ST Now...and Then (The World in 1983)

Apologies to everyone if a similar thread already exists, but a cursory search did not reveal one--so...

The Force Awakens--the first new film featuring the beloved characters of Luke, Leia, and Han--is nearly here. Personally, I've been waiting for this film since I was a child. I may not have changed (much) since Jedi premiered in 1983, but the world sure has...(prepare to feel old...or baffled...)

Full Disclosure: I'm an historian, so I love this kind of stuff.

In 1983...

The U.S. President was Ronald Reagan, the Canadian Prime Minister was Pierre Trudeau (today his son occupies that office), and Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the U.K.

Billboard's top hits were Beat It by Michael Jackson, Let's Dance by David Bowie, and Flashdance (What a Feeling) by Irene Cara.

You were listening to those tunes almost exclusively on vinyl and cassette tape.

The top three television programs were 60 Minutes, Dallas, and Dynasty.

Your home computer, if you had one, was likely either a Commodore 64, Apple IIe, or Atari 800. It's processing power is dwarfed several times over by the phone in your pocket--and all "mass storage" was done using cassette tapes or "diskettes."

Speaking of phones, yours and virtually everyone else's in 1983 was a land-line, and they all had the same ringtone.

And finally, the internet, as we currently think of it, was still nearly a decade away from being realized.

I would love to hear more...

 

I think one line in Star Wars says a lot. Where Leia talks about hiding the tapes (?) inside R2? Computer tapes, so 1980's.

 

Here's a scary thought - the distance between 1983 and now, is exactly the same as the difference between 1951 and 1983. Can anyone think of any film released in 1951 that would be able to even have a direct sequel with original cast in 1983, let alone one that's likely to be as successful as this?

 

@Jedi Historian Great thread. I remember my mom had gotten me some shirts from the JC Penney catalog that had "Revenge of the Jedi" on the sleeves. I also had a picture storybook that had images that I don't remember being in the film. GI Joes were becoming my favorite non-Star Wars toys and I often encorporated the Joes into my Star Wars play. I also remember my dad's awesome van lol.

 

Neat stuff, really wild when you put it into perspective

 

I once owned a Star Wars pop up book that I'm sure would be worth money if I had it - you could pull a tab at the side and make Luke and Leia swing across the Death Star, or flip the page in a way that made Vader kill obi wan

 

Oh man. It was the year of the Great Star Wars Christmas for me. My all time best childhood Christmas memory. My mom went all obsessive and made it her mission to find every SW related toy. I was totally freaking out. I couldn't decide which toy to play with first, the Falcon, the AT-AT or the Ewok Village.

 

I missed out on toys. I'm 35 which meant I was *just* too young. My parents weren't into films at all, so it was only at age 11 or so that I saw Star Wars after a new school friend assured me that despite not being cool, it was worth watching. (Star Wars wasn't cool in a rough part of east London in 1991, and my only experience of fandom was an older cousin of 20 who angrily shouted at toy shop owners if they didn't stock Star Wars toys and was later sectioned under the mental health act)
I became a fan, it's fair to say. And I think the age I watched it at meant that different parts resonated with me than if I'd been younger. I love the lore, more than anything else; the characters are great, but it's their relationship to the universe that does it for me

 

Yup. I'm 38 so you must have been just a teeny bit too young?

I also have awesome memories of bugging Kenner for stuff. I ordered the original Emperor Palpatine using mailorder cutout barcodes. I even wrote Kenner a letter complaining that the heads had snapped off Obi-Wan and Luke (they sent replacements). They even sent replacement lightsabers (the ones that retracted into the figure's arm) and blasters when I lost them.

 

I did have a Luke Skywalker figure, which I used as a Matt Trakker figure for MASK.

 

MASK!

I'd like to see that revived complete with the 80's Camaro.

Did you know that this happened?

Spoiler

Anyways... back to reminiscing!

 

That's BB-8 and Matt Trakker combined, right?

Also: I'd forgotten about the acronyms. Maybe the Knights of Ren are the Really Evil Nasties?