There's something simply futuristic about Tupperware. Oft mocked as useless Sixties kirsch, I find it iconic and I don't think I'm alone.
One particular Tupperware jug I find very appealing. It popped up in Star Wars no less, back in '77 as part of the 'blue milk' meal enjoyed by Luke, his Uncle and Aunt down on the moisture farm on Tattooine. The jug is a simple tall canister with concave sides for easy gripping. Blue milk looks especially delicious in it [was it blueberry milkshake or simply milk with blue food dye I wonder?]. This would prove to be Luke's final meal with his family.
Similarly Last Supper-like, the final meal Kane enjoys, in 1979's ALIEN with his fellow crew on board the Nostromo, is a veritable old-school Tupperware party! Pictured is the same or very similar canister to that in Star Wars. This time its clear and comes with a lid for storing what looks like breakfast cereals. It's helpful to keep dry foodstuffs safe when a baby Xenomorph is about to burst through someones chest!
Do you know of any more Tupperware moments in Sci-Fi cinema or TV readers? Maybe UFO, 2001 Space Odyssey or Barbarella?
I've looked closely at the Nostromo's table (in a book) and noticed a plate of Mangoes and a small squash known as Pattypan.Both are common in my kitchen today, but were definitely weird and scary looking back then.I have had a set of pseudo-Tupperware vessels since I moved out of my parents house in 1992 and I use them every day.I like the fact that this set has bright,day-glow colored lids.I guess you could call them futuristic,they look cool under a Blacklite.
ReplyDeleteThe crew of the Liberator in Blake's7 would often teleport into a Federation base to destroy it with a selection of ordnance carried in a large plastic picnic hamper.
ReplyDeleteI remember Tupperware having a very distinctive smell, which transferred to liquids, and even seemed to permeate food stored in Tupperware containers. If I were a spaceman, the constant taste of Tupperware would certainly affect my morale!
ReplyDeleteThe mysteron bases in Crater 101 and on Mars had a fair bit of kitchenware!
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, the main plastic element of Tupperware, Propylene has been discovered on Titan, naturally occuring in the atmisphere. Seems like it made it into space afterall!
Personally, I find Tupperware is rubbish for making futuristic hardware, it doesn't cut easily, takes paint badly and is almost impossible to glue!
ReplyDeleteThese final meals using Tupperware could well be called Last Tuppers! I wonder if there's any in the new Star Wars movie?
ReplyDeleteIt might happen who knows...we have a lot of great pieces in Tupperware that are innovative and neat looking. And, no, Tupperware doesn't have a distinctive smell that transfers to liquids or permeates to the food stored in it. Tupperware is very iconic and I would think the Vintage Tupperware would find itself nicely in a Star Wars movie or maybe Disney might ask Tupperware to make something to fit their needs in the future. I'd love to see that!
ReplyDeleteI agree LidiaG. Tupperware is plastic at its most practical whilst being simple and sleek at the same time. Somehow it is retro-futuristic, always looking modern in whatever setting. Like gull-wing cars or Erikson telephones, its looks will never date. I remember the pop of the lids as if it were yesterday and my Mum went to a Tupperware party in the Sixties. Now how cool is that, a brand that has parties!
DeleteI'm happy I'm not alone on this, I too find it appealing,, I've been searching where I can buy that Tupperware or replica of it.
ReplyDeleteI found this on an old forum about the cup but I'm not convinced its the same https://forum.rebelscum.com/threads/blue-milk-cup-and-other-real-life-props.1051559/#post-18122162
DeleteWhat do you think?