All movies are documentaries in a way. They can’t help but reflect the times in which they were made. One thing that motion pictures have proven very good at doing is permanently capturing things that were meant to be ephemeral: fads, fashions, advertising campaigns, etc. If a movie takes place in any semblance of the mundane real world, its characters are bound to come in contact with recognizable products and businesses. A scene set in a grocery store or a fast food restaurant, therefore, might trigger nostalgic memories in the minds of viewers, even if that was not the director’s original intent. A good example of this phenomenon is a Tumblr called Old Doritos Bags In Movies (And Sometimes On TV). The title gives away the premise. These are simply screenshots of films and TV shows in which the characters are seen snacking on delicious, cheese-dust-covered Doritos chips. Even though most of these moments are the result of merciless product placement, they nevertheless serve an educational purpose by documenting the various changes to the Doritos logo and packaging over the years. Take this scene, for instance, from 1992’s Wayne’s World:
Notice how, in that scene, the Doritos logo has alternating yellow and orange parallelograms behind it. Just five years later, in Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion, the Doritos masthead has been completely revamped. The lettering is pretty much the same, but the orange and yellow shapes are AWOL, replaced by red squiggles.
Isn’t that fascinating? The Tumblr allows for all kinds of stargazing, too. Molly Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Steve Martin, and Tori Spelling are shown enjoying the heavily salted snack chips. Appropriately enough, the most recent addition to the Tumblr is a series of stills from Purple Rain, demonstrating that even the late, great Prince was not immune to the charms of Doritos.