Anachronism Stew: Difference between revisions

[[File:tyrannosaur in f-14.jpg|link=Calvin and Hobbes|frame|''"[[Cool but Stupid|Tyrannosaurs in F-14s!]]"'']]

 

 

Strictly historically accurate writing, set and costume design, and dialogue is often counter-productive. Few audience members will have the historical knowledge to appreciate the differences between distant eras, and they often have [[Reality Is Unrealistic|muddled expectations]] of what they would be like. And in any case, for some eras genuine examples of or guides towards clothes, artifacts or items that they would have used in the time in question may be in short supply or sketchy at best, forcing props and costume designers to speculate or do the best with what they have. Thus, it is sometimes more effective to imply a general sense of 'the past' drawn in broad strokes rather than bog the story down with exposition and [[Shown Their Work|pedantry]]. More often, writers and producers are [[They Just Didn't Care|too lazy]] or have [[Did Not Do the Research|too little time to get the facts correct]], or they may actually believe they have the facts correct [[Dan Browned|when they don't]].

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Samurai Champloo]]'' opens the series with a title card declaring that it is not a historical document. It then gleefully throws everything it can get its hands on (from hip-hop to baseball) into the Edo period of Japan. Doubly amusing because baseball is a ''hugely'' popular sport in modern Japan.

{{quote|" (clears throat) ''This is not an accurate historical portrayal. Like we care. Now shut up and enjoy the show.''"}}

** And there are cell phones used by people who look like they're in the mafia.

** And [[Video Game|video games]] existed.

* [[Osamu Tezuka]] loved to throw in gross anachronisms into his historical works. The first volume of ''[[Phoenix]]'', for instance, has an ancient Japanese general leave to read a [[James Bond]] novel (which may be a [[Woolseyism]] on the part of the translator), and things like televisions and refrigerators are worked into other volumes of the series via [[Bamboo Technology]].

** A phone conversation occurs in one volume set in Feudal Japan without even ''that'' [[Hand Wave]]. (It's worth noting that ''Phoenix'' works regardless, because [[Rule of Cool]], [[Rule of Funny]] and [[Rule of Drama]] are all somehow in effect.)

** Historians can and do judge when forks reached different parts of Europe by looking for them in paintings of the Last Supper. Judging military equipment is a little trickier, as you can never quite predict when someone's depicting the cutting edge and when he's depicting a suitably "old-fashioned" type of armor, but that tends to be well-attested elsewhere.

* [http://www.snopes.com/photos/architecture/salamanca.asp This astronaut on a cathedral built in 1102 is another example.]

 

== Comic Books ==

* The newspaper comic strip ''[[BC]]'' had lots of these. Despite supposedly taking place, um, in the years B.C. (specifically, in prehistoric times), there were often references to modern times, especially as the strip went on; at least one strip had a character refer to the United States. It turns out that {{spoiler|the series actually takes place [[After the End]], with mankind reduced to the same level of technology as was had in prehistoric times...}}

** Plus, especially in later years when Johnny Hart became more religious, ''they celebrated Christmas'' and made other Christian references. Which is kind of the definition of anachronistic in a strip named ''B.C.''

 

* ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' [[Fanfic]] set in the Marauders era tends to ignore the fact that it's set in the 1970s. James, Sirius and the others will merrily chat on their mobile phones and use computers (both of which ''did'' exist in the 1970s, but not in the form we're familiar with today and weren't common in any case, to say nothing of the anti-technology field of Hogwarts), send text messages (which actually weren't invented until the late 1980s or popularised until the late 1990s), listen to 1990s or 2000s music and watch recent [[film]]s.

** Not that [[Fan Fiction]] set in the "modern" time period is any better. While granted it is easy to miss, a lot of writers forget that the series is set between 1991 and 1998, and a lot of the things they have the characters reference or possess shouldn't even exist yet.

** And let's not even get ''started'' on ''[[My Immortal]]'', much of which supposedly takes place in the 1990s. There is literally no noticeable difference between the "past" and "present" portions of the story, especially not where music history is concerned.

