Becoming Benjamin Buttons

 

I had my TV on as I sat and worked on art projects, yesterday. The movie, 'Logan's Run,' was playing. I'm sure I had seen it before but don't really remember much. It's supposed to be a story set in a dystopian future where no one older than 29 is allowed to live. They even have a gladiator type send off for the losers on their 30th. This movie does not age well, but made a whopping $9 million on opening weekend. The star of the movie is Michael York, who was 33 at the time of filming. In fact, no one looks younger than 40 in this film. I won't give the plot away... Ok, yes I will. York, aka, Logan5, is a Sandman. He goes after and kills people who are nearing their "last day," and decide they'd prefer it not be their last day, so they run. Apparently, he figures out they might be on to something so decides to run away as he nears his death day. He takes Jenny Agutter with him- more like drags her with him. Women apparently are still vulnerable dimwits who need a man to protect them. The filmed was praised for the special effects. 😬 Again, this film did not age well. And why does fashion go out the window in the future? The women wear toga like dresses that are an ugly shade of green and also wear a silver binky around their necks. The men look like they're from Devo. As Logan pulls Jenny along, holding her hand as if we're still in 1950, they meet a group of teenage thugs. It's absolutely hilarious because the main thug who is alleged to be 14 looks to be 45. It's truly difficult to suspend belief here. I found the special effects to be fairly awful and boring. In the beginning of the movie we see a last day in progress. Whilst the lucky youngsters sit in their gladiator seats, whooping it up, the birthday crowd goes up into the air, then get zapped. I don't think we're supposed to see the strings they are attached to, but it's pretty obvious. Farrah Fawcett makes an entrance. I'm not sure if this was made during her fifteen minutes of fame, but she was Farrah and didn't last too long. The acting is horrible and I have no idea what happened because even though I wasn't officially watching it, it bored me and I changed it to, 'Stand by Me,' where the kids are actually kids. 

But hey, this post isn't about Logan's Run- it's about aging. We can look back- yeah, let's go back to 1950. Men in their 30's looked like they were 60. Same with the women, whose breasts drooped to their knees and they wore pressure socks and stooped as they shuffled around in the kitchen. These people had a lifespan of maybe another 20 years. If you remember, 'The Honeymooner's,' the Kramdens upstairs neighbor, Norton, played by Art Carney was 36. 36! Dad bods were mandatory at the ripe old age of 28 in the 50's. 

We can go back further and see how a hard life ages people. There weren't any photographs to prove how people who were near death, in the 30 year range looked, well, near death. 

Then we have Bruce. The Boss. He's 76 years old and looks great. 2026 and the old folks don't look so old, with the exception of some. It can go either way these days. I see seniors who can run marathons. Then I see seniors who drive the scooter into the grocery store. I'm kind of in between. I can still hike but my knees scream afterwards. And I'm not even discussing the people who go under the knife and come out looking like mannequins with duck lips. We're living longer and looking better. Just avoid anything the Trump regime says right now about health. In fact, do exactly the opposite. Growing old is not just a physical evolution. How we think and feel mentally makes a load of difference. There are so many people living into their 90's who remain independent. That gal in 1556 is turning in her grave. She didn't have the option to sit down for a cuppa. One, they had no chairs. Two, she lived by the slop gutters. Three, she couldn't walk to the fresh market for some sushi. But, still...

In fact, all this stress on we the people in America, I think we may have aged considerably. I would like us all, if we make it to 2028, to compare our 2024 selfies to 2028. I think we'd be shocked at how we have aged. 

30 seems like a stupid age to be terminated. Nothing gets done until we're older. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin when he was 47.  Grandma Moses didn't blossom until she was in her 70's. John Steinbeck wrote, 'Grapes of Wrath,' when he was 36. Imagine all the wonderful inventions and art we would have lost if we had to go out at 30. 

*Eventually I'm going to edit this. It's a mixed bag of thoughts.