New views of old scenes
I have a soft spot for historical scenery. Let me explain. Any time the newspaper runs a “then and now” series of photos, showing what changes have taken place in a particular place, I’m hooked. Love to play the Find the Differences game.
Similarly, any movie which takes me back to an earlier moment has possibilities. Not a fictional place; this is my replacement for time travel. And, some directors have a gift for painting the right pictures. This afternoon, I watched (for a third time) Gangster Squad. A portrayal of Los Angeles, from the period when I wasn’t yet born, but could have been.
I like to see old technology, and old furniture. Stuff that had trickled down to my family’s economic strata by the time it mattered. There are a number of other movies that “do” the same thing, and in hindsight, they do it well.
Also, I’ve mentioned the wealth of material now available on the web. In particular, old rail footage. Trains marked my youth, and the rolling stock of the 50’s was (essentially) the same as the rolling stock of the 40’s… economics, nothing else. Obviously, the Island went Diesel early on, but a steam locomotive is still fun to watch.
How will my kids “remember” the period from their own “just before”. A lot more access to old TV and movie imagery than I ever had. Will it be important to them? They haven’t had to depend on written descriptions in the way that someone of my generation.