*** There was one in which Ravenclaw went into exile in America, which (unless she was a Viking, possibly) would have been impossible even if you discount that she apparently got there ''[[You Fail Geography Forever|on the train]]''.

*** There's another one where Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are at a pre-Hogwarts British [[Boarding School]]—in different Houses—and Ravenclaw calls Hufflepuff up on the telephone to make plans. At least they didn't have cellular phones?

*** And one where the founder era has showers, paper, tea and coffee, meetings at 15:25, springy metal net beds invented in the 1940s. The usual stuff. What's more, Hufflepuff is supposed to have been born and raised in a Finnish manor house. Tasty, as the area was then still in Iron Age, and entered history in the 1300s.

 

== Films using Rule of Funny ==

** ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]''. Laser-guided arrow? Those were bleeding-edge and rare. The one shown in the [[Film]] came all the way from Jersey. And the castle with the car alarm on the portcullis, the [[Theme Tune Rap]] in 12th century England, the glowing neon exit sign over the archway in the castle, and the Sherriff of Rottingham resorting to a jackhammer to get through Marian's chastity belt. Atchoo's pumps are a case of [[Throw It In]], as [[Dave Chappelle]] was wearing them on the set and Mel Brooks just had to throw in a joke about them. Then there's the castle repo guys, the Braille Playboy Blinkin is reading (and Blinkin's sunglasses) and the empty fruit tin cans used as heads on the training dummies.

** ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' is an even better example, as there are anachronisms in nearly ''every single scene'' (which is even more odd considering the period-appropriate racism was the basis of the [[Plot]]), and the [[Film]] ends with the characters in a modern theatre ''[[No Fourth Wall|watching the end of the film]]''.

* John Madden's ''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'', which sports 16th century theatre production riddled with movie-producing Hollywood stereotypes.

* Stephan Elliott's adaptation of ''Easy Virtue'' is set in the 1930s and includes songs such as "Sex Bomb" and "When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going".

* In ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'', the Singing Sword sings "Witchcraft," which was written in 1953. The movie takes place in 1947. Also, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote appear in the film despite debuting in 1949.

** In regards to cartoon characters that debuted after 1947 appearing in the film, the filmmakers [[Hand Wave]] it as them "not having made it in films yet".

* [[Woody Allen]], who has stated his appreciation of Hope, played some period roles the same way, as in ''Love And Death'', and the segment of ''Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex'', where his medieval court jester is trying to seduce the queen - he quips "I must hurry because soon it will be the Renaissance, and before you know it we'll all be painting!"

* ''[[Your Highness]]'', a fantasy comedy set in medieval times and starring [[Natalie Portman]], [[James Franco]], [[Zooey Deschanel]], [[Danny McBride]], and Justin Theroux, aims for just this. The f-bomb gets dropped several times throughout the red-band trailer, including a use of the word "buttf**k". Natalie Portman also wears a modern-looking getup of a bikini top and thong when she bathes in the river. McBride's character, Thadeous, tells his brother, "handle your shit Fabious, please."

** Machine guns [[Older Than They Think|did exist back then]]. They were brand new tech, gigantic, and had to be moved around on carts because of their weight, but they did exist.

* ''[[Kung Pow]]: Enter the Fist'' does this intentionally and constantly, such as Betty using a cigarette lighter, or a medieval Chinese town having a Hooters, a Taco Bell, a Radio Shack, and a place that sells <s> [[No Indoor Voice|A LOTTA]] </s> nuts, and also apparently french fries. It is one of the saner things in a film that delights in taking [[Refuge in Audacity]] though, so they are often barely noticeable.

* 2011's ''[[Red Riding Hood (film)|Red Riding Hood]]'' takes place in what appears to be Europe in the Middle Ages, yet features a modern hair styles that would require a trip to Ulta to maintain, not to mention American accents before there was an America.

