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[Coop and Dino signing]

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When we think about the setting of a work of fiction, [girl reading a fiction book]

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we often get caught up in the question of where it's taking place.

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Is the main character in a city? In the country? On the moon?

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And, sure, the where is definitely important, but so is the when: in what time period is

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the work taking place?

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We all know where Harry Potter happens –and if you don't, you should pause this video [Man sitting at a table]

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and read all seven books…we'll wait… [clock ticks]

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Good? Okay, so we all know it takes place at Hogwarts.

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But when does the story take place?

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Anybody?

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That’s what we thought. We kind of already intuitively know how important

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time periods are in fiction. A lot of stories only really make sense [Caveman and darth vader in a field]

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in the time period they take place.

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The Little House in the Prairie series is set in the late nineteenth century, so a lot

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of stories deal with what it was like living in the American Midwest in that period, with [Farm animals walking around]

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all the farming and work duties of the time.

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Heh. Duties.

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But if the same series were set in the present, things would be a lot different. [Family driving a car]

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Let’s just say that they’d be a lot more concerned with charging their phones than chopping wood.

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Just think about all the things that a time period can affect….

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The place: Paris in 1918 is way different from Paris in 1789, or Paris right now. [Eiffel Tower with an islamic flag]

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Technology: not too many laptops in biblical epics, are there?

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Language: words, phrases, and slang change over time. Believe it or not, you're not going

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to find the phrase "on fleek" in Jane Austen. [Jane Austen in a field]

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Social relations: the status of women in western society has changed so much throughout history,

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so depending on when a piece of fiction is set, the pressures and expectations that female [Woman protesting for equal pay]

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characters experience will be very different.

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These are just a few examples of the kinds of things that drive some pretty good stories.

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All in all, whether a work of fiction is set in the past, the present, or the future, the

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time period in which it takes place will definitely be important.

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And for the record, Harry Potter is set in the 90s. [Man dressed in wizard robes]

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Yep, Harry was probably listening to the Spice Girls and Britney Spears. [Harry listening to Britney Spears and Spice Girls]

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