The new Fox TV series Alcatraz is a good program. Interesting story line and well written......BUT I have just one problem with the whole story. (if you want to read more about the series, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz_%28TV_series%29)
Without giving the total story away, the story deals with people being in 1963 and then suddenly being in 2012. Ok.....I can handle that. The one thing I can't handle is thinking about the change in the USA from 1963 to 49 years later. Think of the brand changes that happened in that time. PanAm was a major player in the airline market in the 1960's. Pan American Airways was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991.
If Pan American being gone wasn't enough of a change in 49 years, food prices would be a major shock for anyone arriving from 1963. In 1963, a 12oz box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes was a whopping 0.23 cents. The average yearly income in 1963 was $5,807.00 a year. In 2011, a 12 oz box of Kellogg's cost $3.79 a box. The average yearly income in 2010 (the latest year I can find) is $41,673.83. Like WOW.
Another great difference, gas prices. In 1963, a gallon of gas was 30 cents. In Sept 2011, gas was an average of $3.67 per gallon.
The changes in laws in 49 years would be almost more than a mind would be able to take. Seat belt laws would be a new thing. In 1963 most cars didn't have seat belts but in 2012 we have laws in most states mandating their use!!??!! My parents 1963 Buick Special had front lap belts and no shoulder belts or rear seat belts at all.
According to the story line these people from 1963 interact with people from 2012 with little or no problem or thoughts of the changes in 49 years. At some point, in items not shown in the story line I can only imagine the people from 1963 trying to buy a pack of gum and flipping out...."Last week I paid a nickle for a pack of Doublemint gum and this week its thirty-five cents!!??!!" or I can see them walking into a men's store they used to shop at and asking "Where is Steve?" and the answer being "Steve died 15 years ago".....
There are a million other ways that would be hard on someone stepping off the boat from 1963....
They wouldn't even know what WTF means....but they would learn that quickly methinks.
Ah, the good old days!
J.
Dov and I downloaded the first three episodes on my teenaged son's recommendation. It's a goofy story line, somewhere between Cold Case, Roswell, Castle, and a gazillion other shows. But somehow it's well done and compelling.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it would be hard to come back after so many years. The culture shock would be really something else. But I guess they kind of knew it would be that way and just roll with the punches. (Ow--talk about punches. Those prices!)
The prices would be a big tip off. We also thought about the price of cigarettes or the number of imported cars on the road now. Importing didn't start happening in large numbers until the middle 60's and VW had a lock on the import market until the mid 70's.....
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