Back in Time (The Movie Period Meme)

Seems to be the week of memes for me, which is odd because after many weeks of slight writer’s block I finally have quite a bit to write about.

This time up, I’m following the lead of Daniel over at Getafilm who asked that if you could, what cinematic time and place would you love to visit?

For me, 1950’s Los Angeles has always had a certain allure – certainly the way it is portrayed in 1997’s L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. It’s also the setting for the bulk of BACK TO THE FUTURE, THE BLACK DAHLIA, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, and LA BAMBA. Some of my points are generic to the era, some are L.A. specific. Take a look below and what it is that I dig about the city of angels in the 1950’s.

The first thing that I like about the era, is the fact that while the tabloid media was indeed going full tilt, it seems like it was less omnipresent than it is now. The 50’s didn’t have TMZ, they didn’t have Inside Hollywood, they didn’t have The Drudge Report. All of the cheap smarm and gossip was contained to the newsstands. The scandal beat was likely going at the same clip it does today, but back then it was easy enough for those of us who don’t care to avoid. Also, I have to believe that the characters like Danny Devito’s had a slightly higher standard for what made “gossip”…they wanted to know who was sneaking around with who – not what Kim Kardashian had for dinner.

Slightly on the same point, this was the golden age of Hollywood. Maybe it’s just my own sense of yesteryear romanticism, but it feels like many of the movies and the stars themselves just looked better. In the film, Kim Bassinger plays a hooker who is dolled up to look like Lana Turner, so it’s fair to say that she’s a wannabe movie star. Take a look at the photo above – that’s what movie stars used to look like. Compare that to your average red carpet shot of Kristen Stewart, or Paris Hilton, or Sienna Miller. It was the age of glamour, where there was an amazingly distinct line between us and them. In many ways I wish we could go back to that.

This was also the age where TV was still in its infancy – not every single home had one, and those that did certainly didn’t have two or three. Likewise, when people wanted to watch movies, it would still be quite some time before they could watch them in their own homes. So going out to a movie was still an event…a social outing…those who went to a movie knew how to behave. They wouldn’t dream of wasting their time and money on something they were going to talk through, or fuss about with mobile phones (if they had them). In the age of home theatres, people have completely forgotten how to behave in theatres, and something tells me that there’s no going back.

I’m a big fan of great bars and diners, and it always feels they had better ones back in the fifties. Take a look at that one Kevin Spacey is sitting in. Dark mahogany bars and tables…jazz or swing on the jukebox…filled with a certain class of boozers and losers. The bartender is always named “Mac”, and the place is always smokey. Feels like it’d be a much better place to get a bite or drink away your problems than the dozen or so chain restaurants that surround my neighbourhood.

Ah yes, the cars. Back when North America’s love affair with them was going full tilt. Back before they became, as P.J. O’Rourke calls them, “cupholders on wheels”. Take a look at that ’51 Chevy that Russell Crowe drives. Seems like it’d be a fun ride, don’t it? The sort of car you’d pick up your sweetheart in and drive up to inspiration point and make out. It’s a great lookin’ car, and they all looked like that! Heavy, powerful, metal, and slick. Sure they were gas guzzlers, but this is back before it cost ninety cents a litre anyway! Suddenly I’m saddened by the sight of my 2004 Suzuki. Moving on…

So as some of you may or may not know, I’m a photographer. As such, I long for the sorts of cameras they used back then. They were huge, and by no means were they easy to use…but you got a great photo from them. The negative was about four times as big as a thirty five mil shot, so it could record more info and give you a clearer image. That’s why when you look at old photos in magazines and text books, they still look so friggin’ good. Don’t believe me? Compare ’em to photos taken in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s when people decided that smaller cameras and smaller types of film were a good idea. Oh, and I’ve always wanted to be shooting beat photos get to pop out the used flashbulb like you always see in the movies. Seems like fun!

One last thing, and this one oughta be obvious. I like that back in the 50’s guys wore hats more often.

That’ll do it for me. While I invite anyone to leave comments about what movie time/place they’d love to check out, I think for this one I’ll tag the following to post it…

Shannon from Movie Moxie
Alex from Film Forager
Charles from C Diddle’s Movie Views
Ivy from Do You Have a Flag?
Farzan from At The Scene

Here’s the rules gang, have at it…

1.) Think of a place (real or fictional) and time (past, present, future) portrayed in a movie (or a few) that you would love to visit.
2.) List the setting, period, applicable movie, and year of the applicable movie’s release (for reference).
3.) Explain why, however you’d like (bullet points, list, essay form, screenshots, etc.). If this is a time and place that you have intimate knowledge of, feel free to describe what was done well and what wasn’t done well in portraying it.
4.) If possible, list and provide links to any related movies, websites, books, and/or articles that relate to your choice (s).
5.) Modify Rules #1-4 to your liking. And come up with a better name for this meme.
6.) Link back to this Getafilm post in your post, please.
7.) Tag at least five others to participate!