Hacker Cinema
The Spirit of '76
1990 · Film · 82 min
Directed by Lucas Reiner
Future Americans decide to time travel to 1776 to ask the founding fathers for the solutions to their problems. A glitch in the time machine changes their destination to 1976. Still believing themselves to be in 1776, the time travellers attempt to study this "ideal" civilization. 70's jokes, props and stars abound.
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2 comments on Hacker News
Thank you for this, I did not know about Syd Mead, but just flipping through the images on that page it's clear how influential he was. Wikipedia lists pretty much exactly the associations I made:
> Mead worked with major studios on the feature films: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Blade Runner, Tron, 2010, Short Circuit, Aliens, The Spirit of '76, Timecop, Johnny Mnemonic, Mission: Impossible III, Elysium, Tomorrowland and Blade Runner 2049. George Lucas created the AT-AT for his Star Wars saga based on art by Mead.
This is in no way to diminish his work, but the impression I got (and that I'm trying to confirm/debunk, given the wikipedia article doesn't really address this) is that his art really transposes the society of its time into the future. That is, he almost exclusively addresses the technological advancement, while keeping the societal structures largely intact. For example, that's why the retrofitted houses give the impression of still being inhabited largely by working class people, while the ski resort and leisure time imagery with the sports cars still seems to be a luxury only few can afford even in the future. I don't see signs of "fully automated luxury space communism" there.
This may be me projecting though, hence the question if this is correct. And again, this is not to take away from his work. They are stunning. :)
One time in the 80s I took a date to a sushi place in Santa Monica. We ate, talked, had a nice time. When I went to pay, David Byrne was sitting right by the cash register. I'm sure he saw that I recognized him when we locked eyes very briefly, but I didn't bother him, just paid and left. (My date didn't recognize him -- so no second date.)
My theory is, why bother people just because they're famous? Unless they're looking for it, which is why I had a nice conversation with Moon Unit Zappa on Broadway in Seattle at the 76 station, where she was camped out promoting her movie The Spirit of '76.