Question: I know this film is supposed to be set in 2004-2005, but does anyone know why the clothes and some of the music seems to be quite old (like 20-30 years ago)?
Sarah Van Winkle
24th Jan 2006
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Answer: Shopping for Napoleon's "tuxedo" at a thrift store would explain the old clothes. As far as the music goes I think we all have listened to music from the 80'-90's at one point.
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Answer: The reason the styles and such are so out of date is to signify that the town where "Napoleon Dynamite" takes place is a very small town that is out of touch with current fads and trends. The aged styles also serve to create a sense of nostalgia to the majority of the viewing audience.
Sarah Van Winkle
Napoleon dynamite is set in 2004 but, like some other commenters have said, many of the town's inhabitants are way behind the times, Uncle Rico living in 1982 and proudly proclaiming it, Deb living in the early 1980s with her side ponytail, and the faculty at the school being with a lot of the town's backwardness by playing 1984 songs "Forever young" and "Time after time" at the school dance. However, some of the other townspeople are much more updated with their styles such as Summer and her friends dressing and acting much more up to date, because they're the cool kids who have been able to keep up with America's more modern trends than a lot of the town's being stuck in the past. Also, Summer and her friends may've also travelled like to Los Angeles or some other bigger city more than the others and have been more exposed to the modern world. And because they're the cool kids, they've cared more about that. Alot of the rest of the town, Rico, Deb, school faculty, Napoleon's family, etc., they've either not learned or not cared about getting modernized, probably some of both.