When Does "Asteroid City" (2023) Take Place?
"Asteroid City" is a comedy metafiction film written by Wes Anderson with Roman Coppola and released June 16th, 2023.
It takes place roughly in the years:
We know this because near the end of the film, the entire frame is filled up with a newspaper front page announcing events already depicted in the film and dated for "October 1, 1955". Also, the "Asteroid Day" banner at the asteroid crater clearly indicates this is the 1955 AD celebration.
HOWEVER, these are all just elements from the main framed story.
1950s AD
We know this because near the end of the film, the entire frame is filled up with a newspaper front page announcing events already depicted in the film and dated for "October 1, 1955". Also, the "Asteroid Day" banner at the asteroid crater clearly indicates this is the 1955 AD celebration.
HOWEVER, these are all just elements from the main framed story.
The character of the writer, Conrad Earp, simply reads from his own script, "the action of the play takes place in September of 1955" at the very beginning of the film.
The writer, director, and actors playing the characters are themselves characters in a frame story that tells us of the behind-the-scenes drama in writing, casting, directing, and performing a play called "Asteroid City". The time of this narrative frame is unplaceable.
This behind-the-scenes narrative, too, is a framed story. The fictional writer, director, and actors are the subject of a mid-20th century-style documentary TV program to educate the public on the nature of theater and storytelling. The setting of this final, outer, narrative frame is also unplaceable.
