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[-] lime@feddit.nu 0 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

first, look at how homogeneous it is. all the costumes consist of a mask and a shirt. every desk has an empty paper on it. everyone is looking at the camera. almost every costume appears twice. this is an all-black classroom in the early-to-mid-80's, where someone is standing at the front of the classroom with their back to the windows (no light from any wall), taking a photo with flash of kids just sitting at their (all left-handed) desks in full costume.

second, think of the context. bluntly, this photograph should not exist in a world of film cameras, because even without all the visual oddities this is the sort of thing you'd do a photoshoot for. you'd ask all the kids to line up against a wall so you could get all their wonderful costumes. this is a spur-of-the-moment shot, like you'd do with a phone today, and unless you're the teacher you wouldn't be in the spot the photo is taken from.

Edit: more interesting details:

  • count the table legs. they're all different.
  • also the tables are completely misaligned. like they've been placed for the photo.
  • why would a smurf costume include a picture of a smurf?
  • one of the evil knievel costumes has "dukes of hazzard" sewn on.
  • that one kid without a mask looks like he's melting.
  • back to the smurf costume, what are those pants?
  • why is there a piece of cheese on one of the tables?
  • the darth vader costume includes a shirt with orange fur and a picture of darth vader on it? and the kid who has presumably left for the bathroom behind the front clown left their shirt?
  • *points to darth vader mask* "what's wrong with your faAaAaAace?!"
[-] eyesaremosaics@lemmy.zip 6 points 22 hours ago

Lol, so many of those points can be answered with: 80s.

Masks with a plastic cover shirt were a common thing. And yes they often had a picture of the character on it, and made no sense. People did take casual photos, that's not out of place.

But there do seem to be oddities, eg the table legs, so hard to say overall

[-] usernamefactory@lemmy.ca 4 points 21 hours ago

the darth vader costume includes a shirt with orange fur and a picture of darth vader on it?

Indeed it does.

I agree parts of the image look wonky, which might be attributable to AI upscaling, but 90% of what you're listing here is absolutely natural for the '70s/'80s. The idea that no one would take casual pictures in those days is especially silly.

[-] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 16 hours ago

what the shit...

and it's not that nobody took casual pictures. it's that nobody would do it in a classroom.

[-] eyesaremosaics@lemmy.zip 3 points 15 hours ago

The teacher could easily have done that on a dress up day, or a student, cheap portable cameras were a thing and kids would take photos of whatever with them

[-] lime@feddit.nu 1 points 13 hours ago

so what i'm learning from all the replies is that the us is an insane place. don't know why i'm surprised.

this post was submitted on 22 Oct 2026
219 points (92.6% liked)

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