Dating from 1959 and released in Technicolor this Walt Disney film, made with the cooperation of the United States Department of Defense, uses music and animation to speculate on the use of space satellite technology (with a coordinated defense network) as a means to modify weather.
“Eyes in Outer Space” (1959) was part of a series of short films, including “Man In Space,” “Man And The Moon,” “Mars And Beyond,” and “Our Friend The Atom,” exploring the world of the future. Buoyed by an optimistic and fantastical belief in the possibilities of technology and space travel, the notion that science might be able to literally wage war on natural threats appeared both feasible and desirable. To emphasize this point, the film opens with a menacing sequence of natural disasters—from floods and hurricanes to tornadoes and lightning storms—destroying homes and cities. Though the efficacy of rainmaking techniques like cloud seeding is debatable, “Eyes in Outer Space” portrays it, along with a array of other mysterious apparatus and weaponry, as part of a comprehensive system of weather control. Thanks to a host of weather-tracking satellites in space, the military is also able to predict weather patterns and plan coordinated attacks against nefarious natural phenomena months in advance. Though these forecasts have yet to come to fruition, the film captures our ongoing cultural fascination with technology and the way our views define our relationship with nature.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
