I was 25 in 1979 so I remember it well, and I spotted 3 things in the movie that I don't think existed in 1979:
1. Bright red hair. I never saw anyone with bright red hair until the 90s.
2. Skateboarders in helmets. Never saw any skateboarder or motocycler or bicycler in a helmet until the late 80s.
3. Children using a computer. I never saw kids use a computer in 1979. Only college kids had access to a computer then.
Am I right or wrong?
I don't remember anyone dying their hair that sort of color back then, either, but it is possible my memory is faulty. According to the movie, she was inspired by the David Bowie movie "The Man Who Fell To Earth", so maybe she was just a trendsetter. :)
Personal computers were mostly a hobbyist thing in 1979, as I remember it, and not all that common for ordinary use. I first remember noticing high school students with computers in the public library where I lived in 1988 and thinking it was unusual. So that might also be an anachronism.
In California I saw hair that color as well as green and purple.
As a rule when you mix genres in a movie you're in trouble. --William Goldman
I was 16 back in 1979 and I didn't know or see ANYONE ever wear a helmet.
Our Junior High School had a computer for students to try out and use. There is one thing in the movie that I also believe is a mistake. The scene where Jamie and Julie ask someone on the street to buy them some wine coolers. Wine coolers were not introduced commercially until 1980/81
I miss wine coolers! Vodka coolers are a pale substitute.
shareWhen I started college in Massachusetts in 1978 I encountered brightly died hair for the first time - it became popular in the 70's due to punk/new wave music, as directly referenced in the movie. Didn't see any in my Ohio hometown though!
I also encountered folks using computers at that time. Rare, but not unknown.
Hope that helps. :)
I can only speak for London, England, in 1979 and yes, there absolutely were English punks dying their hair an even brighter red than Gerwig's character. There was a hair colorant called "Krazy Colour" and it came in bright yellow, blue, bright fire engine red, eggplant (aubergine in the UK) etc. London punks were sporting these colours late 70s into the 80s.
I agree about the helmets - nobody cared about helmets in the 70s.
I don't remember anyone having or using a computer in 1979. Maybe around the early 80s a family member got one but all they did with it was play a very primitive Ping Pong.