Dates in Fiction

[DrFaroohk]

One thing I can't stand is when people can't get dates right in works on fiction.

A good example of this is the Hannibal Lecter books. I used to have a whole list of examples written down but I can't remember exactly where the errors are, but I know there's a lot of stuff like one book happens in 1980, and then the next book is seven years later, but it's 1992 or something.

Anyway, it bugs me. Get shit right! It's such a minor detail and it seems so easy to keep track of it. It's the date!

[radiocerk]

I have that problem with movies. I make historical costuming, so I'm a bit snarkier than most. But at least get the silhouettes right. When I see a movie set in the 1700's by its date card, and then people running around in bustle dresses, it makes my brain hurt.

[blas87]

There are some shows and movies meant to modernize history......like Spartacus, one of my favorites from Starz, they weren't very historically correct with the hair/makeup (it's obvious no one ould dye their hair blonde back then and have black roots and I doubt women had bangs or people had perfect teeth), but that was the charm of the show. On the commentary, it was said that they didn't want it to be perfect.

But now, if you're going to make a movie or show that is supposed to be as close to correct as possible, then yes, minor details are very crucial.

My dad laughed at That 70s Show because the baby poop yellow license plates weren't around in 1976.

[Andara Bledin]

it's obvious no one ould dye their hair blonde back then and have black roots and I doubt women had bangs or people had perfect teeth

Bangs were popular in ancient Egypt, and apparently hair dyes and bleaching agents were the rage in ancient Rome. Bad teeth is a modern problem most likely tied to a not naturally occurring foodstuff, such as refined sugar.

^-.-^

[evillebee]

One of my pet peeves!! I read a book by Clive Cussler where he went forward in time (at the time he was writing the book) a couple years. One BIG problem........9/11 happened. When there are specific dates where politicians are involved and the date in the book reads 9/13/2001 (not exact, I'm guessing) it makes no sense in context with reality. I know it's fiction, but you cannot have a book (even fictional) about the USA involving fictional politicians and remove 9/11.

[Arcade Man D]

I know it's fiction, but you cannot have a book (even fictional) about the USA involving fictional politicians and remove 9/11.

Why not? Clive didn't know 9/11 was going to happen. And there's always alternate reality fiction that might have President Gore and the 2002 terrorist attack on the Statue of Liberty (yay Chrononauts: The Gore Years!)

[wolfie]

By the same token, in the years leading up to the Olympics in Sydney Australia, Denver didn't get nuked, there was no war with Japan, no plane crashed into the Capitol, Saddam Hussein didn't get assasinated by an Iranian "sleeper" agent, Iran didn't launch an ebola attack against the U.S., etc. ("Sum of All Fears", "Debt of Honor", and "Executive Orders" by Tom Clancy - the Olympics provided part of the backdrop to "Rainbow Six".)

What gets to me are "customized for this station" lyrics that don't fit, and anachronistic lyrics. Some examples:
Undone by Dean Brody. For technical and legal reasons, broadcasts meant to be picked up over a short distance are usually at either the top or bottom of the AM band ("Tuner dialed to 1650" - it's one of a few Mondegreens on this lyrics page). From the setup, it looks like the couple is watching the drive-in movie from the hilltop, and they're on the fringes of the broadcast for the soundtrack. Replacing "1650" with the call sign of a station in the middle of the FM band doesn't fit.
Johhny Come Lately by Steve Earle. Nobody whose grandparents met in London during the Second World War would have served in Vietnam. The last verse should have started "Now my daddy sang me this song".
Something To Be Proud Of by Montgomery Gentry. By the time of the first combat loss of an F-15, GTOs were already considered classic muscle cars, far out of the reach of an 18 year old. It would still fit the song if the father and uncle had been "Flying Thunderbolts through hostile air" (WW2) or "Flying Thunderchiefs through hostile air" (Vietnam), but for a kid who turned 18 during the early to mid 1970s (logical for his father to have served in one of those wars, although it would be pushing things for Vietnam), a GTO would be reasonable to find on a used car lot.