The Parker Jotter: The Pen You See in Every Movie
The Parker Jotter: The Pen You See in Every Movie
In this video, I talk about the Parker Jotter, the pen you see in pretty much every movie.
You may not realize it, but you’re already pretty familiar with the Jotter.
The Jotter makes appearances in hundreds of popular movies and TV shows. Here’s a list of just SOME of those appearances:
The Parker Jotter's Movie Appearances:
- James Bond GoldenEye
- The Irishman
- Shawshank Redemption
- The Breakfast Club
- Bank Job
- Old Boy
- Red
- Shutter Island
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
- Two Popes
- Se7en
- Just Mercy
- Joker
- Zodiac
- Hot Fuzz
- Apollo 13
- Lean On Me
- Continental Divide
- Stranger Than Fiction
- Prisoners
- Danger Close
- The Watcher
The Jotter's TV Appearances:
- Mad Men
- Ted Lasso
- The Office
- Mr. Bean
- Endeavor
- Mindhunters
- Versace
- White Collar
- Luther
- The Fugitive
- Psych
- Only Murders In The Building
- The Mentalist
- Daisy Jones and the Six
- Line of Duty
Why is the Jotter in every movie?
The Parker Jotter pen is an affordable, reliable, and supremely clickable writing tool (just watch GoldenEye, you’ll see). It became super popular upon its release in 1954, outmatching every other ballpoint on the market up until then.
Because of its instant success, Parker released updates to it pretty much annually.
So, the Jotter stuck around, and it became a common artifact in daily life, especially in the burgeoning corporate workplace (evident in Mad Men).
A growing popular interest in industrial design also contributed to the Jotter’s success. When the Bauhaus design principles of form and function hit America through influence of designers like Marcel Breuer, Charles Eames, and Eliot Noyes, the Jotter perfectly embodied a great many of their highest design ideals.
It was easily mass-produced, it performed its function perfectly, and it looked beautiful without the overuse of materials. That’s all stuff the great designers love, and the Jotter has it all.
The Parker Jotter’s fast-blossoming popularity made it an instant classic, and so it appears in a lot of period pieces, biopics, and pretty much any other type of film.
The Parker Jotter: A Reliable Pen for Daily Use
At Dayspring Pens, we’re also totally enamored with the pen . Most of our staff uses one every day to fulfill daily writing tasks. So, we’re happy to feature this pen and share a little more about it to other pen enthusiasts.
Jotter's also make incredible personalized gifts!
| Shop Now: TRY THE JOTTER TODAY! |
If you found this video helpful, informative, or just enjoyable, be sure to like and subscribe to our official YouTube Channel for more!
And let us know what you love about the Jotter in the comments below!
Here’s some other helpful links to information on the Parker Jotter pen:
|
|
Sam Di Nardo is an author for Dayspring Pens, where she has honed her expertise in ballpoint, rollerball, gel and fountain pens since joining the team in 2018. From her initial role as an Engraver to becoming the Production Manager, Sam's journey has been marked by her passion for the history, manufacturing, and the unique value of gifted writing instruments. A graduate of Regent University with a degree in English Literature and a special interest in Old Norse literature, dive deeper into Sam's world and discover why she's your trusted guide in the realm of gift pens. |
14 Comments
@Samuel Bucket thanks for the comment! I haven’t seen that one. I’ll add it to the list!
Another movie is the classic Continental Divide.
@Jordan What a great comment! You are completely right that the astronauts on the Apollo 13 mission are using a pen that appears to be the Fisher Space Pen as well as pencils. But! If you look at the pen Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) is using at NASA Ground Control, it appears to be a black or maroon Parker Jotter Ballpoint. The actor behind him is holding a pen with a similar lower barrel although it is hard to see the iconic arrow clip the body shape, tip, and placement of the break from the resin barrel to the stainless steel cap all indicate the Jotter. On is also visible on the desk of Sy Leibergot in the “Houston We’ve Got a Problem” Scene.
From one nerd to another, I don’t mean to be nitpicky. But are you sure a Jotter shows up in Apollo 13? I want to be sure you’re not referring to the Fisher AG-7 pen used by the astronauts in space. Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) is seen using the pen on the mission. As an all-metal pen, it looks similar to the Jotter at first glance.
The most famous one should be the appearance in James Bond movie as a Pen bomb.