Comments on: Agnostalgia

By: mds

mds — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:52:12 +0000

And in the 10s we’ll have 90s shows.

Which, given Mr. Sanchez’s observation about the unimaginative nature of 90′s pop culture, will be shows about 70′s nostalgia. And then the spacetime continuum will implode. See you all on the other side!

By: George McFly

George McFly — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:27:20 +0000

Back to the Future, while an indisputably great movie, was not a “trend,” unless I’ve missed the wave of BttF fashions, music, and culture you’re referring to.

To me, this video is just as influenced by Spanish Surrealist Salvador Dali than by the 1980s generally. Am I the only one who sees this? Was there a huge Dali trend in the 80s that makes a Dali reference essentially an 80s reference? Look here for Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Vision:”
http://www.mentalfloss.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/Dali%20-%20The%20Persistence%20of%20Memory.jpg

By: Will Wilkinsno

Will Wilkinsno — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:27:45 +0000

Great song! You’re in MY head, Ashlee.

By: Sasha

Sasha — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:22:06 +0000

Bowling for Soup’s “1985″ made me wonder the same thing.

And God bless whoever decided that the soundtrack to Disney’s SKY HIGH would be comprised of nothing but covers of 80s hits.

By: efrex

efrex — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:13:30 +0000

Cyrus:

The heck with the Mr. Fusion machines… WHERE’S MY HOVERBOARD?!

Now, if this 30-something watches “Back to the Future” with his mother-in-law (as we just did last week), what kinds of nostalgia are we dealing with? ’80s nostalgia? ’50s nostalgia? nostalgic looks at how-the-80s-viewed-the-50s?

Okay, I need to lie down now; my head’s hurting…

By: Cyrus

Cyrus — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:29:43 +0000

For the most part, it’s a 20-year thing, yeah. One exception comes to mind, though: “Back to the Future.” 80s nostalgia for the 50s. And, in the sequel, 80s predictions for the year 2010s. Just think, it’s only seven more years before we have flying cars and Mr. Fusion machines.

By: Jon Rowe

Jon Rowe — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:25:36 +0000

This retro affinity is always a 20 year thing. Happy Days and American Graffiti were 70s movies that glorified the 50s. The Wonder Years was an 80s show that glorified the 60s. Dazed and Confused and That 70s Show were 90s shows that glorifed the 70s. So you figure in the 00s we’d have 80s shows. And in the 10s we’ll have 90s shows.

By: Jesse Walker

Jesse Walker — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:21:31 +0000

Speaking as someone who was born in the ’70s: We’ve been down this road before.

By: Luke Stiles

Luke Stiles — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:21:27 +0000

This sort of retro fascination always strikes me as lazy, whether it is borrowing from the generation immediately preceding yours, or fetishizing an even earlier time like rockabilly does.

Doing something original is always an option. Rejection of “the dominant aesthetic” is passive. There are kids out there doing it today, and it was certainly happening when I was a teen in the 80s.

By: swill

swill — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:19:12 +0000

Could be more that the director, who possibly pitched this idea to AS, is older and actually lived in the 80′s…