1968-2001: So, Have We Evolved?

Last week’s release of the new “Planet of the Apes” makes us think about how much--or how little--we’ve evolved since 1968, when the original “Planet of the Apes” was released.

To be sure, 1968 was a year of tragedy, including the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the invasion of Czechoslovakia by what was then the Soviet Union and the continuing war in Vietnam.

But 1968 was full of other kinds of news, much of it mirrored by events taking place right now. 1968 to 2001. Thirty-three years. How much have we really evolved? You be the judge.

*

1968: “Planet of the Apes” is released, starring Charlton Heston, an actor who played Moses, as an astronaut stranded on a planet where apes evolved and humans were “wild.”

2001: “Planet of the Apes” is remade and released, starring Mark Wahlberg, an actor who posed in his underwear in a Calvin Klein ad and played Dirk Diggler, an actor in porn films, in “Boogie Nights.”

1968: A president from Texas left the White House.

2001: A president from Texas entered the White House.

1968: O.J. Simpson wins the Heisman Trophy.

2001: O.J. is charged with attacking another driver in what his lawyer called “a road rage misunderstanding.”

1968: Mel Brooks wins an Oscar for “The Producers.”

2001: Mel Brooks wins a Tony for “The Producers.”

1968: A Chicago mayor named Daley declares war on rioters at the Democratic convention with his “shoot to kill” order.

2001: A Chicago mayor named Daley declares war on the suburbs with his “build a new runway” at O’Hare plan.

1968: Strom Thurmond, 66, marries Nancy Moore, a 22-year-old South Carolina beauty queen.

2001: Strom Thurmond, 98, is said to want his wife, Nancy, to succeed him in the Senate when he dies.

1968: Bobby Rush is information minister for the Illinois Black Panther Party.

2001: Bobby Rush is a U.S. congressman often talked about as a Chicago mayoral candidate.

1968: Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow divorce.

2001: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman file for divorce.

1968: Activists protest the war in Vietnam.

2001: Activists protest the meeting of industrialized nations in Europe.

1968: “Hair” (with nude actors) opens on Broadway.

2001: “The Full Monty” (with nude actors) opens on Broadway.

1968: “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon and Garfunkel is a hit on the pop charts.

2001: Anne Robinson of TV’s “The Weakest Link” is a hit on NBC.

1968: North Korean patrol boats capture the Navy intelligence-gathering vessel Pueblo and hold its crew on spying charges.

2001: Chinese jets force the capture of a U.S. spy plane and the crew is held on spying charges.

1968: “2001: A Space Odyssey” is released with critics and audiences expressing outrage and boredom over an ending that includes an astronaut in a bedroom with a monolith.

2001: “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” is released with critics and audiences expressing outrage and boredom over a final scene that includes a robot boy in a bedroom with his “mommy.”