Welcome to Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future

August 6—September 21, 2019

44575 Garfield Road, Clinton Township, MI 48038 586.445.7348 | LorenzoCulturalCenter.com

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This handbook leads you through the exhibition—kiosk by kiosk. Yesterday’s Tomorrows is divided into five, three-sided kiosks. This handbook follows the same format. There is an overview paragraph for each exhibition section followed by “Think About It” and “Let’s Talk” sections.

Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Past Visions of the American Future is an exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Behring Center.

This traveling exhibition offers a unique history of popular expectations and beliefs about the shape of things to come. Through the use of manifestations of popular culture such as toys, books, movie stills, World’s Fair memorabilia, car designs, advertisements, and architectural designs, the exhibit examines ways that Americans of yesteryear have envisioned our collective future.

Exhibit Hours: Tuesday–Friday: 10am–4pm Open Saturday beginning September 7, 10am–4pm

Join Us for a Special Screening Macomb Community College’s History Professor Elton Weintz screens the films Metropolis and First Man. The screening will be followed by a discussion of the film with Professor Weintz.

METROPOLIS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1PM

This influential 1927 German science-fiction film presents a highly stylized futuristic city where a beautiful and cultured utopia exists above a bleak underworld populated by mistreated workers. When the privileged youth Freder (Gustav Fröhlich) discovers the grim scene under the city, he becomes intent on helping the workers. He befriends the rebellious teacher Maria (Brigitte Helm), but this puts him at odds with his authoritative father, leading to greater conflict.

FIRST MAN FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1PM

Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

The film screenings are FREE, however, registration is required. Please register at LorenzoCulturalCenter.com. Questions? Call 586.445.7348

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YESTERDAY’S TOMORROWS KIOSK

SIDE 2—ROBOTS AND AUTOMATION

Many busy, hard-working people have dreamed of having mechanical servants to lend a helping hand. The vision of androids as assistants and household helpers is frequently a theme in fiction, movies, and television, but in reality, few human-looking robots have ever been created for these purposes.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Use the picture of “Elektro” to remember your first image or concept of robots. Compare these memories of robots to present and future uses of automation.

LET’S TALK

Where did you first hear about robots? From books? Comic books? Radio? Movies? Television? Did you want a robot? If you had a personal robot, what would you ask it to do for you? How are robots depicted in literature, in the movies, or on television? Do you have a favorite TV robot? Today’s roots bear little resemblance to the human-life robot images in Yesterday’s Tomorrows. What do we use robots or robotics for today? (Possible answers: factory assembly lines, underwater exploration, search and rescue, space program.) Do you think robots will ever entirely replace human beings in the workplace? Why or why not?

SIDE 3—APPLICATION OF AUTOMATION TODAY

In the past, robots were often envisioned as household assistants, but today robots are used extensively in science, medicine, space and undersea exploration, and factory production lines.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Think about how the visionary applications of automation differ from today’s applications.

LET’S TALK

In what ways does automation help us today? Explain whether you think automation is always a good thing.

What are some things that automation can never replace? What do you think about the rapid change in technology today? Does it have a positive or negative

effect on your life?

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IMAGINING THE FUTURE KIOSK

SIDE 1—WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?

The future exists only in our imaginations. During the 20th century, the popular media (radio, movies, television, magazines, comic books, and advertising) discovered America’s interest in the future and

recognized futurism’s inherent entertainment value. In fact, the media heightened the popular interest in futurism by presenting as possible fact the “futuristic” ideas on this panel.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Using the panel featuring science-fiction book covers; how have science fiction, magazines, and comic books influenced your ideas of the future.

LET’S TALK

Where do you get most of your ideas about the future? Movies? Books? TV? Do various representations of the future in popular media influence your ideas about it? Who is (are) your favorite futuristic character(s)?

SIDE 2—MEDIA AND VISIONS OF THE FUTURE

Throughout the 20th century, attitudes about the future in popular culture shifted from buoyant optimism to doom and gloom, from exciting outer space exploration to alien invasions of the Earth.

THINK ABOUT IT…

How has popular culture and the media influenced your own visions of the future?

LET’S TALK

Do you find thinking about the future frightening or exciting? Why? How much is your answer influenced by popular culture and the media?

Do world events and news coverage of these events influence your ideas about the future? During your lifetime, has anything once seen as “futuristic science fiction” come true?

SIDE 3—ADVERTISING THE FUTURE

As in the past, today’s advertisers use futuristic images to present an easy, comfortable lifestyle epitomized by forward-thinking families, spotless homes, pristine environments, and global prosperity. These ads show us the best lifestyle the future can offer.

THINK ABOUT IT…

How do you feel about Madison Avenue’s futuristic portrayals of a clean, high-tech, and prosperous future?

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LET’S TALK

How has advertising shaped your vision of the future? How do advertisers use images and language to depict the future? Can you think of an ad that forecasts the future? What kind of future does the advertising company

present? Does futuristic advertising influence you? Have you ever bought something based on an engaging or

entertaining futuristic advertisement?

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HOMES OF TOMORROW KIOSK

SIDE 1—THE HOMES OF TOMORROW

Almost everyone has an idea of a perfect dream home. In the 1920s, designers began to create “homes of tomorrow,” a modern take on the traditional ideal home. The designs of these “futuristic” homes were on

the cutting of edge of the new technology, bringing society into harmony with the machine age.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Image living in the Lovell House.

LET’S TALK

Does the Lovell House fit your concept of the “ideal home”? It was designed in the 1920s to express the architect’s visions of “health and the future.” What does it say to you?

