Tuesday 5 April 2011

Futurestates

What will become of America in five, 25, or even 50 years from today? This series of independent mini-features explores possible future scenarios through the prism of today’s global realities. Immerse yourself in the visions of these independent prognosticators as they inhabit a future of their own imagining.
Nothing is inevitable but the future.
American society is in the midst of some of the most profound and fastest-moving change in its relatively short history. We face a paradox of great challenges and great opportunities. Climate change threatens our physical survival and the fate of many species with which we are interdependent; yet the promise of green energy technology has inspired great strides in science and the promise of economic recovery. Globalization has both divided and connected us in ways unimaginable just a decade ago.
Think of it:
A minute ago, this moment was the future.
A minute from now, everything could change.
Independent Television Service (ITVS) asked both renowned and emerging filmmakers to take the current state of affairs in the United States, and extrapolate them into stories of the nation in the not-so-distant future.
The result is FUTURESTATES, a series of groundbreaking digital shorts. Each episode presents a different filmmaker’s vision of American society projected forward, fusing an exploration of social issues with elements of speculative and science fiction.

I recommend starting with Season 2's Beholder:

Beholder takes place in the biosphere-protected Red Estates, a gated community with a socially conservative political majority. At a clinic where patients can genetically engineer their children, Sasha, the wife of rising political star Bobby Aryana, is informed that her baby carries the genetic marker for homosexuality. By the laws of Red Estates, this is an aberration that must be dealt with immediately, and Sasha must decide between staying faithful to the love of her life or risking everything. Touching on issues of race, sexual orientation, and conformity, Beholder examines the notion of identity and the costs of belonging.

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