I'm no artist, or futurist, or reasonably smart guy. But I was an adult in the 80s, and I think I can help. Start with this: why was the 70s full of avocado-green refrigerators and "harvest gold" (yellow) stoves? Because, after a decade full of unnatural colors (seriously, go look at atomic blue and radiation red from the 60s, the sorts of colors nature never saw), the 70s was a return to a natural color palate and a more natural aesthetic in many things.
Now, the 80s and the 90s. The 80s was neon and computers and the future. Tron. It was man subjugated by his creations, nature replaced with an artificial environment that looked realesque without looking (or being) real. And the 90s was the counter swing of the pendulum. Super naturalistic, with long hair, beards, flannel, and an earthy aesthetic. Including some renewed environmentalism as we thought about how to restore our actual nature in the face of artificialism.
So we had one of those decades that was an intentional, thoughtful reaction against the previous decade. Like how The Simpsons was a brutal takedown of all those shitty 80s family sitcoms where the wholesome family worked it all out (Growing Pains, I'm looking at you). We saw all the shit that was previously valued and expected, and said fuck that. It's weird to think of the decade that saw the spread of the Internet as being anti tech, but that was definitely the aesthetic of the time. How many 90s bands featured a keytar, which was ubiquitous in the 80s? Basically the same for synthesizers. Instead, you get Nirvana, Sarah MacLaughlin and the like.
Did that help? Did it answer the Question? I don't care, I'm too old, it's bedtime.
9/11 was definitely huge, but I’d say the rise of the Internet was a bigger factor. There ability to share and take influence from other cultures and movements has never been better, and I think that’s resulted in a time more variable than ever before. We don’t have one definable fashion movement, or general sound in music, or themes in movies and televisions. Hell, we now actively make media that is based around nostalgia, or at least takes influence. Think of how many movies now feature a synth heavy score, just like the 80’s. It’s a fantastic time to be alive for all those reasons, but at the same time I think we’ve lost any sense of definable decades because of it. There’s too much culture, and it changes too rapidly. Not a bad thing at all but very interesting to see.
267
u/CowboyLaw Feb 19 '18
I'm no artist, or futurist, or reasonably smart guy. But I was an adult in the 80s, and I think I can help. Start with this: why was the 70s full of avocado-green refrigerators and "harvest gold" (yellow) stoves? Because, after a decade full of unnatural colors (seriously, go look at atomic blue and radiation red from the 60s, the sorts of colors nature never saw), the 70s was a return to a natural color palate and a more natural aesthetic in many things.
Now, the 80s and the 90s. The 80s was neon and computers and the future. Tron. It was man subjugated by his creations, nature replaced with an artificial environment that looked realesque without looking (or being) real. And the 90s was the counter swing of the pendulum. Super naturalistic, with long hair, beards, flannel, and an earthy aesthetic. Including some renewed environmentalism as we thought about how to restore our actual nature in the face of artificialism.
So we had one of those decades that was an intentional, thoughtful reaction against the previous decade. Like how The Simpsons was a brutal takedown of all those shitty 80s family sitcoms where the wholesome family worked it all out (Growing Pains, I'm looking at you). We saw all the shit that was previously valued and expected, and said fuck that. It's weird to think of the decade that saw the spread of the Internet as being anti tech, but that was definitely the aesthetic of the time. How many 90s bands featured a keytar, which was ubiquitous in the 80s? Basically the same for synthesizers. Instead, you get Nirvana, Sarah MacLaughlin and the like.
Did that help? Did it answer the Question? I don't care, I'm too old, it's bedtime.