Between 1949 and 1954, MGM Cartoons released a series of five “…of Tomorrow” shorts directed by Tex Avery, each providing parody insight into new technological advancements available to consumers. Mid-century Americans loved their appliances, and these cartoons lampooned our obsession with amenities and with convenience.
The 1953 edition was titled TV of Tomorrow, and it satirizes the then-new technology and its uncanny ability to monopolize our attention. In ’53, TV-owning homes in America were still in the minority, but the rate was on the rise. This Tex Avery-directed short looked at all the wacky ways TVs might evolve to better serve us. And like all great science fiction, a lot of what was predicted here came true.
Here are five unexpected ways TV of Tomorrow got it right, and five predictions we’re happy to do without.