* ''[[Chicago]]'' (2002):

* ''[[The 13th Warrior]]'', the [[The Film of the Book|movie adaptation]] of [[Michael Crichton]]'s ''Eaters Of The Dead'', is ''[[Beowulf]]'', in the 10th century. In addition to the anachronisms carried over from the novel (relatively few, but see the Literature section), the main characters are [[Horny Vikings]]. One wears a Murmillo helmet, another wears a 16th-century Spanish helmet and breastplate. Also, one actress is credited as Shaharazhad, a fictional character who first appeared in probably the early 8th century CE.

* The direct-to-video animated film ''Easter Egg Adventure'' appears to take place in the 1800s or so (there are many scenes depicting characters riding in carriages pulled by horses, and there are many places that look old-fashioned), but yet there are boomboxes and rap music.

* ''[[One for the Morning Glory]]'' Where it is [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] as well; when Sir John drinks tea, he wonders whether it is really suitable to be drinking tea, and the Duke dismisses that as a consideration only for those lands that are merely actual.

* Gene Wolfe's ''New Sun'' series of novels take place a ''looong'' way in the future (the techno-fantasy "post-historical" era where Stone-Age Man, the Modern Era, and the Galaxy-Spanning Imperial Era are all lumped together as the "Age of Myth"). The basic technology and society is late medieval. But at some point time travel had been commonplace, so remnants of all eras of history are common - military energy weapons right along with swords, antigravity craft and ox-drawn wagons, sabretooth tigers and starships, electricians organized like a medieval craft guild, medical men just as likely to use genetic engineering as an herbal infusion, etc. One of the appendices even points out that there are three separate levels of technology: the "smith" level (basically medieval), the "Urth" level (roughly 20th century plus some genetic engineering) and the "stellar" level (highly powerful artifacts that can only be obtained from extraterrestrials.) It's all justified by the fact that [[Scavenger World|the planet has been exhausted of most resources]] and can no longer sustain a technological society or educate most of its inhabitants, but the old knowledge remains in a few places.

* ''[[The Aeneid]]'' features Aeneas, fleeing the destruction of Troy, landing at Carthage...which wasn't founded until hundreds of years later.

** Understandable as the whole thing was pretty much literate propaganda. Also, the Cyclops and things did better in Hellenic Greece when a lot of the Mediterranean was still only vaguely known, as compared to the 'salty lake' of Roman times.

*** Within that same scene, Charles states he's never seen any of her movies. She had been in some movies by that time, but mostly in bit roles...with one big exception, where she had a major supporting role in the 1952 Brittish film, ''The Secret People''. Once again, possilbe but unlikely someone during the war would refer to her movies.

* In ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV series)|Honey I Shrunk the Kids]]'' (the TV Series): Amy travels back in time to 1976 to date her history teacher. One scene shows an arcade, the Pong machine is not an anachronism, but in the background you can clearly hear people playing ''[[Asteroids]]'', ''[[Donkey Kong]]'', and ''[[Pac-Man]]''; also they want to play ''[[Space Invaders]]''. ''Space Invaders'' did not come out until 1978, ''Asteroids'' in 1980, and ''Donkey Kong'' and ''Pac-Man'' in 1981.

* ''[[Danger 5]]'' features the eponymous [[Five-Man Band]] fighting [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|Hitler]] and his Nazis in the 60s, in a setting which includes robots and dinosaurs.

* ''[[Happy Days]]'' ended up like this. The first two seasons tried fairly hard to stay true to the '50s setting, but as the show became more popular, the producers started putting in references to trends of the '70s and '80s, and the actors started letting their hair and clothes look more contemporary.

== Music ==

* P.D.Q. Bach pretty much ignores the fact that what we think of today as "classical" music actually happened over several centuries and is divided into distinct stylistic periods. Peter Schickele is quite aware of this, but [[Rule of Funny|ignores it]] in favor of [[Affectionate Parody|parodying]] as many different things as possible, and [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] the eclecticism of PDQ's style many times. Then there are the anachronisms which are more obvious to the layperson, such as "Iphigenia in Brooklyn" or the "Bluegrass Cantata" or "Classical Rap" (though Schickele claimed to have altered the original lyrics of that one).