What would your “ideal home” look like? What does the term “home” mean to you? Does “home” mean

the same thing to everyone? How is your home different from your parents’ home? Your

grandparents’ home? Your grandchildren’s home?

SIDE 2—THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Architects of the modern era tried to design homes of the future that would meet the needs of the American family. Following World War II, homebuyers needed affordable homes for their expanding families. The push to build inexpensive, mass-produced homes influenced architectural and community design.

THINK ABOUT IT…

What do you think…would you like to live in the K2H4O house? K2H4O is an architectural, not a chemical, formula. “K” refers to the basic housing type; “2” indicates a subdivision of that type; “H” expresses entrance through a hall; “4” means that there is space for four beds in two bedrooms; “O” stand for an optional extra room.

LET’S TALK

What are some of the things that you (your husband/wife, your mother/father, your significant other, your friends) must have in your (his/her/their) home to make it “livable”?

If you were designing a “home of the future,” which room would be the most “modern”? Why that room? What does the design of your home say about you? The decoration? The location?

SIDE 3—MAKING YOUR HOUSE WORK FOR YOU

Because futuristic architecture actually appealed to few Americans, postwar architects focused on creating homes with labor-saving devices that a decade earlier seemed truly visionary. The “ideal home” became one of modern convenience.

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THINK ABOUT IT…

Think about the advantages and disadvantages of having and using modern appliances like the ones seen in Westinghouse’s appliance advertisement, “The Art of Better Living.”

LET’S TALK

What are some of the tasks you do routinely that are made easier by modern appliances? What’s the one appliance you couldn’t live without? Why? To make cleaning easier and less time consuming, what household appliance would you update or

redesign? How would you improve it? Postwar architects didn’t foresee the changing roles of women. They were considered “keepers of the

hearth and home.” How does the evolving role of women influence home design?

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TRANSPORTATION OF TOMORROW KIOSK

SIDE 1—THE FUTURE OF TRANSPORTATION

Designs for futuristic, “out of this world” modes of transportation reflect Americas’ faith in progress and technology. Before the 1920s, mass transit systems dominated Americans’ visualizations of tomorrow’s transportation. When automobiles took America by storm, they became the focus of designers’ and planners’ futuristic visions.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Look at the various modes of transportation on the exhibition panel and think about which seem like reasonable ways of getting around on the ground, on the sea, and in the air.

LET’S TALK

What are some of the possible uses of the specialized vehicles represented on the panel? Talk about your ideas for designing a specialized vehicle. What problems would it alleviate? What task would it ease? What does having a car mean to you? Is there something “American”

about having your own car? What do you think owning a car meant to people 20 years ago? Fifty years ago? Ninety years ago? What do you think personal transportation will be like in the future? What about mass transportation?

SIDE 2—FUTURISTIC CARS

While Americans were struggling through the Great Depression of the 1930s, automobile engineers and designers began to create cars as symbols of the prosperity and bright future that everyone hoped was just around the corner. Annual changes in design sold the illusion of progress and kept consumers looking to what “tomorrow” might bring.

THINK ABOUT IT…

What was it like to drive a car for the first time, to own your first car and to hand the keys over to a teenager for a first solo spin?

LET’S TALK

How does owning a car affect your everyday life? If you no longer had a car, how would that change daily life for you and your family?

If you don’t have a car, how does it affect your everyday life? What would change if you had one? What features would you like to see on “cars of the future”? Will personal cars be outmoded in the future?

SIDE 3—BETTER WAYS OF GETTING AROUND

With the population boom of the 1950s and 1960s, there were more cars than ever on America’s roads and byways. Automobile engineers and transportation planners began to concentrate their efforts of creating more efficient vehicles, faster modes of mass transit, and safer, “smarter” highways.

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THINK ABOUT IT…

Do you think the Moller M400 Skycar and the Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) are feasible answers to today’s transportation problems?

LET’S TALK

Is improved mass transportation a real solution for America’s traffic problems? Do you think most Americans want more efficient or more environmentally sound cars? Why or why

not? What future modes of transportation do you think will be useful and popular for rural communities? If road, air, and sea transportation were faster and more efficient, what places would you visit? Why?

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COMMUNITIES OF TOMORROW KIOSK

SIDE 1—COMMUNITIES OF THE FUTURE

The industrial revolution of the late 19th century created rapid, often uncontrolled, growth of America’s cities. Thoughts turned to new and fantastic visions to solve the problems associated with urban growth. Sometimes these visions mirrored concerns over increased crowding and other city ills. At other times, they reflected the optimism felt by the architects and planners who were designing future urban landscapes.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Building up (skyscrapers and high-rise buildings) and out (suburban expansion) are two solutions to city overpopulation. Think about ways to solve the problems that urban America may face in the future.

LET’S TALK

If given a choice, would you rather live in a rural community or a big city? Why? What are the advantages of living in a small community? What are the disadvantages? What are the advantages of living in a big city” What are the disadvantages? What one change would you make to your community to make it just “perfect”?

SIDE 2—WORLDS OF TOMORROW

The “ideal” American community was envisioned in many different ways. Designs from the early 20th century celebrated technology and the notion of progress, reflecting the hopes, excitement, and even the fears of the American people. In a world that was increasingly urbanized and ever changing, “model” or “ideal” communities promised everyone an elegant and rational future.

THINK ABOUT IT…

Using the image of “Democracity”, think about how international fairs and expositions inspired and spread visions of “ideal” communities.

LET’S TALK

If you were creating an exhibit about your community at a world’s fair, what local characteristics would you feature?

If you were creating a future model of your community at an international exposition, what would it look like?

Do you think “ideal” communities or “utopias” are possible? Why or why not?