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What Year Does Napoleon Dynamite Take Place?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Baqui99, Jul 14, 2007.

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  1. Baqui99

    Baqui99 Member

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    When does Napoleon Dynamite take place? I've been trying to figure this out for awhile since there's mixed clues. Does the director just not want the audience to know this?

    1986-1989?
    - style of dress (zubaz pants, puffy sleeves, tight jeans)
    - Uncle Rico's old Dodge van
    - old furniture like the tv
    - dialup internet
    - Uncle Rico: "she said I'm stuck living in '82" -> referring to his HS memories and he looks now like he's in his mid-late 30's.

    1998-2000?
    - Summer's Happy Hands group does their skit to Backstreet Boys' "Larger than Life", which came out in like '99
    - Uncle Rico has a cell phone
    - Kip's hip hop clothes (Fubu and skullcap) weren't popular till this time
    - Pedro's cousins' low riders on Dayton rims -> not popular till this time

    All that said, I'm leaning towards the 80's (1987?) since that's what most of the indications show.
     
    #1 Baqui99, Jul 14, 2007
  2. vincentt

    vincentt Member

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    no idea but i loved the movie so random and pointless :p
     
    #2 vincentt, Jul 14, 2007
  3. AntiSonic

    AntiSonic Member

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    I got the impression that it's more Napoleon's circle of friends being behind the times than actually taking place in the past.
     
    #3 AntiSonic, Jul 14, 2007
  4. Baqui99

    Baqui99 Member

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    Found this in wikipedia, but I'm not sure I buy into all of it. Just doesn't make sense.

    While the film is set in the present day, it contains many parachronisms. For example, the music playing at the school dance is from the 1980s, featuring "Forever Young" by Alphaville and Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time". Other vestiges of earlier decades include fashion trends that reflect those of the 70s and 80s, such as Napoleon's moon boots and Deb's side ponytail. The top-loading VCR in the Dynamite residence resembles those from the early 1980s. Throwbacks to the 1990s include music by Backstreet Boys, the Summer's Happy Hands Club performing to Max Martin and Jay Orpin's "Larger than Life", and music by Jamiroquai used in the choreography of Pedro's skits (their song "Canned Heat" is used for the scene in which Napoleon dances). Also, the TV resembles a 1990s model, and some of the shows resemble 1999 pop culture, especially the exercise commercials. The type of imitation Tupperware Uncle Rico is seen selling door-to-door has not been available for purchase for many years. The grandmother's house phone, a slim-line wall-mounted telephone with 25 foot extension cord was first available in the early 1970s. Kip does use the Internet for dating and Rico uses it to purchase a "time machine". However, the style of computer is arguably from the mid- to late- 1990s, and he uses a dial up internet service that charges users by the minute, a practice uncommon in the U.S. in the late 1990s. The music playing in the Pontiac is the 80's funk song "So Ruff, So Tuff" by Zapp & Roger. Finally, Napoleon's school ID card, as shown in the opening credits, clearly reads "2004/2005", unambiguously setting the movie in the present day, despite the film's abundance of elements suggesting otherwise.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Dynamite
     
    #4 Baqui99, Jul 14, 2007
  5. jo mama

    jo mama Member

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    the way i interpreted it was that it was present time, but people in idaho are just 15-20 years behind on trends.
     
    #5 jo mama, Jul 14, 2007
  6. Mr. Brightside

    Mr. Brightside Member

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    I thought anywhere between 1992-1995. I didn't think dial up internet was common before 1994.

    Napoleon Dynamite is in my top three comedies of all time.
     
    #6 Mr. Brightside, Jul 14, 2007
  7. pradaxpimp

    pradaxpimp Member

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    i agree with this assessment.
     
    #7 pradaxpimp, Jul 14, 2007
  8. Yaozer

    Yaozer Member

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    Wow I'm surprised people even cared about this movie. I really hated it. Thank God I didn't watch it in theaters or I would've walked out.
     
    #8 Yaozer, Jul 14, 2007
  9. Mr. Brightside

    Mr. Brightside Member

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    Ha! I watched it three times in the theatres, and I'm a person who doesn't even like to watch a movie again on dvd after I've seen it at the theatre.

    For a reference point, what are some of your favorite comedies? Just wondering.
     
    #9 Mr. Brightside, Jul 14, 2007
  10. lazybum234

    lazybum234 Member

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    Uh oh. The polarizing effect of Napolean rears its ugly head again. Let's not get started on Will Ferrell movies...

    (or should we? I personally love the bizzare, crazy, funny because it is awkward type humor)
     
    #10 lazybum234, Jul 14, 2007
  11. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Member

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    Ditto....

    I thought the joke and magic of the movie was that it was a waste of time.
     
    #11 Invisible Fan, Jul 14, 2007
  12. getsmartnow

    getsmartnow Member

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    Isn't it obvious? They used a time machine to travel back to the 80's to shoot the film. Gosh...

    [​IMG]
     
    #12 getsmartnow, Jul 14, 2007
  13. Yaozer

    Yaozer Member

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    THREE times? I can't even watch my favorite movies that many times in theaters. I don't know how you can do that.

    I just can't see how people can be so infatuated with the movie. I applaud it for its originality, but maybe it's something I'm not getting and you might be able to help me understand.

    As for your question it's hard to say what my favorite comedies are, but they range from Monty Python, Police Academy movies to Shaun of the Dead and the Wedding Crashers.

    Heck, I actually found Borat to be quite humorous the first time around and I"m pretty sure this is where you and I will disagree as well.
     
    #13 Yaozer, Jul 14, 2007
  14. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost Member
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    Im pretty sure its set in present day.

    It seems like its older because of the fact it takes place in BFE, Idaho.. where cell phone coverage and cable internet dont exist much...
     
    #14 DonnyMost, Jul 14, 2007
  15. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    how old is the song he dances to
     
    #15 pgabriel, Jul 14, 2007
  16. DonnyMost

    DonnyMost Member
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    "canned heat" by jamiroquai

    released in 99
     
    #16 DonnyMost, Jul 14, 2007
  17. El_Conquistador

    El_Conquistador King of the D&D, The Legend, #1 Ranking

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    It's definitely set in present day and that's one of the main reasons why the movie is so funny. The entire movie is mocking their way of life and how backwards they live, and a big part of that is their rural community being slow to adopt new trends and live in the present.
     
    #17 El_Conquistador, Jul 14, 2007
  18. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    i think he just mixed together a bunch of time periods. just for the hell of it.
     
    #18 peleincubus, Jul 14, 2007
  19. Blake

    Blake Member

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    I think it's supposed to be in the present day, but it's making fun of small town Iowa

    Also, Uncle Rico is at least 40, and he was 18 in 1982, which would be about right for present day
     
    #19 Blake, Jul 14, 2007
  20. jo mama

    jo mama Member

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    its idaho!

    this movie makes fun of small town iowa...
    [​IMG]
     
    #20 jo mama, Jul 14, 2007
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