* The video for [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8txk6EhYZKA ''Glukoza's Schweine''] is all over the place. The Pig Army (clearly a nazi parody) is armed with G43's, [[MP 40]]'s, [[MG 34 s]], Zeppelins, Triplanes, Sd.kfz 250's, and Renault FT's. Meanwhile the Rebel Army Leaders use a G36, a Kalashnikov, an RPG-7, 2 MPL's, a Vickers MG, giant War Elephants, and Pterodactyls. The Rebel Army itself is comprised mainly of Samurai with some Ninjas using swords and pistols respectively.

* The Italian progressive rock group Jacula has one weird example - in the mid 1980's they re-released their debut album In Cauda Semper Stat Venenum, supposedly originally released in 1969. The audio production however is very consistent with that of mid 80's Doom metal, and the album also includes the use of samplers (which did exist in the 60's, but their use certainly was not widespread), most notoriously a loop of flowing water that was also used in former band member Doris Norton's 1984 album "Personal Computer".

** Also acknowledged in ''[[GURPS]] Camelot'', the Arthurian sourcebook. There are ''three'' Arthurian settings mentioned - the Mythic one (Geoffry of Monmouth style, with plenty of anachronism), a Realistic one (as close as research can get us), and the Cinematic one (based on movies, with chrome armor and French castles and all the other goodies - not so much Anachronism Stew as an Anachronism Smoothie).

* ''Mythic Russia'' has a few that are [[Lampshade Hanging|pointed out]] and [[Justified Trope]] in the book. The Russians drink vodka even though it hadn't yet become popular historically, because "what is a game in Russia without vodka?" The Mongols are Tengrist pagans even though the Golden Horde had converted to Islam by the time it was set, partly because it's easier to handle in the game's [[Religion Is Magic]] system and partly because of plain old [[Rule of Cool]].

** Sea Monsters/Titans

** Cursed pirates

** Submarines (based off [[Jules Verne]])

** Bombardiers (Ships with long-range and ''flame cannons'' attached to their decks)

** Turtle ships (which at least existed around the time)

** "Switchblades" (metal ships with giant pincers attached to the sides)

 

== Theater ==

* Anachronism Stew is common in the works of [[William Shakespeare]], because theatre of that time took a completely different approach to historical drama. Regardless of when or where a play was set, costumes and patterns of speech from the (then) present day were used, and there was never any attempt at historic realism as we understand it today. Some examples:

** ''[[Julius Caesar (theatre)|Julius Caesar]]'', which contains references to striking clocks despite the fact that the first mechanical clock would not be invented until the mid-13th century.

** Also of note, ''Julius Ceasar'' makes reference to a doublet, a close fitting jacket that wasn't around in Roman times.

** One filmed version had a scene in which Judas was chased by helicopters and tanks.

* Although it's set in 1587, the male (and one female) characters of ''Mary Stuart'' wear relatively modern outfits (e.g. business suits), as well as speaking in contemporary [[British Accents]].

 

== Video Games ==

** This is more of an example of [[Schizo-Tech]] or [[Mad Science]]. The Venom Gun is a [[Gatling Good]] weapon that would have to be mounted on a vehicle to be used today, and the [[Shock and Awe|Tesla Gun]] is just plain impossible. Most of the [[Stupid Jetpack Hitler|Nazi science]] in the game is as fantastic as the zombies and undead knights.

* ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: From The New World'' causes problems with its attempt to jump on the "What really happened in Roswell" bandwagon... as the game is set in 1929, 18 years before the Roswell incident. Not that this is anything ''new'' for ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'', or that the series has ever tried for historical accuracy in the first place. Let us put it this way: one of the people in the crashed vehicle is a [[Magical Girl]] vampire.

** ''[[Shadow Hearts]]'' IS this trope. We've got the heroes zipping around in a giant nuclear-powered flying ship which can circle the globe in no time flat. We've got Anastasia (yes, [[Anastasia|THAT Anastasia]]) running around taking Polaroids. We've got Johnny wielding a cellphone (whereas Mata Hari's was a clunky 80's model, his is a modern fliptop phone with viewscreen). We've got people going into outer space. We've got supercomputers popping up everywhere. We've got genetically enhanced apes with human intelligence and laser guns. All before 1930. [[MST3K Mantra|Not that any of this is a problem.]]

