In thinking back to how many technological and non-technological advancements my grandparents experienced in their lifetimes, I have to say that I feel privileged to be living in the times we are, in technology's infancy. Yes, I can still remember when television (TV) was only in black and white. What I call, BC (before color).
In my life time this technology has morphed into a very exciting industry, with possibilities we only imagined while we watched TV shows such as the Jetsons and Star Trek, I'm really looking forward to being beamed up by Scotty before I die, actually.
The Jetsons was a great cartoon show back in the 1960s that invented all these futuristic contraptions that are now being invented and coming into our lives. Sorry Tim Cook., but, it really wasn't you or Steve Jobs who invented your Apple Watch, and I can't wait until Elon Musk invents the electric flying car, too! Thanks, George Jetson!... "WHAAAaaaa!?!?!?!" Yep! That's right! That George Jetson, of the 1962 cartoon, The Jetsons.
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| The Jetson's Watch vs. The Apple Watch |
I know this all sounds really silly and very funny, but many of us who grew up in this era actually envisioned living in a future world that was just like in The Jetsons cartoon. These characters lived in a world of flying automobiles, flat screen televisions that also acted as telephones, video call TV watches, and that doesn't include half of the modern conveniences that still are being influenced and designed today to emulate they very once popular TV cartoon that captured millions of imaginations, as in the featured video below "The Jetsons Future of Technology" (Usborne, 2012).
I just could not start speaking about how much audiences have changed, without mentioning the obvious catalyst of most all of our current modern technological conveniences. The basic ideas that we cannot live without today were born out of the imagination of a cartoonist and not Steve Jobs, necessarily. I mean, the guy's a genius and visionary, but, come on, Steve, were close to the same age and I know you watched The Jetsons, too, and well, so it goes...
The irony is that so much influence, design and technological ideas came out of a show that only created 24 original episodes (before they merged with the Flintstones episodes). Ok, so, the modern family of the 1960s hangs out with the most famous prehistoric family of the same decade, even sillier and funnier, but, if you notice the prehistoric conveniences in the Flintstones and you were perceptive enough, you would recognize the parallel between the 20th Century Industrial Revolution (non) technology of The Flintstones and the 21st Century Technological Revolution of the Jetsons.
An accident? I think not. I think those cartoonists were smarter than we gave them credit for, because the cartoons themselves got us very excited about things that weren't even going to be invented yet and became the bridge between the impending futuristic changes that we were quickly headed towards, but were unaware of back then.
Subconsciously, these traditionally Saturday morning cartoons were preparing us to accept the coming changes and to desire them, as well. Imagine that. A television cartoon ultimately influenced how we watch television now in the 21st Century. Who knew that we would have live streaming on-demand broadcast television shows and news on our smart phones, that are essentially small television phones. I know I'm not only amazed, but also grateful for new technology, because I no longer have to run home to watch TV anymore (Usborne, 2012).
What The Jetsons also introduced and also influenced audiences viewership was a vision of futuristic possibilities to look forward to. I mean, who wouldn't want someone to invent a color television. Done. Or a smaller lighter TV? Done. Or to invent a way for us to see each other while talking a the phone? Done.
These concepts and ideas were way ahead of their time over 50 years ago and we're still getting a lot of mileage out of the futuristic ideas, and what's better is that we're living to tell the tale, just like my grandparents would marvel all the modernization that they lived through.
OMG! Now I don't ever want to die, for fear I miss out on the next greatest invention... -and THAT is how technology has changed audiences, by the way they keep creating all the great stuff we knew would someday be invented, because television shows predicted they would be someday. I still want to live long enough to be beamed up, though! While I watch my shows on my new nifty Apple Ring! "Hey! ...-it could happen!"
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| "Beam Me Up, Scotty!" |
Usborne, S. (2012). Back to the future: Why The Jetsons is the most influential TV show of
the 20th century. Retrieved December 11, 2016 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/back-to-the-future-why-the-jetsons-is-the-most-influential-tv-show-of-the-20th-century-8225272.html
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