Hacker Cinema
Polyester
1981 · Film · 86 min
Directed by John Waters
Blessed with a keen sense of smell and cursed with a philandering pornographer husband, a parasitic mother, and a pair of delinquent children, the long-suffering Francine Fishpaw turns to the bottle as her life falls apart -- until deliverance appears in the form of a hunk named Todd Tomorrow. Originally screened with "Odorama" scratch and sniff cards so the audience could (at their own risk) smell along with the film.
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3 comments on Hacker News
Back in the 1980s, there was a movie that was released where you could purchase a scratch and sniff card. It was dubbed “Odorama”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyester_(film)
As the movie played, a number would flash on the screen, you’d scratch that number and smell the spot on the card.
> John Waters could conjure up an intense feeling of kitsch by just naming his film Polyester.
Looking forward to scratch-n-sniff Odorama GenAI!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3WPpbEIYSs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B2HE-e8wYY
I would add the smells of rain, wet wool, sweat and breath, and sawdust. Fragrance is so evocative and complex, but it'll be a while before we can call it up in our browser.
I remember a Disney World hang-glider ride where they puffed cool humid forest-scented air in my face. That was a very effective ambiance enhancer.
I also remember getting an Odorama card [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smell-O-Vision#/media/File:Odorama-geruchskarte.jpg ] when I saw the movie Polyester. Amusing, but not exactly Proustian.