Filed under: Transportation Alternatives, On Two Wheels
It's Friday: Fahrenheit 451's vision of the future includes very green transport
I'm not in favor of firefighters burning books but I really liked the vision of future transport in Ray Bradbury's scif-fi classic Fahrenheit 451. As you can see in the video above, Montag, a book-burning firefighter, must walk home quite a distance after taking the train. There are no cars on the road but you do see people riding bikes. I don't think I have seen a more green vision of the future of transport in a movie which is kinda shocking considering the novel was published in 1953 and François Truffaut made the film in 1966. Maybe I missed the point of the exclusive use of public transport and the complete exclusion of cars except for use by the firemen who burn books? Maybe it was commenting on the fascist, utopian views of a society that would burn books? I still think it's cool. What do you think Linda?[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
David 11:23AM (1/04/2008)
The novel definitely features cars. There is at least part where Montag has to cross a superhighway of speeding cars to avoid the mechanical "dog" that's after him. But I don't think I've seen the movie, so I can't fully compare and contrast them
Reply
Yggdrasilly 11:26AM (1/04/2008)
I think it has more to do with the fact that, while the novel is American, the film is European, and the director created a future based on the society he knew best. In Europe in 1966, many middle-class people did not own cars and thus walked or bicycled to train or tram stations.
Reply
Lascelles Linton 11:40AM (1/04/2008)
Ever noticed Clarisse and Linda are played by the same actress :D
Reply
steven 11:59AM (1/04/2008)
Or it could have simply been the fact that no one could come up with futuristic enough looking vehicles for the movie within the budget. The firetruck they tool around in looks pretty lame, and although the transport hanging from the upper track dates back to pre-1900, it does look pretty cool. Ironically, blogs would also be a target of this "society".
Reply
Ron Fischer 4:31PM (1/04/2008)
This was a SAFGE monorail, the remains can be seen here http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Orbit/1061/safege/safege.html
There was a 1.4 km test track in France, Chateauneuf-sur-Loire.
The bottom mounted stairway was an emergency escape safety feature.
Reply
Ernie 4:43PM (1/04/2008)
Actually, I thought that Gattaca had a pretty green 'vision of the future'. All the cars in that fictional world were electric (with the exception of the Riviera mentioned at the beginning of the movie).
Of course, things would be way greener if people didn't use cars at all like in Farenheit 451, but then it wouldn't be so fitting for this site, would it? :)
Reply
Lascelles Linton 4:49PM (1/04/2008)
SAFEGE Monorail
Film buffs may recognize it from the sixties classic "Fahrenheit 451."
http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/History2.html
Reply
Ron Fischer 5:57PM (1/04/2008)
(thanks for the spell correct LL)
Relevant to the article's green theme, ALWEG, SAFEGE's "above the beam" competitor seen at Disneyland, proposed a Los Angles monorail transit system, funded and run without public money. LA board rejected it in favor of "no transit". There are rumors of Standard Oil's involvement.
http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/LA1963.html
One might say its not so much about which is the better solution, its more about who gets to slice the pie...
Reply
Dustin 7:30AM (1/07/2008)
Well the book itself mentions cars, "beetles" it calls them... in the "futuristic" shape of a beetle, I guess. It mentions boulevards, gas stations, and even the cars' "blue exhaust." The movie was terrible, but it seems another one is headed our way this year.
Reply