Am I Rip Van Winkle? If I had spent that much quality time on the other side of closed eyes, I would think I’d be really out of touch. But maybe not, because 2005 sure feels a lot like 1985. I mean all the cool bands are being compared to either Duran Duran or The Cure. Desperate Housewives is Dynasty in the suburbs. And coming soon are big screen remakes of Miami Vice, Dallas, Magnum P.I. and The Dukes of Hazzard. For some reason, the ghosts of pop culture past are returning like Van Winkle to the village.
Is it because we are out of original ideas? Or more cynically, that nothing new is ever really new, because it’s all been done before? Whatever the reason, we continue to resurrect fads and borrow from the past to create recycled fashions, movie remakes and Nick at Nite program blocks. There is a comfort in reliving the past, especially the elements of our youth through nostalgia.
When we bring back a relic from the pop culture abyss, it goes on a revival tour that intersects with current culture. From that, another generation of cool-seekers may jump on board. The youth in search of what’s new, discover something old and make it their own. Witness the rise of cocktail culture and swing dancing after the release of Swingers (1994).
Sometimes this works in nice 20-year cycles, as when the 50s were celebrated in the 70s through Happy Days, Grease and American Graffiti. Or how disco themed nightclubs, platform shoes and That 70s Show were big in the 90s. Other times, pop culture reemerges just because it’s time. As if there is a future period of nostalgia guaranteed for anything that once attained a certain level of fame. As early as 1999, I was ready to develop a late 80s/early 90s dance club honoring the pre-grunge era. I was ahead of the natural nostalgia curve, but sure enough someone has already opened one - albeit in Australia.
Speaking of the 90s, it was the decade when this pop culture revivalism got its name – “retro.” Coming from “retroactive” and “retrospective” to denote looking backward to revive a dead trend. The term “retro” is part of our current slang. At any given mall, you may overhear phrases like “she’s so retro” or “retro-fabulous.” The name of that early 90s Aussie dance club is, naturally “Retro.”
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