* The ''[[Monkey Island]]'' series has this in spades, cheerfully throwing vending machines, electric devices and Elvis pins into the 17th century [[Welcome to The Caribbean Luv|Caribbean]]. Of course, given the tone of the series, this is often cheerfully [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]], as when Guybrush complains about the shoddy, 17th century electrical wiring.

* The ''[[Resistance]]'' series of games, despite being set in the 1950s, feature futuristic weapons and machinery. However, this can be explained with the fact that they are all Chimera inventions rather than human.

** ''Resistance'' also occurs in an alternate timeline that diverged right before the Spanish-American War, Nikola Tesla got lucky with his inventions, and the Chimera technology helped later.

** Also, there's enemies who use GUNS, or [[Dem Bones|skeletons]] riding MOTORCYCLES. (The ones in ''[[So TN]]'' used Muskets, which were around back then. The Gatling Guns in Bloodlines make sense too, as it takes place right before World War II anyways.)

** Arguably averted in the ''[[Chronicles of Sorrow]]'' games, which are set [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]].

* ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops|Call of Duty Black Ops]]'' is especially anachronistic in regards to its weapons due to it featuring many modern firearms despite being set during the Vietnam War in the 1960s, with entire guns and configurations appearing far before they're supposed to. The game [[Hand Wave|handwaves]] it by claiming that all the weapons are 'prototype versions', despite things like the Kiparis only being developed in 1978, the SPAS-12 shotgun only entering production in 1979 despite being used in 1968 in-game, and worst of all, the inclusion of the FAMAS F1 FELIN (the base weapon was only developed in 1978 and the FELIN variant only came into existence in the late 1990s). Strange in some cases, in that an earlier version of an anachronistic gun would have existed for some time at points in the game.

** This isn't entirely new to the series. Some missions in earlier ''[[Call of Duty]]'' games feature the STG-44 chronologically before it was actually produced. ''[[Modern Warfare|Call of Duty 4]]'' also had one section where Russian mercenaries in 1996 had frequent access to the G36, which hadn't even entered service anywhere yet at that point.

* ''[[Fable III]]'' has quite a bit of this sometimes bordering on [[Steampunk]]. It seems that the creators just threw in everything and anything associated with the Industrial Revolution (a nearly 200 year long period) whether they really did existed at the same time or not. Of course Albion is a made-up land where magic exists, so they can get away with it though it is still kind of jarring to see a [[Sherlock Holmes]] [[Expy]] placed in such an environment.

* ''[[Prince of Persia|Sands of Time]]'' is supposed to take place around the ninth century. But the capital city, Babylon, has the famous Hanging Gardens... which were destroyed around a thousand years before that point. Must be all that time travel.

* ''[[Kid Icarus: Uprising]]'' takes place in ancient Greece, and among Pit's arsenal are gun-blades, [[Magitech]] lasers, and cannons. Health recovery items include hamburgers, sushi, and chocolate. Never mind that Pit can't seem to stop [[No Fourth Wall|referring to the story as a game]].

 

* ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' is set in [[The Eighties|the early eighties]] but has multiple references to products that won't exist for over a decade. Mostly due to [[Rule of Funny]].

 

== Web Comics ==

** There's anachronisms in ''every'' strip: The third panel has T-Rex about to step on a house that's next to a car, and the fourth panel has T-Rex about to step on a person.

{{quote|'''Utahraptor:''' [[Hypocritical Humor|History for you is a big party where everyone just hangs out together, isn't it?]]}}

** And in Cliffport, there's a ''municipal park''. Amid ''high-rise buildings''.

{{quote|'''Vaarsuvius''': I'm simply saying that the architectural motifs found here in the city of Cliffport are inconsistent with the presumed medieval time period.

