Is the Space Shuttle a metaphor for us?

What ever happened to the hopeful future? Music writer Simon Reynolds wonders. Societal pessimism has oddly replaced optimism about the years ahead. He says it "might have something to do with politics as well, like with what's been going on in the last few weeks with the debt ceiling. No one can quite picture a future that seems positive or exciting. At one time the future seemed to suggest grand projects. Now the space shuttle program has been shut down. If I look at what young people are watching on TV and at the movies, when they're looking for heroism and romance, they're watching quasi-historical fantasies, it's not future fantasies. It's 'Game of Thrones,' 'Harry Potter,' and that kind of thing, as opposed to going to outer space or the year 3000." Interesting thought. And worrying.