Living in a computer program. Why? In the case of “The Matrix,” the robots have won, and encased humanity in electricity- generating pods for their own survival. If humans knew they were pod- locked, however, they would freak out and die, so the robots have created The Matrix, a wholly immersive computer- generated reality that encourages the wearing of lots of patent leather and oversized sunglasses.

Available on television digi-networks and online at CometTV.com, COMET offers something for everyone and has an incredible array of movies that you simply can’t get. Honorable mentions: There is still plenty more to mine from the decade, but there’s only so much time to dig into it all. Futureworld,” the sequel to. Viable Element: A sustained orbital space station that is like the Hamptons in space. Watch Still Mine Full Movie. Why? In the future world of “Elysium,”Eearth has become a ruinous wasteland.

A handful of freedom fighters have found out the truth and become Luddite terrorists, violently rebelling against the system.) With “TRON,” the creator of a popular videogame has gone one step further and made an entire world, one that humans can seemingly enter. Instead of cool kung fu influences and anime references, the “TRON”- scape feels a lot more like it was made by dudes who played a whole lot of Dungeons & Dragons. There have been countless, lesser movies based around a similar concepts and concerns, but few have had the cultural relevance or immersive power that these two have demonstrated.)Chances Of Actually Happening: Depending on who you talk to, it’s already here. Immersive videogames are a thing of the present, with entire worlds and personalities formed online.

And we’re not just talking about things like the increasingly sophisticated worlds of “World of Warcraft” or the equally addictive (but far cuddlier) “Animal Crossing” games that take up whole days of your life and force you to ignore basic tenets of personal hygiene. Isn’t the entire social media sphere also something of a virtual reality existence? TRON” showed prescience but its conceit is more outwardly “magical” than “The Matrix.”) In the original “Matrix,” there’s a reference that the black leather dusters and sunglasses are “the mental projection of your digital self,” which is more or less what we do every time we select an avatar, Facebook photo or Instagram pic that we want to represent us to the world, which is quickly blurring into The Matrix, but by our own bidding, not the machines’. We just need the sunglasses to go with it.“Robo. Cop” (1. 98. 7)Viable Element: The corporatization of an entire city. Why? While “Robo. Cop” is most well known for its depiction of a half- human/half- robot crime fighter, the corporate takeover of an entire U.

S. city is the one that seems most oddly prescient. A futuristic Detroit, on the brink of economic and societal ruin (thanks to drugs, guns, and gangs), is seemingly “saved” by Omni Consumer Productions. They operate the entire city, including installing a privatized police force that gives birth to the Robo. Cop program, less a cutting edge program than a synergistic combination of the research and development and public relations departments. In the new Detroit, dubbed Delta City by OCP, crime will be a thing of the past and you will be able to sustain your citizenship by purchasing corporate stock options. Or, according to OCP exec Dick Jones (a wonderfully slimey Ronny Cox): “Good business is where you find it. Chances Of Actually Happening: One of the more shocking aspects about “Robo.

Cop” is how it pinpointed the exact city that would fall into the kind of disrepair that would attract some evil multinational: very recently Detroit declared that it was officially bankrupt, which is kind of a horrifying thought for a number of reasons. And while a corporation has yet to totally consume an entire city, they have tried (sort of). Let’s not forget Celebration, Florida, the “planned community” that, for a while at least, was mostly owned and operated by the Walt Disney Corporation. In fact, Celebration was a small scale attempt at bringing one of Walt Disney‘s grandest, kookiest ideas to life: EPCOT, which in his mind wasn’t a scientifically- slanted theme park but an entire city, with an airport and residences, housed underneath a large glassy dome that could be weather controlled. According to Neal Gabler‘s definitive biography, as Walt laid dying in his hospital room, he would look at the tiles on the ceiling and map out his futuristic city. Maybe one day his dream will come to life, with a corporation behind it that’s not so sunny. “Back to the Future, Part II” (1.

Viable element: Flying cars. Why? Flying cars (or car- like vehicles) have been a staple of science fiction for as long as the genre has existed.