Thursday, December 06, 2007

1967 looking into the future...



This is the first time I've seen this. Snopes tells me that this video is true, not fake. It was filmed in 1967. It anticipates shopping from a home computer, online bill paying and e-mail. Snopes points out something else obvious, but worth saying:

The video exemplifies the common flaw of anticipating technological changes but not societal changes -- the daily life it depicts is firmly rooted in the mid-20th century American model of women as stay-at-home child rearers and shoppers, and men as breadwinners and heads of household. Apparently women in 1999 still wouldn't be up to handling tasks such as banking, bill-paying and tax preparation, even with the help of electronic devices.

Thoughts?

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5 comments:

Unknown said...

i really like the voice of the announcer.

Lachlan Payne said...

I love the furrowed brow and troubled look of the husband upon receipt of the wife's bills.

And they certainly didn't anticipate wireless.

Anonymous said...

Very insightful comments. I like it a lot. Apparently (American) men in 60's were more content with their social role and their superior intelligence level than with the technologies available at that time.

Jenny said...

Wow! What a great video clip.
The male/female roles are rathering disturbing however.

sam said...

i think its quite funny the way he shakes his head in dismay when he sees all the things his wife has been buying!! In our family i am the one who is careless with money... i think my wife is more likely to shake her head at my latest e-bay purchase.