Marching with Science: A weird, dusty time capsule

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for grainy, black-and-white industrial nostalgia. If you hate being lectured to by a narrator who sounds like he’s selling you a dream of the future, you’ll probably find this thing insufferable.

It’s barely a movie, really. It’s more like a scrapbook that someone decided to film.

The vibe

There’s this relentless optimism to it that feels totally alien today. Every invention gets the same hyper-enthusiastic treatment, like a toaster is just as world-changing as a major medical breakthrough.

I found myself zoning out during the segment on industrial looms. Then, suddenly, there’s this bizarre, blurry shot of a guy holding a glass tube that I swear looks like a prop from Elmo, the Mighty. The camera just lingers there for way too long.

Odd little details

• The narrator’s voice is so clipped and formal it hurts.
• The editing feels like it was done with a pair of rusty scissors.
• Sometimes the inventions look completely fake, like someone just glued some wires to a box.

Watching this made me think of the frantic pace of Manhattan Madness, but without any of the actual fun. It’s just people standing around machinery, looking Very Serious. At one point, a scientist is staring into a microscope with such intensity I thought he might actually fall over.

Final thoughts (or lack thereof)

It’s not a deep dive. It’s a fever dream of productivity. 🤖

If you’re looking for a plot, you’re in the wrong place. If you just want to see how people in the past thought the future was going to look—all gears and optimism—then it’s a quick enough watch. Just don’t expect it to change your life.

Anyway, I think I’ve seen enough spinning cogs for one week.