** The C.C.P.D., complete with sirens (on the horses), sketch artist and mayor yelling at [[Da Chief]] for failing to catch the murderer when elections are coming up, and underlings being yelled at by said cigar-smoking, coffee downing chief. One double serving of Anachronism Stew, coming right up.

** It's subtle, but look at [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0692.html this comic.] Where did Hayley get a metal detector? And more importantly, where the hell was she keeping it? (Same questions apply to Roy and his [[Newer Than They Think|sextant]]...)

* In ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]'', Ms. Jones' students watch [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=582 a documentary hologram] about the founding of the Court. The characters in the hologram include a guy who looks like he stepped out of [[The Cavalier Years]] or [[The American Revolution]], and another fellow wearing a modern trench coat, an article of clothing which wasn't introduced until [[World War I]]. Shortly afterwards, Jones points out that "this simulation is an artistic representation".

** Although she said that in regards to an indistinct glow, represented as such because they didn't know what it was. And present was also the man who designed robots. Maybe the others just liked to dress that way.

** And again [http://xkcd.com/771/ here.]

* ''[http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=139 Hark, A Vagrant!]'' is all about this.

* ''[[Blade Bunny]]'' takes place in a historical mashup of feudal Japan and ancient China, with {{spoiler|robots}} one of which has {{spoiler|futuristic guns}} and a [[Bunny Girl]] in a microskirt.

* [http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/8/25/ This] [[Penny Arcade]] comic has a flashback to 1988 showing characters using a Powerglove (introduced in 1989 and quickly flopped), reading ''Nintendo Power'' #31 (December, 1991), talking about ''[[Thundercats]]'' (ran from 1985–89), and drinking a New Coke (introduced in 1985 and quickly flopped). To be fair, the date is only implied, and everybody didn't immediately quit drinking New Coke, playing with Powergloves, or referencing cancelled cartoons. But the overall impression is a mishmash of things associated with the '80s, regardless of which part of the '80s (or early '90s) they actually came from.

 

== Web Original ==

* ''[[Homestar Runner]]:'' The "Old-Timey" era is supposed to take place in the 1930s, but makes reference to any number of events ranging from the 1800s to the 1950s.

* ''[[The Town (roleplay)|The Town]]'' is easily one of the worst offenders. Having characters with technology and cultures from every time period yet to exist and several that haven't and likely won't ever.

* [[Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog]] has this baked into its very concept, and that's not even getting into all the pop culture references...

* ''[[The Gungan Council]]'' features an in-universe example, where an [[A New Hope|Imperial I Star Destroyer]] can be in the same fleet as a [[Star Wars: The Old Republic|Sith battlecruiser]], and no one minds.

* ''[[Kingpin Life of Crime]]'' takes place in "a past that never happened". The game features, among other anachronisms, 90's rap music by Cypress Hill, people with cyborg-style body modifications, cars from the 30's and 40's and Guns from the 20's.

* The time setting of ''[[Alfred J Kwak]]'' is considerably vague. In general it seems to take place somewhere during the 20th century, but among other things Professor Paljas has access to advanced supertech, and a mediaeval Middle Eastern kingdom also seems to exist.

 

== Real Life ==

*** Not to mention Sci-Fi, what with the occasional incursions of groups of people in ''[[Star Trek]]'' uniforms pretending to be an Away Team.

**** Or the obligatory Imperial Stormtrooper in a kilt, with a sword on his hip.

* During the 2008 campaign, then-Senator Joe Biden said "Now, when this country entered the Great Depression, our president, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Franklin Roosevelt]], went on television and spoke of how to get this country out of it." ''[[The Daily Show]]'' had a lot of fun with this, since 1) [[Herbert Hoover]], not [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|Roosevelt]] was President at the time, and 2) Television barely existed...

** Hoover did appear on an early television broadcast, though. (And yes, this was either while or just before he was President, not at some point before he died in 1964.)

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Did Not Do the Research]]

[[Category:Hollywood History]]

[[Category:Older Than Feudalism]]

[[Category:Retro Tropes]]