Sliding doors moment

The term a sliding doors moment became a term popularised in the late 20th-century meaning seemingly inconsequential moments that nonetheless alter the trajectory of future events.[1]

Uses

Although the term originated from the 1998 film Sliding Doors, written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow,[2] examples of 'sliding doors moments' being used in modern vernacular vary to include:

• Princess Diana's last minute decision to make a trip to Paris.[3]
• Decisions made by the Labour Party ahead of a UK general election.[4]
• The fortunes of the Croatian national football team ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in which they would eventually finish as runners-up despite struggling through qualifying.[5]
• Personal relationships.[6]
• The chequered history of Roxy Music.[7]
• The drop in funding of the NHS.[8]
• A round table discussion on the Set Piece Menu podcast on how football history might have changed if certain key moments had gone differently, such as England’s 1966 World Cup victory masking wider deficiencies in the post-war state of English football, and the seemingly opportunistic 1992 signing of Eric Cantona by then Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, amongst others.[9]
• Bill Simmons frequently declares events to be sliding door moments in the history of the National Basketball Association and its players, teams, coaches and staff on the Bill Simmons Podcast and the Book of Basketball podcast. [10]

See also

• Butterfly effect
• Time loop
• Parallel universe
• Blind Chance, Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1987, filmed in 1981
• Run Lola Run, Tom Tykwer, 1998
• Broad City season 4, episode 1, "Sliding Doors"
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, season 4, episode 9, "Sliding Van Doors"

References

1. Fetters, Ashley. "I Think About This a Lot: The Sliding Doors in Sliding Doors". Thecut.com. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
2. "The Almosts and What-ifs of 'Sliding Doors'". Theringer.com. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
3. "Princess Diana's sliding doors moment". News.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
4. Murphy, Katharine (28 July 2018). "It's a sliding doors moment for Labor as curtains fall on byelection circus – Katharine Murphy". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
5. Holiga, Aleksandar (13 July 2018). "Croatia's sliding-door moment – the day Finland scored late against them – Aleksandar Holiga". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
6. Tynan, Jacinta (14 July 2018). "My relationship sliding door moment". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
7. "Sliding Doors: The Origin of Roxy Music". Everyrecordtellsastory.com. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
8. "A Sliding Doors moment for the NHS? - BBC News". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
9. FM, Player. "SPM 101: What If...? Set Piece Menu Football podcast". player.fm.
10. "'Book of Basketball 2.0': Dirk Nowitzki and the Pyramid (With Marc Stein)". TheRinger.com (Podcast). Dec 3, 2019. Event occurs at Event occurs at 01:05:58. Retrieved December 11, 2019.