# Time or date in movies or songs where your perception of that time/date has changed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607 "2025-07-07T21:02:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/1 "2025-07-07T21:02:11Z")
I had a hard time thinking of a good way to state my OP, but yesterday I heard Tom T Hall’s ‘Old Dogs, Children And Watermelon Wine’. The first few evocative lines are: _“How old do you think I am?” he said_ _I said, “Well, I didn’t know”_ _He said, “I turned 65 about 11 months ago”_ _I was sittin’ in Miami pourin’ blended whiskey down_ _When this old gray black gentleman was cleanin’ up the lounge"_ Back when I first heard this in the late 70s, I pictured some old guy on his last leg, and I thought how must if feel to be _that_ old? I’m five years older than that “old gray black gentleman”, now, and I feel great! Similarly, I was in high school when I first heard Don Williams’ ‘Amanda’. And these lines: _I got my first guitar_ _When I was fourteen_ _Now I’m crowding thirty_ _And still wearin’ jeans._ How much longer, I thought back then, can I still wear jeans? Thirty seemed _so_ old. What a rebel that guy must be to be wearting jean when you are thirty. I’m 40 years past 30 and, yep, still wearing jeans. And then, of course, there’s ‘Escape From New York’. In 1980, 1997 seemed impossibly far off. That was almost 30 years ago. I made it to the future! Looking back at that ‘future’, it seems almost quaint. ---
**Author:** ![TheBryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@TheBryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBryan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/2 "2025-07-08T01:01:36Z")
My perception of history has changed a lot as I’ve gotten older. I grew up in the 80s, and in recent years, I’ve started to view the celebrities who were “old fogeys” back then in more of a contemporary light. Stars like Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Dean Martin: They feel like they were more part of my generation when looking at how the current generation compares to my generation. It’s weird because I’m not one of those “good ol’ days” kind of guys. I’ve just learned to really appreciate the stuff that I should have appreciated when I was younger. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/3 "2025-07-08T05:39:34Z")
Same. I used the think Glen Campbell was too… something. But now recognize him for the great artist he was. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/4 "2025-07-08T07:36:05Z")
I’m currently the same age that Pat Morita was when he played crusty old Mister Myagi in _Karate Kid_. 52. Pat Morita was 52. (Looked at least 15 years older by today’s standards.) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/5 "2025-07-08T11:06:02Z")
Not sure if this is what you suggest, but 1984 and 2001 likely deserve a mention. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/6 "2025-07-08T12:18:16Z")
Of course, 1984 makes the point that nobody’s really sure what the year actually is, because it could just be another one of Big Brother’s lies. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/7 "2025-07-08T12:42:28Z")
I have the perception that people who were in their late teens and 20s back when I as elementary school age (the late 80s) somehow seem more “adult” than people in their late teens and 20s do today. Demi Moore, Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Ally Sheedy, etc., were all born in the early to mid 60s and thus in their early to mid 20s when they appeared in movies like _Breakfast Club_ and _Weekend at Bernie’s_. The 8 to 12 year old me, and even the present day me, perceives them as being more “adult” than people today who were born around 2000. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/8 "2025-07-08T12:55:41Z")
The classic novel _Cranford_ by Mary Gaskell is about a young woman staying with her elderly female relatives and describing their quirks and foibles. And by “elderly”, I mean they’re in their 50s! ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/9 "2025-07-08T12:56:39Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > And then, of course, there’s ‘Escape From New York’. In 1980, 1997 seemed impossibly far off. That was almost 30 years ago. I made it to the future! Looking back at that ‘future’, it seems almost quaint. I have a similar feeling about _Back to the Future 2_. When I first saw that as a young kid in… I guess it was 1989 when it came out, the 2015 in the film seemed all shiny and futuristic and impossibly far into the future. I remember when the exact day they travelled forward to rolled round in real life and laughing at how ridiculously far fetched a lot of it had been (_Jaws 19_?! No chance of even a fifth after the abomination of the fourth one. But I jest). And now… 2015 is TEN BLOODY YEARS AGO!!! I’m getting.. well, not old, but distinctly middle-aged. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/10 "2025-07-08T13:53:52Z")
A couple from Paul McCartney: “1985” by Wings (the b-side to “Band on the Run”) - seemed a ways off even though it was only ten years in the future. Then suddenly it was here, and now it was 40 years ago! And then of course “When I’m Sixty-Four”. Jeez, that’s almost retirement age! Now I’m just a couple years away, and my wife has been there done that already. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/11 "2025-07-08T14:02:00Z")
