So, what was happening in the world when Carrie was published? The year was 1974. Imagine, no Star Wars, no Internet, this was even before a peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter took the country by storm.
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In 1974, Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier, surrendered. He held out a pretty long time, convinced that the Americans were just tricking him. Richard Nixon also surrendered, becoming the first president of the United States to resign in office. Think about it, just as America's political horror story was coming to an end, the master of horror was stepping up to the plate, pen in hand.
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Inflation reached 11.3% -- that's not good. It was the middle of a global recession. Very early word processors hit the market. They looked like typewriters. (Typewriters are machines that were used by primitive people that involved moving plates hitting the paper and leaving a mark when a key was struck. You're welcome.)
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You could buy a house for $34,900. Sound good? Well, the average salary was only $13,900. A new car cost around $3,750 and the cost of gas to fuel that car? Try 55 cents.
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In 1974, the 55 speed limit was set. The Sears tower was completed, making it the tallest building of its time and Leonardo DiCaprio was born. (I was a one year old.)
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This is interesting, because of the energy crisis, daylight savings time commenced nearly four months early. I guess everyone just agreed to get up earlier. A space station called skylab was still orbiting the earth. If you were a patron of the Marshes Supermarket in Troy Ohio, you could see them using the first bar code scanner.
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If you were headed to the movies, you might be watching: The Sting, The Exorcist, Death Wish, or Murder on the Orient Express. King noted that Carrie was written "after Rosemary's Baby but before The Exorcist, which really opened up the field. I didn't expect much of Carrie. I thought who'd want to read a book about a poor little girl with menstrual problems? I couldn't believe I was writing it." http://en.allexperts.com/e/c/ca/carrie.htm
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On television you would probably be watching The Price Is Right (say it ain't so!), The Waltons , Kojak and The Six Million Dollar Man.
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Out of this strange time period, Stephen King gave us his first masterpiece: Carrie. It mirrors the dark mood of the country. Carrie is set in the the world of the 1970's. While it is not heavy on cultural references, you will spot marks of the 70's. (Just the idea of women showering together in High School -- that wasn't happening in my high school in the 1980's. Though my wife and I are "discussing" this, since she thinks open showers stuck around long past the 70's.) you still took "gym" class instead of the now watered down "P.E."
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Main source: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1974.html
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What are the time warp posts? -- http://talkstephenking.blogspot.com/2010/05/time-warp.html
what time period does carrie take place in??
ReplyDeleteCarrie takes place in the "present." So the book would be mid-70's.
ReplyDelete