Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 March 7

= March 7 =

Mr. Smith goes to Washington
What year did the story "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" take place? ~NOT, what year did the movie come out.

Thanks.

JS


 * No year is mentioned in the movie. Even the bill mentioned (number 343 if I remember correctly) doesn't include the full senate number - which indicates which year it was introduced. --Kainaw (talk) 16:11, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * It sounds like one of many movies that is supposed to take place in "the present day", whatever that happens to be when you see the movie. Of course, as the years go by and fashions change, it becomes harder and harder to accept it as the present day, so it might be best to think of it as the year the movie was made. StuRat 18:26, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Interesting interpretation. I've always taken "the present day" to mean when the movie was made, not when I'm watching it.  --Anon, March 7, 2007, 22:39 (UTC).


 * I agree. "The present day" surely means the present day at the time the movie was made.  It might also mean that it's generally meant to be a story set in modern times rather than in historic times, but 50 years after the movie was made we can no longer think of those times as modern.  JackofOz 22:43, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I've specifically seen movies that give the date as "last year", "last month", or "last week", as opposed to a specific date. They would only do it that way if they want you to adjust the date based on when you watch the movie. StuRat 23:39, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * And then there was that terrible show, Max Headroom, that was "20 minutes in the future". --Kainaw (talk) 23:45, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

I must admit - I LOVED Max Headroom. 195.27.12.230 16:29, 16 March 2007 (UTC)