Sliding doors moment

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

Origin

The phrase originated from the 1998 film Sliding Doors , written and directed by Peter Howitt and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, ^[2] which explores the concept of mundane but pivotal moments holding the possibility to change the course of a person's life. The concept was explored earlier by J. B. Priestley in his 1932 play Dangerous Corner .^{[ clarification needed ]}

One notable example of a "sliding doors moment" involved Paltrow herself. On the day of the September 11 attacks, a woman who was crossing a road on her way to the train station was stopped when she came close to a car carrying Paltrow on her way to a yoga class. After doing a double take, the woman proceeded to be late to her intended train, missing the stop, causing her to have not gotten to her job at the World Trade Center in time for its collapse, saving her life. ^[3]

Uses

Examples of "sliding doors moments" being used in modern vernacular include:

• Princess Diana's last-minute decision to visit Paris on 30 August 1997, leading to her death after leaving her hotel. ^[4]
• In relation to the fate of the Australian Labor Party ahead of the July 2018 Australian federal by-elections (colloquially known as "Super Saturday").^{[ further explanation needed ] [5]}
• The fortunes of the Croatia national football team ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in which they eventually finished as runners-up despite struggling through qualifying.^{[ further explanation needed ] [6]}
• Brian Eno was stuck choosing between TWO trains to board, and picked one at random. The train contained Andy Mackay, and their coincidental choice of the same train led to the founding of Roxy Music. ^[7]
• 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 Alex Ferguson, amongst others.^{[ further explanation needed ] [8] [ non-primary source needed ]}
• 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. ^{[9] [ non-primary source needed ]}
• Australian bowler Glenn McGrath injuring himself in the warm-up to the second test of the 2005 Ashes series, meaning he couldn't play in the match. Australia went on to narrowly lose the match, and after levelling the series 1-1 England went on to win their first Ashes series since 1986-87. ^[10]

Pop culture references

• Frasier season 8, episode 13, "Sliding Frasiers"
• Broad City season 4, episode 1, "Sliding Doors"
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt , season 4, episode 9, "Sliding Van Doors"
• Bob's Burgers , season 6, episode 1, "Sliding Bobs"

See also

• Butterfly effect
• Time loop
• Parallel universe
• Blind Chance , Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1987, filmed in 1981^{[ further explanation needed ]}
• Run Lola Run , Tom Tykwer, 1998^{[ further explanation needed ]}

References

1. Fetters, Ashley (9 April 2018). "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. "Actress Paltrow learns of 9/11 "Sliding Doors" moment". Reuters . 2011-09-05. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
4. "Princess Diana's sliding doors moment". News.com.au. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
5. Murphy, Katharine (28 July 2018). "It's a sliding doors moment for Labor as curtains fall on byelection circus". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 September 2018.
6. 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.
7. "Sliding Doors: The Origin of Roxy Music". Everyrecordtellsastory.com. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
8. FM, Player. "SPM 101: What If...? Set Piece Menu Football podcast". player.fm.
9. "'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.
10. "The Joy of Six: sporting 'sliding doors' moments | Nick Miller". the Guardian. 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2021-11-19.