Talk about making you feel old! It was twenty-seven years ago that we were first introduced to the character of Indiana Jones in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. This weekend, the latest installment in the series was released, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I was just finishing my junior year of high school and now I'm a married mother of a teen and tween and turning 44 in a week. This made me start to wonder what else had changed.
Series star Harrison Ford had been divorced from his first wife for two years and was two years away from marrying his second wife. His present squeeze, Calista Flockhart, was finishing up her sophomore year of high school in New Jersey. As for his costars, Cate Blanchett was a 12-year-old school girl in Melbourne, Australia, and Shia LaBeouf was five years from being born. Unrelated to the film, Britney Spears was born.
Ronald Reagan was in his first year of presidency with George Bush being his vice president, and the Iran hostages had just been released. The Space Shuttle Columbia went up in space for the first time, and Pac-Man was introduced to the United States. The term internet was first used, and MS-DOS was released by Microsoft.
The cable station MTV made its debut, as did the sitcom Gimme a Break starring Nell Carter and the police drama Hill Street Blues. Raiders of the Lost Ark was the top grossing movie, followed by On Golden Pond and Arthur. Walter Cronkite resigned from CBS, and Prince Charles and Lady Diana were wed, and second to this televised wedding was Luke and Laura's on General Hospital. Actress Natalie Wood drowned. The #1 pop song was Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes; the #1 R&B song was Endless Love by Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross; and the #1 rock song was Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones.
The average price of a new home was $78,200, compared to $292,200 today, and the average income was $21,050, while the median income today is $61,599. A first class stamp went up in price from 15 cents to 18, and is now 42 cents. A gallon of regular gas cost $1.25, and was $3.98 for unleaded when I filled up my gas tank last week. The average cost of a movie ticket was $2.78, and AMC Theaters introduced the first cup holders. I now pay $5.50 for matinee and can pay up to $8.50 at night, depending on which theater I got to.
The question then, is how has Indiana Jones changed? In Raiders of the Lost Ark, it was 1936, and Indie was searching for the Arc of the Covenant, which was rumored to hold the Ten Commandments. He fought Nazis, snakes, and an old enemy, René Belloq. In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it's now 1957, and he's being fired from the university. He helps a young rebel, Mutt (LaBeouf), in a search for the Crystal Skull of Akator, and fends off Soviet agents, led by Irina Spalko (Blanchett). Just like back then, Marion (Karen Allen) is still his gal.
This has done nothing to appease my sense of feeling old, but I'm still just as excited to see old Indie, once again.
LauraBelle
Troubled Hollywood
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