When did people start behaving and talking like they do now?
May 24, 2020 20:11:42 GMT 10
Post by SharksFan99 on May 24, 2020 20:11:42 GMT 10
This is something that I've quite often thought about it in the past. The birth of the modern age can arguably be traced back to the 1950s when television became a staple of the middle-class and youth culture emerged thanks to the popularity of rock 'n roll, but even with the amount of social progress that was made during the Mid 20th Century, its pretty obvious from watching movies, interviews and TV shows between the '50s-'70s that there was still a degree of innocence and formality in the way in which people conducted themselves. People dressed more proper and used less colloquialisms compared to people on average now. In the '50s and even well into the 1960s, many actors continued to use the old-timey, Transatlantic accent on film.
Earlier today I watched Jaws 2 in full for the first time. There was a similarity in the way in which people acted and spoke to each other, like the characters in the movie saying the words "shit" or "damn" when something bad had happened. However, it's clear from watching it that although there is a notable similarity between the people of 1978 and people today, there are several key differences in their mannerisms too.
This New York street interview from 1979 demonstrates it well. The general manner of speaking is very similar. It doesn't sound 'old-timey' or unrelatable by any means, but pay close attention to the people themselves. The social etiquette is different, there's genuine intrigue in the fact that a television crew are filming on the streets; people are even gathering behind the interviewees! No one says the word "like" or "you know" in replace of the word "um.." and the people themselves are generally more refrained. It actually comes across as quite prim and proper.
Compare that to this street interview from 1988 and everything about it appears strikingly more modern, despite it only being a 9 year difference. The teenage kid at the start is wearing an Adidas-branded shirt, people walking past aren't phased by the television crew and are not treating the camera as a novelty, the interviewer himself wouldn't look or sound out of place at all in 2020. People still act and speak to each other in this manner.
What would you say would be the earliest time period in which people began to speak, behave and interact with each other in the same manner that people generally do today? I would personally pin it down to some time within the first-half of the '80s and I actually think that's part of the reason as to why '80s nostalgia is still going strong; people from back then, as well as the decade itself, are still very much relatable. I'm interested to hear other peoples opinions on this topic though. The internet has obviously had a huge effect on our overall vocabulary and mannerisms too, so the argument could even be made that it wasn't until the Late '90s/Early '00s (e.g the more frequent use of the word "like", more abbreviations in our vocabulary) that people began to conduct themselves in the way that they do now.
Earlier today I watched Jaws 2 in full for the first time. There was a similarity in the way in which people acted and spoke to each other, like the characters in the movie saying the words "shit" or "damn" when something bad had happened. However, it's clear from watching it that although there is a notable similarity between the people of 1978 and people today, there are several key differences in their mannerisms too.
This New York street interview from 1979 demonstrates it well. The general manner of speaking is very similar. It doesn't sound 'old-timey' or unrelatable by any means, but pay close attention to the people themselves. The social etiquette is different, there's genuine intrigue in the fact that a television crew are filming on the streets; people are even gathering behind the interviewees! No one says the word "like" or "you know" in replace of the word "um.." and the people themselves are generally more refrained. It actually comes across as quite prim and proper.
Compare that to this street interview from 1988 and everything about it appears strikingly more modern, despite it only being a 9 year difference. The teenage kid at the start is wearing an Adidas-branded shirt, people walking past aren't phased by the television crew and are not treating the camera as a novelty, the interviewer himself wouldn't look or sound out of place at all in 2020. People still act and speak to each other in this manner.
What would you say would be the earliest time period in which people began to speak, behave and interact with each other in the same manner that people generally do today? I would personally pin it down to some time within the first-half of the '80s and I actually think that's part of the reason as to why '80s nostalgia is still going strong; people from back then, as well as the decade itself, are still very much relatable. I'm interested to hear other peoples opinions on this topic though. The internet has obviously had a huge effect on our overall vocabulary and mannerisms too, so the argument could even be made that it wasn't until the Late '90s/Early '00s (e.g the more frequent use of the word "like", more abbreviations in our vocabulary) that people began to conduct themselves in the way that they do now.
