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Comment by stack_framer

3 days ago

I always loved how the Nostoromo looked futuristic, yet cramped and dirty. The narrow halls and small rooms reflect the minimalism you would expect from a greedy corporation that considers its crew expendable, while the clutter and disrepair reflect what you would expect from the apathetic, disgruntled employees.

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stack_framer

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gorgoiler  3 days ago

The computer terminal with an annoying box jammed up against your right hand, but also enough space for an ashtray:

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwxhqR...

I kicked myself on the second read for missing why the title mentions trucking: it’s in the article, buried a little, but Ridley Scott called this the “truck driver” version of sci-fi.

“Bachelor pad” sci-fi is another great description, and this subreddit uses the equally fantastic term “cassette futurism”:

https://www.reddit.com/r/cassettefuturism/

I think it’s why I love the Technology Connections YouTube channel too. A lot of the devices are like 1980s science fiction! (The article in this discussion mentions the set designers using rotary mechanical switches to automate blinking light patterns so, in a way, they were living in their own futurism.)

  • Cthulhu_  2 days ago

    I love the casette futurism aesthetics, I just wish I had a practial application for physical buttons and the like, and / or that the higher interest products in those collections were still available outside of museums.

    I'm sure there's some modern day reproductions (Filo's products [0] come to mind), but they won't have the same feel due to different switching mechanisms and materials being used.

    [0] https://www.fiio.com/echomini

phrotoma  3 days ago

In one of the myriad making of / behind the scenes docs I've watched over the years, they described how after the first set was built it was decided it should be more cramped, so they cut a horizontal swath out of big chunks of it and lowered the ceiling forcing the actors to crouch and duck as they moved around.

Fantastic decision, the claustrophobia really adds to the creep factor IMO.

KineticLensman  3 days ago

I agree that the aesthetic made for an excellent film but I always thought that if they had sufficient power for FTL travel (e.g. massive fusion reactors or something) they could have powered a few extra light bulbs.

Although the ship in Dark Star wins the space-grunge contest hands-down.

  • nkrisc  3 days ago

    Even today the brick and mortar stores of multi-million (billion) dollar companies have dirty bathrooms and broken lights.

    The justification for the light situation in the movie is simple: corporate greed and human laziness (which fits nicely in the narrative as well).

    • stef25  3 days ago

      > Even today the brick and mortar stores of multi-million (billion) dollar companies have dirty bathrooms and broken lights.

      Last place I worked at (10M investment) the men's pisser didn't flush and the toilet paper was brown sandpaper that smelt like shit even before you used it. Horrible TL lights though, so not quite a horror scene.

romperstomper  2 days ago

I'd say it's not only the greedy corporations but maybe technical challenges. Compare with clutter on ISS or in earlier spacecrafts - also claustrophobic, narrow and packed with equipment.