The Trial - style of the 1930s-50s

For lots of visual ideas of the period / style of the piece as "an alternative present" I would encourage you to watch the following films:

"Brazil"
"1984"
"V for Vendetta"
"Fahrenheit 451"
possibly even "Gattaca";
"The Handmaid's Tale" (yes, the novel by Margret Atwood)

You will note that in addition to having design elements drawn from the early 20th century, these films also have two other important links to "The Trial":

1. They are depictions of dystopia. Look it up here
2. They appear to be science fiction while (at least on the visual surface) set in the past.

Since George Orwell wrote "1984" (in 1948)the visual style of that period (really World War 2) has become linked to the ideas of dystopia. So it is that the above films all take their visual cues from that period. I think this is why:

The war years are a period in history which saw the rise of mass production and the beginnings of globalisation and the invention of the atomic bomb. It was scientists in tweed suits with round-rimmed spectacles who engineered the first weapons of mass destruction; and Nazi engineers who created the rockets that would both bomb women and children in London and later, be the basis for sending men to the moon. We grew proud of our technology. We grew fearful of other people. We built tower blocks as "housing units" for the masses- all in the name of "an easier, safer, brighter future."

Take a look at the traffic jams on the A690 as all the Joseph Ks sit in their cars listening to the latest news on "The War on Terror". Have we created that future? Is it even possible?