I’ve rewatched past tense yesterday after many years…No connection to Picard, it’s just that by lucky coincidence I got there now with my DS9 rewatch.
Anyway, a few impressions about what’s now almost the present as seen from the 90s…
First and foremost: those computers are HUGE! In fact they look bigger than what was on my desk in 1995. And touch screens operated with A STYLUS?! Oh boy…And keep in mind that finger-operated touch screen kiosks were already a thing in 1995! Of course not a tablet or smartphone in sight, but that’s kinda understandable.
The other thing that struck me as futuristic is how efficient the bureaucracy seems to be: Dax manages to order new documents online on the same day, comparatively I’ve been waiting for over six months to get my new residence filed…on the other hand, she seems to ha no problem in convincing the system to somehow issue her false documents. Perhaps we can justify both those issues by pointing out that she was backed by a rich and powerful telecommunications tycoon.
Right now we don’t have something called “sanctuary districts”, however everything that goes on in them is pretty much going on in real life even in most western countries, even if with different names and with a less broad target. Again, what strikes me as unusual is at how efficient the bureaucracy is portrayed: bashir complains that the queue doesn’t move for hours, but he and sisko are processed within the day, I don’t know how fast these things go in the US, but here in Italy it routinely takes months or even years to have your case examined. Also, while it’s sadly realistic that the guard goes “these are your rights, but forget about them”, the guards act quite mildly, nobody is beaten up or treated badly. Picard is showing something much closer to how these things go right now.
All in all, apart from these few details, the DS9 dystopian 2024 could very well be our 2024!
Anyway, a few impressions about what’s now almost the present as seen from the 90s…
First and foremost: those computers are HUGE! In fact they look bigger than what was on my desk in 1995. And touch screens operated with A STYLUS?! Oh boy…And keep in mind that finger-operated touch screen kiosks were already a thing in 1995! Of course not a tablet or smartphone in sight, but that’s kinda understandable.
The other thing that struck me as futuristic is how efficient the bureaucracy seems to be: Dax manages to order new documents online on the same day, comparatively I’ve been waiting for over six months to get my new residence filed…on the other hand, she seems to ha no problem in convincing the system to somehow issue her false documents. Perhaps we can justify both those issues by pointing out that she was backed by a rich and powerful telecommunications tycoon.
Right now we don’t have something called “sanctuary districts”, however everything that goes on in them is pretty much going on in real life even in most western countries, even if with different names and with a less broad target. Again, what strikes me as unusual is at how efficient the bureaucracy is portrayed: bashir complains that the queue doesn’t move for hours, but he and sisko are processed within the day, I don’t know how fast these things go in the US, but here in Italy it routinely takes months or even years to have your case examined. Also, while it’s sadly realistic that the guard goes “these are your rights, but forget about them”, the guards act quite mildly, nobody is beaten up or treated badly. Picard is showing something much closer to how these things go right now.
All in all, apart from these few details, the DS9 dystopian 2024 could very well be our 2024!
