Far Speaking

The video that I watch from the Prelinger Archives was called, Far Speaking. In this vintage film it describes the arrival of long-distance calls throughout America and the rest of the globe. The film begins and ends with the same couple talking about the uses of long-distance telephone calls. In the beginning the women believes that the phone would be “just a toy” and no one would find it useful. However, at the end of the film it shows the same couple 40 years later, and the elderly woman has changed her mind. She now states that there will come a time where everyone uses long-distance calling. The scenes between the couple truly demonstrate how the invention of long-distance calling is imperative to the rise of the global network society.

The Global Network Society encompasses the social, economical, and cultural changes that occurred from the spread of networked digital information and communication technologies. One of the first intercontinental communication technologies was the telephone’s ability to call long distance. These long-distance phone calls is what first allowed for communication between different countries across the globe. In Far Speaking, it even displays the diplomatic effects between counties. For example, the vintage film points out certain quotes from past American presidents and the effects of long-distance calling on their presidency. Warren G. Harding states that it is “gratifying to participate in this ceremony which signifies so much in the establishment of more intimate and understanding relations”. Former US president Calvin Coolidge also points out that long-distance communication is an “extraordinary means for facilitating communications between the nations of the world”. Long-distance phone calls greatly allowed for the improvement of relations between countries and the ability for countries to communicate with one another on important social, economic and cultural events.

Long-distance telephone calling not only lead to greater diplomatic relations between countries, but also lead to greater amounts of travel between countries. The rise of long-distance communication is a huge reason as to why parents in our generation allow us to study abroad on our own, because they know they can still call us when necessary. Even shown in Far Speaking at the end of the film, the couple was able to send their granddaughter to Japan, because they would easily reach her by using the telephone.  

Here is the link to my film:

https://archive.org/details/0736_Far_Speaking_01_29_06_00