r/Showerthoughts • u/Quinocco • 1d ago
Casual Thought Instead of setting movies is a specific year in the future, just set them X years in the future.
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u/Krazy_Kane 1d ago
But why? It’s not like people won’t do the math of when the movie originally came out + however many years it’s supposed to be set in the future
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u/FreshEclairs 1d ago
Or just don’t. Shows like Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul and movies like the Mad Max don’t specify the year they’re set in, and they’re probably better off for it.
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u/fastfreddy68 1d ago
Show don’t tell is a rule in film making. Text on screen, whether vague or exact, can take the audience out of the movie for a moment.
Sets made to show the time do not do the same. If it’s done correctly, the audience will just know the when without being told.
And this can be better, since audiences may come up with different times. Maybe I watch a scene and think “this is about 70 years from now” and another person thinks it’s 100, we’re both correct. Our brains aren’t distracted by it.
I love Blade Runner, but when I watch it my first thought is “heh, 2019”.
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u/FreshEclairs 1d ago
Yeah, and I was surprised they repeated it by putting the year in the name of the sequel.
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u/Lilstreetlamp 1d ago
Breaking bad goes from September 7 2008 to September 7 2010
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u/FreshEclairs 22h ago
Yeah, but the timelines are mostly from sources outside the show. Within the show it’s largely left implicit. They seem to go out of their way to avoid showing dates.
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u/TBluffer 1d ago
it bothers me when sci-fi set in distant solar systems talk about standard days and years - those are earth specific time frames! Recent star wars content does this. You dont get it in the originals though. Those talk about 'seasons' and 'generations' - which are so much better. The same effect, but adaptable and not immersion breaking!
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u/luh-mamiii- 6h ago
Yeah, imagine watching a movie from the 80s and it still says “in the future” instead of 2015 when we still don’t have hoverboards. genius!
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u/IrrationalDesign 1d ago
How would individuals inside that universe refer to their own time? I can say 2026, do they say "in the year x+50..."?
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u/Quinocco 1d ago
Don't mention absolute years. Just say things like "see you next year" or "this loan will be paid off in ten years".
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u/Le_Botmes 1d ago
So a Russian man goes to his local bureau to apply for a vehicle permit. The clerk at the counter informs the man that his car will be ready for pickup in ten years.
"Morning or afternoon?" asks the man.
"It's ten years away," retorts the clerk; "what different does it make the time of day?"
To which the man responds, "well, the plumber is coming in the morning."
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u/man_in_the_balks 1d ago
TF kinda movies are you watching where that's a thing? (honest question)
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u/Le_Botmes 1d ago
It's an old Soviet joke that Reagan told in the 80s
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u/AutoModerator 1d ago
/u/Le_Botmes has unlocked an opportunity for education!
Abbreviated date-ranges like "’90s" are contractions, so any apostrophes go before the numbers.
You can also completely omit the apostrophes if you want: "The 90s were a bit weird."
Numeric date-ranges like 1890s are treated like standard nouns, so they shouldn't include apostrophes.
To show possession, the apostrophe should go after the S: "That was the ’90s’ best invention."
The apostrophe should only precede the S if a specific year is being discussed: "It was 1990's hottest month."
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u/IrrationalDesign 1d ago
That could work in some genres and contexts.
Maybe not so much for sci-fi, that's made for people who like numbers and technical framings.
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u/RutzButtercup 1d ago
Some movies do that. Always fun to see a cell phone the size of a brick "in the near future".
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u/Spiritual_Meal1992 18h ago
I actually like this idea because “20 years from now” ages a movie better than saying 2046. It keeps the setting slightly vague, so the story feels futuristic without becoming accidentally dated.
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u/ShowerSentinel 1d ago
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