Writer of Pop Culture

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This Day in Pop Culture for December 4

On this day in pop culture history, inspirational speaker Nick Vujicic was born, Jane Fonda starred with her father in “On Golden Pond” and “Black Mirror” debuted.

December 4, 2020

2–3 minutes

1981: ‘On Golden Pond’ Debuts in Theaters

Jane Fonda purchased the screenplay rights to Ernest Thompson’s play, On Golden Pond so that she could star in a movie alongside her father, Henry Fonda. The story involved a longtime rift between an elderly father and his daughter, something that was similar to the Fonda’s relationship with her dad in real life. However, Jane’s part in the movie wasn’t all that large. Henry’s main co-star was Katharine Hepburn. The movie also starred Doug McKeon, Dabney Coleman and William Lanteau.

Fun fact: There is scene where the grandfather and grandson hit their boat against some rocks which damaged the boat, but the studio had to shoot the scene many times because the sturdy boat just wouldn’t break on cue.

Directed by Mark Rydell, On Golden Pond was the second-highest grossing movie of 1981 following Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won three Oscars for Best Actor (Fonda), Best Actress (Hepburn) and Best Screenplay Based on Another Medium.

In 2001, the play was brought to TV with Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews in the lead roles. (Image: Universal Pictures)

2011: Look Into the Black Mirror

Created by Charlie Brooker, the British anthology series Black Mirror has been inspired by The Twilight Zone but with a couple of differences. Most of the one-off stories in the new series contained sci-fi elements and took place in the future. Most of the episodes have been written by the series’ creator, Charlie Booker. Black Mirror began airing on this day in 2011. In 2016, the series moved to Netflix.

The series has won numerous awards including Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Television Movie three times for San Junipero (2016), USS Callister (2017) and Bandersnatch (2018).

But not everyone who has watched show is a fan. Some have criticized the show for its heavy handiness with moral messages, and some have felt that the show lost some quality when it became “Americanized.”

1982: Nick Vujicic is Born

Inspirational speaker Nick Vujicic was born in Australia on this day with tetra-amelia syndrome. It is a disorder that caused him to be born without all four of his limbs. He had a rough childhood and was a victim of bullying in grade school. Although those instances may have helped with his wicked sense of humor.

Nick has traveled all over the globe sharing his testimony, proving that his disability isn’t that big of a hindrance for him.

In 2009, he starred in the inspirational short film, The Butterfly Circus which won several awards. In 2012, he married Kanae Miyahara. Today, he is the father of four. (Image: Wikipedia)