FUTURES was designed to motivate interest in mathematics by showing students that math is the language of the future--and a passport to creative and rewarding jobs in fields ranging from fashion and skateboard design to architecture and space exploration.
Each FUTURES episode combines scenes from Escalante's classroom, on-site interviews with professionals and appearances by celebrities like Arnold Schwartzennegger, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Cameron, Cindy Crawford, Jimmy Smits and Jackie Joyner Kersee. FUTURES has received more than fifty awards, including the highest honor in the field of broadcasting, The George Foster Peabody Award.
Watch a preview of FUTURES with Jaime EscalanteFUTURES Applied Arts Episodes:Graphic Design - Graphic design is a language that crosses all barriers. Professionals include people who create posters for movies, and paintbox computer graphics artists at MTV. Locations include the graphics department at USA Today, where illustrations are created by hand and by computer, from sketch to the finished page. Classroom guest: designer Roland Young.
Industrial Design - Telephones, refrigerators, watches, chairs-almost everything we use every day was conceived by industrial designers. At Eastman Kodak Company and JBL/Harman Speaker Manufacturing, designers show viewers what goes into coming up with a good prototype. Ralf Hotchkis' wheelchair designs have set a new world standard. And in scenes from the movie, "Blade Runner," we see the futuristic products conceived by Mr. Escalante's classroom guest, Syd Mead.
Cartography - From a remote peak where the US Geological Survey measures the angles and distances of distant ranges, to the powerful computers at the Environmental Systems Research Institute, cartographers collect and collate data about our environment, and find creative ways to present their data in two-dimensional and three-dimensional images. Other locations include the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, Thomas Brothers Maps, and the Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Arizona. Classroom guest: Edward James Olmos.
Fashion - Art meets business in this fascinating look at the world of fashion, where viewers will meet some of the industry's hottest designers, retailers and buyers. Macy's buyer Anita Jenkins, famed designers Holly Sharp and Jimmy Z. Ganzer, founder of Jimmy'Z Sportwear, explain just how much know-how it takes to run a successful company in an environment of constant change. Also featured are professionals at Bongo, and the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. Classroom guests: Cindy Crawford, Kadeem Hardison.
Each episode can be purchased separately for $24.95
