I feel like I watched this before, some parts are familiar.
Tonight I am watching The Shape Of Things To Come by HG Wells.
Here is the PDF of the Book. This film is from 1936, produced by Alexander Korda, directed by William Cameron Menzies, and written by H. G. Wells. How do you feel about this story?
This chart got me thinking about The Shape Of Things To Come.
ChatGPT said that the chart is communicating. "This image isn’t a numerical forecast — it’s a narrative: the world’s baseline level of disruption and unpredictability is likely to rise in the coming years, and rare, high-impact “weird” moments will become more probable and possibly clustered. The smartest stance is not panic but preparedness: reduce fragility, increase adaptability, and plan for compound events. Those who prepare with flexible resources, community networks, and adaptable skills will navigate the next decade far better than those who assume the past’s stability will continue unchanged." *ChatGPT
The story of The Shape Of Things To Come starts at christmas, when they are seemingly attacked by an opposing army (of the hill people, presumably). Lots of panic, the people running around, and told to stay indoors. Scenes of soldiers fighting, squadrons of planes in the sky, and chaos until the ruins of war become evident. It is unclear what the attack was, who is attacking, or if it's just a drill.
"No man has ever reckoned the ravages of the wandering sickness-"
"Like the black death in the middle ages it killed more than half the human race"
"No one who caught it survived- only gradually did men realize that"
The wife gets out of bed, starts wandering around in the town square,
but she is shot on sight by the Chief, The Boss.
Fast forward to 1967-70 when a notice is hung in the ruinous town square--
1970 -- Billboard; "The Pestilence has ceased thanks to the determined action of our chief in shooting all wanderers. There have been no cases for two months."
Mechanics lament that there is no wire to repair the planes, no petrol to fuel them. Frustrated one says, civilization is over, we have gone back too far. He runs into a man who likes to 'turn over' the engine in his car, despite it not working anymore and having no fuel. It is pulled by horses, as the man carries on. Then, a plane is spotted in the sky. When it lands, out emerges a mysterious figure...
Wings Over The World
Watch the movie and leave your comments below!
Read the book to learn more, let me know what you think.