First World

The concept of the First World originated during the Cold War and included countries that were generally aligned with or on friendly terms with the United States (including all NATO countries) and were generally identified as non-theocratic democracies with primarily market-based economies. While there is no current consensus on an exact definition of the term, in modern usage, "First World country" generally implies a relatively wealthy, stable and functional non-theocratic democracy with a reasonably well educated population, or just any developed country.

During the Cold War, relationships between the First World and the Second World of Communist states were typically competitive, ideological, and occasionally hostile. Relationships of both these "Worlds" with "Third World" countries (i.e. all the rest) were normally positive in theory, while some were quite negative in practice (such as proxy war between client states). Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and advances in communication technology, relations amongst the "Worlds" are not as rigid, although there are still marked disparities, with the First World generally having more influence, wealth, and access to information and technological innovations than the Second and Third Worlds.

First World (film)

First World is a 2007 independent science fiction short film written and produced by Mark Lund and directed by Adam Starr. This 25 minute short has bypassed the traditional film festival circuit and has been distributed primarily at science fiction conventions in the United States, Japan, Australia and Great Britain. The short is based on a feature length screenplay of the same name and was primarily produced as a promotional tool to secure production of the long version of the story.

Plot

In the early 1960s NASA discovered a vast and advanced civilization on the Moon with their first space probes. While this civilization was able to shield itself from all Earth-based visual detection devices, U.S. President John F. Kennedy's speech from 1961 that declared the intent to "Put a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth" was not designed as a space race with the Soviet Union, but to secretly establish contact with this newly discovered civilization. This discovery was classified and false images from the Moon were transmitted during all the Apollo missions. When the Earth mission of this new civilization was discovered, political forces demanded that President Richard Nixon end manned missions to the Moon in 1972. First World commences in the year 2018 when the Chinese government announces it is making its first manned mission to the Moon within 24 hours. What does this civilization represent? Why was it covered up? Who knows about its existence? What is their mission? And what lengths will some go to protect Earth and our way of life?