Introduction

'The  urge to know has evolved from an instinct to a profession.' -Harlow Sharpely,  Astronomer

We  have an intense curiosity for the future. The future of our careers, our lives,  our world . It is an unknown territory through which we journey our entire  lives. This great interest in the future is only natural, for it is the only  part of our lives we can change. The past is 'history' the present a fleeting  moment which instantly becomes part of the past.

Just  about every society since the beginning of Civilization has shared this  curiosity, the need to know tomorrow. Each society has had its own breed of  Future-tellers and Oracles. Primitive Shamans would study the entrails of  slaughtered animals, others would 'read' the shape of the clouds, the movements  in the night sky. Comets for thousands of years have been viewed as omens of  disaster.

Astrology,  Palmistry and other superstitions where gradually replaced by scientific  reasoning. This brought with it the knowledge that the universe was ruled by  discernible immutable laws. Aspects of the future became readily and accurately  predictable, such as eclipses and comets, which lost all their mystical  significance.

In  the twenty first century our ability to explore the future had greatly  increased. It might also be said that the future gets here quicker as the modern  world changes far more quickly than in earlier eras.

A  whole new discipline of Futurism has evolved, as many scientists dedicate  themselves to 'forecasting' the future. Advising governments and industry about  everything from climatic change to public attitudes about new inventions.  Futurism due to its scientific nature is usually strictly bound to the  discipline of scientific methodology. Predictions and forecasts are made only  after much research and theorising.

The  future is also predicted in the arts and through modern popular culture. These  tend to be less restrained and lean towards the the fantastic and imaginative.  Science Fiction envelopes these speculations. Science Fiction,  strictly  speaking, is 'the literary genre which has its basis in the extrapolation of our  scientific discoveries or changes in the environment or on space travel and life  on other planets '. The images of Science Fiction, of all things futuristic  bombard us everyday, and from all directions. Whether we are enthusiasts or not.

Can we only guess at the  accuracy of these images? How are they created and what do they tell us about  the environment in which they were created?  These are the central  questions of this dissertations.

Futuristic Design in science  fiction, our visions of tomorrow. This is a subject that has been given much  weight by recent trends in popular culture.Though science fiction  literature is quite popular in terms of mass readership, science fiction in the  cinema has massive popular appeal, it is arguably the most popular movie genre.  It is here, and to a lesser degree on the television screen where most of the  images of science fiction are created.

Science fiction on television  while still popular does not share its cinematic cousin's almost 'universal'  appeal. This may be attributed to televisions tighter budget restrictions which  do not lend themselved to the expensive business of science fiction production  design and special effects.

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