![[Video] 50 years ago, an Indian couple in New York saw this vision of the future](https://sc0.blr1.digitaloceanspaces.com/large/697813-6648c118-d8c5-406a-9c53-5f65883fe863.jpg)
A world made so much better by deep sea mining and machines that can cut paths through forests to deliver the benefits of modernity to even the most remote of cultures.
That's among the promises of the future that was witnessed by the Chandras, a couple from India who are featured in this 30-minute advertisement for the New York World's Fair, a global exposition held in 1964 and 1965.
The exhibition, themed “Peace through Understanding”, was an attempt to produce the magic that the 1939 World Fair failed to conjure up. Fifty-eight countries and 15 organisations participated in the fair, which showcased the most contemporary cultural and technological developments of its time.
To break even, the fair needed to sell 70 million tickets. It developed an aggressive advertising campaign, which included this film. In it, visitors to the fair demonstrate just how much fun it is to view the exhibits and pavilions, which includes a building called “Parking of children” for parents exhausted by their bratty young ones.
The Chandras are only two of several characters in the video. There is the quintessential American family, the Wilsons, two teachers who get a lot of ideas to take back to their students, three boys who get separated from a scout troupe and two amorous men who stalk two pretty women all across the grounds.
Even so, we get to know a few things about the couple. “Chandra,” the film tells us, “is an engineer.” The camera then lingers awkwardly and silently over well-heeled Mrs Chandra, and moves on to the next frame.
The suave, modern Chandras, are seen coolly interested in a machine demonstrating the law of averages and the Spain pavilion. They then join the Wilsons in a ride called Futurama II which imagines a high-tech world of the future.
Despite the marketing campaign, the fair failed to attract enough visitors. Like its 1939 predecessor, the 1964-'65 fair ended in bankruptcy. It sold only 51 million tickets in its two six-month stretches and fell into legal disputes with its investors for the next five years.
Exhibits from Futurama II:
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That's among the promises of the future that was witnessed by the Chandras, a couple from India who are featured in this 30-minute advertisement for the New York World's Fair, a global exposition held in 1964 and 1965.
The exhibition, themed “Peace through Understanding”, was an attempt to produce the magic that the 1939 World Fair failed to conjure up. Fifty-eight countries and 15 organisations participated in the fair, which showcased the most contemporary cultural and technological developments of its time.
To break even, the fair needed to sell 70 million tickets. It developed an aggressive advertising campaign, which included this film. In it, visitors to the fair demonstrate just how much fun it is to view the exhibits and pavilions, which includes a building called “Parking of children” for parents exhausted by their bratty young ones.
The Chandras are only two of several characters in the video. There is the quintessential American family, the Wilsons, two teachers who get a lot of ideas to take back to their students, three boys who get separated from a scout troupe and two amorous men who stalk two pretty women all across the grounds.
Even so, we get to know a few things about the couple. “Chandra,” the film tells us, “is an engineer.” The camera then lingers awkwardly and silently over well-heeled Mrs Chandra, and moves on to the next frame.
The suave, modern Chandras, are seen coolly interested in a machine demonstrating the law of averages and the Spain pavilion. They then join the Wilsons in a ride called Futurama II which imagines a high-tech world of the future.
Despite the marketing campaign, the fair failed to attract enough visitors. Like its 1939 predecessor, the 1964-'65 fair ended in bankruptcy. It sold only 51 million tickets in its two six-month stretches and fell into legal disputes with its investors for the next five years.
Exhibits from Futurama II:
