Oh yeah. 2010’s Discovvery did look clunkier.
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A year or so ago I took my kids to the Nixon presidential library. In one room they had his famous resignation speech playing on a 70’s era TV set (with new flat screen discreetly installed within). My kids stared at it with curiosity for a minute, and then one of them finally asked: “Why did they put a TV inside of a microwave??”
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Bakelite comes in other colors, too. I have tea bag holders which are white.
I don’t know if it’s still in print, but about 40 years ago I read the book, “The Making of Kubrick’s 2001”, by J. Agel
Very, very interesting read. Worth looking up. Special effects were explained (of course) and the technical help received by aerospace experts, but I recall at least one tidbit re Kubrick’s directions when setting up a scene with one of the Discovery astronauts (Keir Dullea?) catching a snooze in one of the hibernoculums. Someone there asked Kubrick if Keir’s character was to have his arms over or under the covers; Kubrick chose over.
I’ve worked with some pretty visionary creative people and that level of detail doesn’t surprise me. They can be really hard to work for but the results can be phenomenal.
Funny thing, I was just thinking, the screens in 2001 more correctly reflected reality in 2010 and the 2010 screens more correctly reflected the reality of 2001.
Of course none of it was close to what reality ended up being but that’s a whole different topic.
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There was a type of plastic called Catalin that came in bright colors. This is the plastic that jewelry collectors refer to as Bakelite. The field of plastic is surprisingly rich.
Technabob says…
While its facade looks a bit like the cool, but fragile Bakelite of the era, I’m betting it’s just cheap plastic that’s been colored that way.
It might be good. Have a look at the radio on the Nissan Figaro. When I first saw one of these I had assumed it was a lovelingly kept 1950’s compact. Then I saw another, the same colour, and got suspicious. But the radio had the same ivory finished plastic buttons.
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