In 1950, the world was a different place.
There was no Google yet. Or Yahoo. Or L.facebook, for that matter.
In 1950, the year of your birth, the top selling movie was Cinderella. People buying the popcorn in the cinema lobby had glazing eyes when looking at the poster.
Remember, that was before there were DVDs. Heck, even before there was VHS. People were indeed watching movies in the cinema, and not downloading them online. Imagine the packed seats, the laughter, the excitement, the novelty. And mostly all of that without 3D computer effects.
Do you know who won the Oscars that year? The academy award for the best movie went to All About Eve. The Oscar for best foreign movie that year went to The Walls of Malapaga. The top actor was José Ferrer for his role as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cyrano de Bergerac. The top actress was Judy Holliday for her role as Emma 'Billie' Dawn in Born Yesterday. The best director? Joseph L. Mankiewicz for All About Eve.
In the year 1950, the time when you arrived on this planet, books were still popularly read on paper, not on digital devices. Trees were felled to get the word out. The number one US bestseller of the time was The Cardinal by Henry Morton Robinson. Oh, that's many years ago. Have you read that book? Have you heard of it?
In 1950... The Israeli government recognizes the People's Republic of China. The U.S. Army begins to deploy anti-aircraft cannons to protect nuclear stations and military targets. The Soviet Union claims to have an atomic bomb. The first pagers are developed. Influential British comic Eagle is launched United States defeats England 1-0 in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The first TV remote control, Zenith Radio's Lazy Bones, is marketed. Payment first made by Diners Club card, in New York, marks the first use of a charge card. The International Police Association IPA -- the largest police organization in the world -- is formed.
That was the world you were born into. Since then, you and others have changed it.
The Nobel prize for Literature that year went to Bertrand Russell. The Nobel Peace prize went to Ralph Bunche. The Nobel prize for physics went to Cecil Frank Powell from the United Kingdom for his development of the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and his discoveries regarding mesons made with this method. The sensation this created was big. But it didn't stop the planets from spinning, on and on, year by year. Years in which you would grow bigger, older, smarter, and, if you were lucky, sometimes wiser. Years in which you also lost some things. Possessions got misplaced. Memories faded. Friends parted ways. The best friends, you tried to hold on. This is what counts in life, isn't it?
The 1950s were indeed a special decade. The American economy is on the upswing. The cold war betwen the US and the Soviet Union is playing out throughout the whole decade. Anti-communism prevails in the United States and leads to the Red Scare and accompanying Congressional hearings. Africa begins to become decolonized. The Korean war takes place. The Vietnam War starts. The Suez Crisis war is fought on Egyptian territory. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and others overthrow authorities to create a communist government on Cuba. Funded by the US, reconstructions in Japan continue. In Japan, film maker Akira Kurosawa creates the movies Rashomon and Seven Samurai. The FIFA World Cups are won by Uruguay, then West Germany, then Brazil.
Do you remember the movie that was all the rage when you were 15? A Thousand Clowns. Do you still remember the songs playing on the radio when you were 15? Maybe it was Downtown by Petula Clark. Were you in love? Who were you in love with, do you remember?
In 1950, 15 years earlier, a long time ago, the year when you were born, the song Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy by Red Foley topped the US charts. Do you know the lyrics? Do you know the tune? Sing along.
Have you ever passed the corner of Forth and Grand?
Where a little ball o' rhythm has a shoe-shine stand
People gather 'round and they clap their hands
He's a great big bundle o' joy
He pops the boogie woogie rag
The Chattanoogie shoe-shine boy
...
There's a kid outside, shouting, playing. It doesn't care about time. It doesn't know about time. It shouts and it plays and thinks time is forever. You were once that kid.
When you were 9, the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth was playing. When you were 8, there was The Light in the Forest.
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... it's 1950. There's TV noise coming from the second floor. Someone turned up the volume way too high. The sun is burning from above. These were different times. The show playing on TV is Beat the Clock. The sun goes down. Someone switches channels. There's The Jack Benny Show on now. That's the world you were born in.
Progress, year after year. Do you wonder where the world is heading towards? The technology available today would have blown your mind in 1950. Do you know what was invented in the year you were born? The Credit Card. Steadicam Tracking Shot.
In 1950 when I was born
Papa couldn't afford to buy us much
He said, "Be proud of what you are
There's something special 'bout people like us"
...
That's from the song People Like Us by Talking Heads.
In 1950, a new character entered the world of comic books: Snoopy. Bang! Boom! But that's just fiction, right? In the real world, in 1950, Bill Murray was born. And Stevie Wonder. Jay Leno, too. And you, of course. Everyone an individual. Everyone special. Everyone taking a different path through life.
It's 2014.
The world is a different place.
What path have you taken?
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