Does anybody have a good movie for the Computer Age? Larry Borgia is right…The Matrix is too fantastic for our purposes here, and The Net just sucked. Do we need to teach our coma-nauts about <shudder> disco?
How about Hackers. It’s like the Rocky of computer movies, and the coma-nauts get a little bonus with this
I tailored my list to reflect historical and cultural shifts. It might not be perfect, but these are my choices.
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
Thirteen Days.
Apollo 13.
Apocalypse Now.
Star Wars - the first one. This movie was a major cultural shift for Hollywood and America both.
All The President’s Men.
Miracle.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Office Space. This might close the loop on the first one.
Do The Right Thing or another Spike Lee movie would close out the list, I guess.
I have to go for 12 movies that show just how society has advanced in the last 50 years:
Rocky
Rocky II
Rocky III
Rocky IV
Rocky V
Police Academy
Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
Police Academy 3: Back In Training
Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol
Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege
Police Academy 7: Mission To Moscow
I think they cover the major social and geopolitical changes.
Yeah, but then the male choronauts would have to leave their wives (and maybe one or two wives would leave their husbands…)
Upon reflection, substitute The Right Stuff for Apollo 13. Both are fine space movies, but The Right Stuff covers a broader time period, is a better representation of American culture and society at the time, and is better written.
Hey, I can’t stand either film, but the general public seem to love the guy (and I’ll admit he can be good, but not here). And people from the 50s will be coming in (presumably) with more safe/conservative sensibilities so these two films will be relatively easier to latch on to.
I think panamajack nailed it with WarGames. I would substitute my vote for The Matrix with that since it does discuss computers (both as tools and entertainment) quite well.
Although I like The Right Stuff a lot, the problem with it communicating our achievements in space to the 50s bunch is that it ends way too soon. No discussion of the moon, the shuttle, space stations, etc. Space Cowboys isn’t nearly as good, but it is enjoyable and does have the connective tissue that links all these things together.
I haven’t seen Space Cowboys, so I can’t say if it would work better to drag people into the present day. I chose The Right Stuff because it’s a brilliant film, and for the idea that things that were just over the horizon (but still graspable) for our chrononauts are old fashioned now.
For a modern movie, I’m almost tempted to go with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. They get pissed off about what people are writing on an internet message board; that says more about how most people use computers these days than any other movie I can think of.
You’re an evil, evil person. 
This seems appropriate.
None of you have picked anything that remotely addresses the Women’s Movement of the late 60’s early 70’s
Prudence and the Pill should be in there somewhere
and
Norma Rae
And yes - we DO need to include some representation of the Disco Era. How about 54?
Well, there’s that.
Still, I think I’d rather show And the Band Played On, or Fatal Attraction, if I’m gonna show an AIDS movie.
I didn’t know Fatal Attraction was AIDS-centric?
Sure. If Invasion of the Body Snatchers was about the cold war paranoia (which it was), then Fatal Attraction was about AIDS.
Maybe, but from a strictly pedagogic POV it would be better to give them a movie that was a little more explicit. If our returnees didn’t know there was such a thing as AIDS at all, they won’t be able to guess at the implied subtext of Fatal Attraction.
We’re not compiling a list of good movies here, were compiling a list of useful ones. All the movies should be as explicit as possible on the subject we are using them for.
we have to throw in a teen movie to show how culture has influenced and been influenced by the youth of the times
and since it includes all the damn clichés how about Not Another Teen Movie
The problem with just about every movie that is a “take-off” on a genre is that the Sleepers wouldn’t be aware of what was being mocked. I thought about using Airplane! but left it off for that very reason. We also need to address the fall of the USSR. A James Bond movie, perhaps?