Now How Will We Know It’s the Future?

It’s interesting how many times in recent years science fiction movies and television shows have depicted an African-American as President of the United States. That’s been one way of signaling that although a story is told with a kind of ripped-from-the-pages-of-the-news realism, the future it’s set in has not quite arrived. Only, now it finally has.

Morgan Freeman as President Tom Beck worked to avert the country’s cometary doom in Deep Impact. Dennis Haysbert playing President David Palmer faced a world that had a bad day every day in 24. He led so well that voters handed him a victory over West Wing’s President Bartlett in last month’s runoff between TV Presidents.

Then, according to Slate, Danny Glover will play a President Wilson in 2012, Roland Emmerich’s next effects extravaganza.

I wonder what icon writers will use now to say instantly a story is set in the future?

9 thoughts on “Now How Will We Know It’s the Future?

  1. Obvious answer — “That was the President in the line. She says to keep her informed of developments.”

    But a dolphin president would be kind of cool, too.

  2. I like a dolphin. And it can end its inaugural address, “So long, and thanks for all the votes.”

  3. My wife Nila suggested not just a woman President, but a black woman President. Robert Heinlein wrote a story with Nichelle Nichols as President for his epilog to Expanded Universe, she sounds like a good suggestion to me.

  4. I agree that the president as a black woman would be be the next logical step. Or, if we are looking to the really distant future, maybe a woman of Pan-Pacific origin, or someone who is not from a Heterosexual Life style (Man or Woman).

  5. Quickly enough obvious, if not visually so, it it were … say … someone of Pete Stark’s religious views. Being a non-believer is still one of the last taboos for high public office.

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