Press, 1995. A good resource to learn about gen-
eral information about the Olympic Games, but it
lacks depth about any specific topic.
De Moragas Spa, Miquel, Nancy K. Rivenburgh, and
James F. Larson.Television in the Olympics. London:
John Libbey, 1995. Examines how television be-
came a critical player in the development and
presentation of the Olympics.
Klatell, David A., and Norman Marcus.Sports for Sale:
Television, Money, and the Fans. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1988. Covers a wide sweep of
sports on television and focuses on the difficulty
of making a profit at the Olympics and other
sports events.
Larson, James F., and Heung-Soo Park.Global Televi-
sion and the Politics of the Seoul Olympics. Boulder,
Colo.: Westview Press, 1993. Excellent book that
provides numerous examples and insights into
how South Korea’s Olympic organizers used the
media to advance their agenda for the 1988 Sum-
mer Games.
Orser, Brian, and Steve Milton.Orser: A Skater’s Life.
Toronto: Key Porter Books, 1988. Aimed at a gen-
eral audience, this autobiography highlights the
career of Canadian figure skater Brian Orser.
Ungerleider, Steven.Faust’s Gold: Inside the East Ger-
man Doping Machine. New York: St. Martin’s Press,
- Examines the extent to which the East Ger-
mans were willing to go to become an interna-
tional power at the Olympics. The consequences
of these immoral practices still haunt many for-
mer East German Olympians.
Anthony Moretti
See also Boitano, Brian; Canada and the United
States; Goodwill Games of 1986; Griffith-Joyner,
Florence; Lewis, Carl; Louganis, Greg; Olympic boy-
cotts; Olympic Games of 1980; Olympic Games of
1984; Sports.
On Golden Pond
Identification American film
Director Mark Rydell (1934- )
Date Released December 4, 1981
One of a few subdued family dramas among the blockbuster
films of the 1980’s, triple Academy Award-winningOn
Golden Pondfeatured legendar y screen actors in a sensi-
tive portrayal of old age—and of an American family at-
tempting to overcome resentments and common inter-
generational conflicts.Adapted for film by playwright Ernest Thompson
from his original Broadway play,On Golden Pondwas
one of the highest-grossing films of 1981, winning
three Oscars out of ten Academy Award nominations.
The film centers on an older, long-married couple—
crotchety retired professor Norman Thayer (played
by Henry Fonda) and his steadfast and spirited wife
Ethel (Katharine Hepburn)—summering at their
lakeside cottage in New England. Norman, daunted
by sight, memory, and heart problems, uses sarcasm
to distance others; Ethel, the stabilizing force of the
family, loves her husband wholeheartedly but is often
exasperated by him and his antagonistic relation-
ship with their adult child. To celebrate Norman’s
eightieth birthday, the Thayers’ estranged daughter
Chelsea (Jane Fonda), a middle-aged divorcée, visits
from California with her dentist boyfriend, divorcé
Bill Ray (Dabney Coleman), and his thirteen-year-
old son, Billy (Doug McKeon). When the two middle-
agers depart for a European vacation, Billy stays with
the senior Thayers for a month.
Underlying the birthday party, board games, berry
picking, swimming, and fishing excursions that con-
stitute the action of this quiet film are key genera-
tional and family issues of the 1980’s, including the
health and quality of life of an aging senior popula-
tion, widespread divorce, family blending via remar-
riage, and coming of age in a media-driven decade.
While other 1980’s films depict families distraught
by suicide, fatal illness, or the death of a child,On
Golden Pondexplores more common domestic prob-
lems, offering glimpses into an American family’s
multifaceted inner workings: The film reveals love
and contention within a solid marriage, sparring
and reassurance in family celebrations, and intimate
conversations wherein family members sort out feel-
ings. Arguments peppered with humor makeOn
Golden Pondnotably lighter in tone than many of its
1980’s film counterparts, as do awkward interactions
that turn unexpectedly frank and insightful.
During and since the 1980’s, critics and some au-
diences have taken issue with the sentimentality and
predictable, tidy plot ofOn Golden Pond. Indeed, by
the story’s end, Billy and Norman have bonded over
fishing and salty language, Chelsea has begun to
make peace with her father, Norman and Ethel haveThe Eighties in America On Golden Pond 735