[BDiH]

Originally Posted by CaliNative

True noir requires beer to be opened by can openers, and the can must not be aluminum but steel. True noir era also allows smoking EVERYWHERE (cough, wheeze). Color TVs are a novelty in the noir era, and VERY expensive and the picture is rotten. Computers are as big as a room and still use vacuum tubes (as do TVs). When your TV stops working you call a repairman who checks all the tubes. The end of noir is when tail fins started to be removed from cars, and British rock groups get traction. In the noir era practically ALL MEN WORE HATS. In the noir era backyard incinerators were still allowed, smog be damned. And it often wasn't called smog, but "haze" or maybe smoke. In the noir era, Pacific Ocean Park ("POP") still existed, as did Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. Nearly all Americans ate meat, and there were almost no vegetarians. Nobody worried about cholesterol. Everybody watched Ed Sullivan on Sunday night, and Jack Benny too. Bob Hope always hosted the Oscars. Perry Mason always won his trials with a stunning courtroom confession.

Excellent analysis. I would only add that Pacific Ocean Park was called P.O.P. not POP and that many people never saw color TV unless they went to a bar, where air conditioning and color television were big draws. Many of us put up with "snow" on our b&w TVs and tried to cool off with box fans.