Nevermind, hijack ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/12 "2025-07-08T14:10:10Z")
Not quite movies or film, but for me, the television-age moment came when all the pro athletes’ ages that had been older than became younger than me. Especially when I realized that, at age 37, I was at or past the retirement age for nearly all NFL players like QBs. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/13 "2025-07-08T14:36:54Z")
I was in elementary school when the movie _Logan’s Run_ came out. I was probably in junior high when I read the novel. The first time I read it, 99% percent of the characters were older than me. I perceived them as I would the characters of any other book. The book sat on my bookshelf for several years. When I was 22 years old, I picked it up and read it again. This time, 99% of the characters were younger than me, including some disturbingly violent 14-year-olds. It was a bit of a shock. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/14 "2025-07-08T14:42:45Z")
Oops sorry I thought music was included, but the OP just asked for movies. Never mind. 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/15 "2025-07-08T14:44:41Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > I’m currently the same age that Pat Morita was when he played crusty old Mister Myagi in _Karate Kid_. 52. Pat Morita was 52. (Looked at least 15 years older by today’s standards.) In all fairness, Mr Myagi is a WWII vet born in 1925. So he’s actually supposed to be like 60 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/16 "2025-07-08T14:48:52Z")
But the actor is the age of the actor and looks like the actor. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/17 "2025-07-08T15:52:14Z")
I turned 21 in 1969. Back then the motto of my generation was “Don’t trust anyone over 30”! Can you believe it! What a joke. What youthful arrogance. Now I probably don’t automatically trust anyone UNDER ~~50~~ 60. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/18 "2025-07-08T16:06:00Z")
I remember reading Arthur Clarke’s **2001 - A Space Odyssey** in 1968 and doing a calculation in my head about how old I would be then. I realized I’d only be 54 and was pretty sure I could live that long if I could survive my impending tour in Vietnam. I was really looking forward to the exotic electronics and capabilities of that far-off time, which, while fairly astonishing, fell far short of my expectations. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/19 "2025-07-08T17:46:00Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Oops sorry I thought music was included, but the OP just asked for movies. Never mind. 🤦‍♂️ The “oops” belongs to me! The OP has a typo, I meant to write ‘movies or songs’ (as evidenced by referencing songs myself) . Feel free to add literature as well. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607/20 "2025-07-08T18:18:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I remember reading Arthur Clarke’s **2001 - A Space Odyssey** in 1968 and doing a calculation in my head about how old I would be then. I realized I’d only be 54 and was pretty sure I could live that long if I could survive my impending tour in Vietnam. I was really looking forward to the exotic electronics and capabilities of that far-off time, which, while fairly astonishing, fell far short of my expectations. The things about **2001** that got to me were: It was only nine years between **2001** and **Star Wars**. In my life, it seemed like forever. It was only 17 years between **2001** (1968) and **2010** (1985), which seemed like an even longer forever. But **2010** came out _FORTY YEARS AGO!!_ – more than twice as long as the span between the two movies. It’s a good thing that, in that time, we didn’t get a movie of **2061: Odyssey Three**. or of **3001: The Final Odyssey** But it can still happen: > [@](#): > > In 2000, _[Yahoo!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahoo!)_ reported that MGM and actor/director [Tom Hanks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hanks) were in discussions regarding adapting both _2061: Odyssey Three_ and _3001: The Final Odyssey_ into movies, with Hanks reportedly to play Frank Poole in the _3001_ film. An update in 2001 stated that there was no further development on the project.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2061:_Odyssey_Three#cite_note-5) > **[2061: Odyssey Three](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2061:_Odyssey_Three)** > > 2061: Odyssey Three is a science-fiction novel by the British writer Arthur C. Clarke, published in 1987. It is the third book in Clarke's Space Odyssey series. It returns to one of the lead characters of the previous novels, Heywood Floyd, and his adventures from the 2061 return of Halley's Comet to Jupiter's moon Europa. > Clarke had originally intended to write the third book after NASA's Galileo mission to Jupiter had returned its findings in the late 1980s. The probe had been initially sch... [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-or-date-in-movies-or-songs-where-your-perception-of-that-time-date-has-changed/1020607.md?page=2)