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18

Jan

lambjustin: There has been a lot of commentary in the last few months on how yester-minded we are as a generation. I find it fascinating. The conditions for this mentality in late twenty-somethings are ripe, but I think the two most contributing factors are:- Our demographic beginning to cross into the parts of adulthood that David Foster Wallaces described as full of “boredom, routine, and petty frustration.” A lot of that boredom is filled by scrolling through news feeds on social media sites in search of something…anything to interact with.- Combine that search with social networking sites having evolved into sites that focus on curation of content. Some of the most popular content takes two familiar elements and juxtaposes them against each other. Often these elements are things from our past (old movie trailers recut, re-envisionings of old franchises, etc.). The idea of the mash-up has grown beyond audio.After enough time this pattern becomes a bit of an Ouroboros, just continually feeding itself. It begins with finding something familiar from the past and the association of that thing with the comfort of that era and moves to the subsequent sharing and minor idolization of it, which restarts the cycle when others see and share it.Of course this fondness for youth is probably a natural part of the maturation cycle. This was true In the 70s when Baby Boomers coming of age were idolizing Happy Days, Grease and American Graffiti - pop culture hallmarks due to their familiarity with such a large demographic.In addition, the ever growing Heritage movement with it’s fixation on authenticity in culture has expanded the dragnet to other eras. The search for familiarity in the past now includes things from eras before even our parents births. From retro mixology and penny farthing styling to the Steinbeck-esque aesthetic of the locavore movement. Our present has become a melting pot of everything but now.If you enjoy reading about the past in the present, you might likesome of these articles:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-kassoy/millennial-nostalgia_b_1207497.htmlhttp://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/01/prisoners-of-style-201201http://www.salon.com/2011/12/18/is_2011_really_just_1991/ And this book, which is remarkable:http://www.amazon.com/Retromania-Pop-Cultures-Addiction-Past/dp/0865479941Here is an interview with the author:http://www.avclub.com/articles/simon-reynolds,59501/Also, here is the speech that David Foster Wallace line is from:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178211966454607.html Now someone splice this text together with clips from Are You Afraid of the Dark?

lambjustin:

There has been a lot of commentary in the last few months on how yester-minded we are as a generation. I find it fascinating. The conditions for this mentality in late twenty-somethings are ripe, but I think the two most contributing factors are:

- Our demographic beginning to cross into the parts of adulthood that David Foster Wallaces described as full of “boredom, routine, and petty frustration.” A lot of that boredom is filled by scrolling through news feeds on social media sites in search of something…anything to interact with.

- Combine that search with social networking sites having evolved into sites that focus on curation of content. Some of the most popular content takes two familiar elements and juxtaposes them against each other. Often these elements are things from our past (old movie trailers recut, re-envisionings of old franchises, etc.). The idea of the mash-up has grown beyond audio.

After enough time this pattern becomes a bit of an Ouroboros, just continually feeding itself. It begins with finding something familiar from the past and the association of that thing with the comfort of that era and moves to the subsequent sharing and minor idolization of it, which restarts the cycle when others see and share it.

Of course this fondness for youth is probably a natural part of the maturation cycle. This was true In the 70s when Baby Boomers coming of age were idolizing Happy Days, Grease and American Graffiti - pop culture hallmarks due to their familiarity with such a large demographic.

In addition, the ever growing Heritage movement with it’s fixation on authenticity in culture has expanded the dragnet to other eras. The search for familiarity in the past now includes things from eras before even our parents births. From retro mixology and penny farthing styling to the Steinbeck-esque aesthetic of the locavore movement. Our present has become a melting pot of everything but now.

If you enjoy reading about the past in the present, you might like
some of these articles:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-kassoy/millennial-nostalgia_b_1207497.html
http://www.vanityfair.com/style/2012/01/prisoners-of-style-201201
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/18/is_2011_really_just_1991/

And this book, which is remarkable:
http://www.amazon.com/Retromania-Pop-Cultures-Addiction-Past/dp/0865479941
Here is an interview with the author:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/simon-reynolds,59501/

Also, here is the speech that David Foster Wallace line is from:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178211966454607.html

Now someone splice this text together with clips from Are You Afraid of the Dark?

  1. colinrigsby reblogged this from lambjustin
  2. coreythedopest reblogged this from lambjustin and added:
    because it will help...my thesis. weird.
  3. mcmermaid reblogged this from lambjustin
  4. shiraselko said: The Woody Allen movie “Midnight In Paris” also addresses/makes commentary on the sort of nostalgic ennui you describe.
  5. lambjustin posted this

4 months ago Short URL 11 notes

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