Our Shrinking World (1946)

Our Shrinking World, a short film from Young America Films Incorporated, discusses how the transition of technology has made the world seem less expansive than before.  Spanning back to the wheel, this short film covers many technologies that have allowed human interconnections to exist across the globe.  Our Shrinking World is important to the generations of today because it shows the coexistence of technologies, which is commonly forgotten, along with the theme of global interconnectivity due to the raise of technologies.

In this video, technologies from different eras were shown thriving together.  Although forgotten, there is often a transition period between the popularity of technologies.  This period of coexistence is depicted throughout the short.  For example, after the invention of the car, it wasn't uncommon to see both horse and car in major cities.  Although horses faded out of popularity, they are still used for transportation today.  Also, the invention of the car did not end trains but allowed travelers an alternative mode of transportation.  The movie also shows that old technologies have become a part of the new ones.  The wheel is an essential part of a cart, train, or car.  Another example is the gasoline engine.  Originally invented for the car, the gasoline engine also helped to power the airplane.  Society today shares this trait of coexisting technologies.  Many consumers use phones along with the Internet to communicate with people.  Also, the transpiration technologies mentioned in this film are still in use today.

The world was not only shrinking due to the transportation technologies but also due to the communication technologies.  With the invention of the telegraph, people could communicate across the country.  The telegraph gave way to the telephone.  These communication technologies let humanity communicate on a global scale.  People no longer needed to write letters and wait for a ship or a plane to travel across the ocean.   Thanks to the communication and transportation technologies, there was no longer a restraint of distance to stop connections between people.  This is similar to the Internet today.  People can be connected almost instantly, making it seem as though this is our shrinking world.

Our Shrinking World reminds the generations of today that technologies of the past can thrive along with the present in order to create shorter distance between people.  It is with the remembrance of these technologies that humanity will pioneer the future.