We're the 70s really that filthy as shown in so many movies?

[StarOfGlory]

This is the right answer. I went to school in Hoboken NJ, which is right across the river from NYC. It was the early 1970s and the city was a den of filth. Times Square and that area was all movie theaters showing porn and strip clubs/ peep shows. It was filthy. The entire city was filthy. The murder. The murder rate peaked at the end of the decade when over 3000 murders per year were committed. When I graduated I went to work in the city and I could not describe in words some of the awful, disgusting things I witnessed, including dead bodies laying on the sidewalks in broad daylight as people walked by like the bodies weren't even there.

But I believe things began to change in the late 1960s. Movies and entertainment were once all about good triumphing over evil. Bad guys were vanquished in the end, and everyone lived happily ever after. But in the 1960s, with the war in Vietnam raging, there emerged an idea that God is dead and evil was taking over in his absence. There is no better example of this than Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby". This was one of the first movies where evil was not vanquished, and in fact, Satan came out on top. I thought it was actually an awful movie with horrible characters, some bad acting and silly dialogue, but critics loved it. Shocking.

In any case it seems to me that from then on, things took a turn to the darkest side of humanity, and Hollywood started a trend of trying to outdo the last evil character with one even more evil. Of course this was probably driven by money. Bad guys that did not die in the end could be resurrected in sequels to make even more money!

In a twist of fate, Polanski's wife, actress Sharon Tate, became a victim of a horrific act of evil orchestrated by Charles Manson.

 

[Montanalo]

And, let's pay due respect to women's big hair styles and Farrah Fawcett

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Hey there,

since we have quite a few "more experienced" Cowboys fans here on the boards I'm inclined to ask this question here.

How were the 70s compared to the 60s or 80s or 90s? Many movies from this decade have a really dark tone and paint a pretty rough and grim picture of society back then. I mean there was a lot of friction in the 60s and 80s too for example but those movies are usually pretty colourful and so. Of course there are dark movies from those decades too, but in the 70s it seemed to be the main theme.

I was born in 79 and therefore a kid of the 80s. I remember my childhood being pretty perfect with all those super cool toys, cartoon shows and colourful clothes.

People looked alot more beautiful in the 70s though. Everyone had a perfect body, women had long hair and there was a lot of style. The 80s made us just look stupid. But happy and stupid.

So, what ya think? How did you experience this decade? And I'm not talking politics here, just everyday's life. We're the toys as cool? Or were the neighborhoods dirtier? Houses not painted with pretty colours? Crime everywhere? Or was it just a decade like any other?

Made this thread because I just watched French Connection right after Three days of the Condor. Both great movies but they follow a pattern there.

I was born in 64, and was a kid in the 70s. No, it wasn't widespread filthy back then. There were bad neighborhoods then, just like now, but plenty of people lived in nice houses in the suburbs, as now. One difference was that it was easier to afford to buy a nice house back then. We have more renters than we did back then. They just liked filming movies in gritty-looking areas to create a sense of danger and to build a tense plot. A lot of stuff gets distorted in the movies. I had a friend from Ireland ask if Americans end phone calls without saying goodbye, and instead simply hang up. She said that would be rude in Ireland. I had to explain that that was a movie thing, just like the prefix for every phone number is 555, and that it's also rude in America just to hang up on someone.

 

[Mannix]

Hey there,

since we have quite a few "more experienced" Cowboys fans here on the boards I'm inclined to ask this question here.

How were the 70s compared to the 60s or 80s or 90s? Many movies from this decade have a really dark tone and paint a pretty rough and grim picture of society back then. I mean there was a lot of friction in the 60s and 80s too for example but those movies are usually pretty colourful and so. Of course there are dark movies from those decades too, but in the 70s it seemed to be the main theme.

I was born in 79 and therefore a kid of the 80s. I remember my childhood being pretty perfect with all those super cool toys, cartoon shows and colourful clothes.

People looked alot more beautiful in the 70s though. Everyone had a perfect body, women had long hair and there was a lot of style. The 80s made us just look stupid. But happy and stupid.

So, what ya think? How did you experience this decade? And I'm not talking politics here, just everyday's life. We're the toys as cool? Or were the neighborhoods dirtier? Houses not painted with pretty colours? Crime everywhere? Or was it just a decade like any other?

Made this thread because I just watched French Connection right after Three days of the Condor. Both great movies but they follow a pattern there.

70's were the best! Wouldn't know where to even start...maybe with Peggy Lipton, Jaclyn Smith, and Linda Carter...and always this below....enjoy....thank me later!!!

 

[nightrain]

The good old days were not necessarily good. Skitching was very popular and very dangerous. Kids today are doing it on top of subway cars and often the results are as you would expect.

 

[Tabascocat]

Bo Derek, Clint Eastwood, Evel Knievel and the Dukes of Hazzard. Need I say more?

 

[Mannix]

In a twist of fate, Polanski's wife, actress Sharon Tate, became a victim of a horrific act of evil orchestrated by Charles Manson.

Rosemary's Baby was one of those movies that may have been ground breaking at the time, but it sure didn't hold up for those born a decade or two later....I busted out laughing when I saw Aunt Bee's best friend Clara Edwards in it.

 

[Runwildboys]

Rosemary's Baby was one of those movies that may have been ground breaking at the time, but it sure didn't hold up for those born a decade or two later....I busted out laughing when I saw Aunt Bee's best friend Clara Edwards in it.

I was laughing through the whole movie. It was hilarious.

 

[Blackspider214]

I was born in 1984 so all I know of the 70s is through films, tv shows, music. But I love it all. The tv shows, movies and especially the music. Probably my favorite decade overall of music. Just a much different feel in that era overall than any other decade.

 

[triplets_93]

Hey there,

since we have quite a few "more experienced" Cowboys fans here on the boards I'm inclined to ask this question here.

How were the 70s compared to the 60s or 80s or 90s? Many movies from this decade have a really dark tone and paint a pretty rough and grim picture of society back then. I mean there was a lot of friction in the 60s and 80s too for example but those movies are usually pretty colourful and so. Of course there are dark movies from those decades too, but in the 70s it seemed to be the main theme.

I was born in 79 and therefore a kid of the 80s. I remember my childhood being pretty perfect with all those super cool toys, cartoon shows and colourful clothes.

People looked alot more beautiful in the 70s though. Everyone had a perfect body, women had long hair and there was a lot of style. The 80s made us just look stupid. But happy and stupid.

So, what ya think? How did you experience this decade? And I'm not talking politics here, just everyday's life. We're the toys as cool? Or were the neighborhoods dirtier? Houses not painted with pretty colours? Crime everywhere? Or was it just a decade like any other?

Made this thread because I just watched French Connection right after Three days of the Condor. Both great movies but they follow a pattern there.

The crime that was featured taking place in the 70's was usually in big cities.
There were city slums by the 70's, from the "Great Urban Renewal" of the 1960's.
When I think of big city "dirty", as your topic heading mentions, I think of NYC of the Godfather, in the early 1900s. (The Robert De Niro stuff).