Pop Culture Happenings: December

In Decembers past, we saw a big “Blue Marble” in 1972, Jessica Lange fell in love with Dustin Hoffman and his altar ego “Tootsie” in 1982 and it was the season of “Girl Power” with the Spice Girls in 1997.

__50 Years Ago: 1972__

One of the most iconic images in history designated by NASA as AS17-148-22727 and more popularly known as the “Blue Marble” was taken on Dec. 7, 1972. Photographed by the Apollo 17 crew on its way to the moon, the photograph shows the fully-illuminated Earth from the Mediterranean Sea to Antarctica. Released during a surge in environmental activism during the 1970s, the photo became a symbol of the environmental movement, as a depiction of Earth’s fragility, vulnerability and isolation amid the vast expanse of space. This was the last Apollo program mission, and astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were, to date, the last two humans to walk on the moon.

__40 Years Ago: 1982__

1982 was a big year for actor Jessica Lange who starred in two films, “Tootsie,” which opened Dec. 1, and “Frances,” which opened Dec. 3. She received Academy Award nominations for both films, Best Actress for “Frances” and Best Supporting Actress for “Tootsie,” for which she later won an Oscar. In her acceptance speech, Lange joked, “I feel real lucky to have been a part of ‘Tootsie,’ and to have had Dustin Hoffman as my leading lady.” Hoffman played a frustrated actor who disguised himself as a woman named Tootsie in order to be cast in a soap opera.

__25 Years Ago: 1997__

December 1997 was the month of “Girl Power” as pop girl group the Spice Girls won Billboard Music Awards’ Best New Group, and their record “Spice” won Best Album. The soundtrack for their movie, “Spice World,” which was released Dec. 15, was nominated but did not win. The film, starring Spices Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger and Posh, had a plot similar to the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” and culminated in a concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The film was a box office hit but panned by critics and has since been listed in John Wilson’s book “The Official Razzie Movie Guide” as one of “The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.”