This is a strange dissonance, fiction may have very well stopped evolving because the perception of reality has already surpassed it.
The late-stage repackaging of nostalgia acts as a controlled regression, a way to cling to the simplicity of the past while distracting us (those who are old enough to remember the times) from the uncertainty of the future. It placates the bleakness of uncharted waters ahead. This phenomena has been creeping for quite some time, think the 90s artist and rockstars on tee shirts.
Starkly, this all coincides with the quiet resignation of the Black Mirror writers, a show once known for its dystopian vision. Didn’t they cite it becoming too “bleak” to keep writing? Has new forms of entertainment become too horrifying or uncanny for audiences to digest? Have we reached a point, much like The Simpsons once did, where modern television and film no longer entertain the future but merely predict the world eerily beyond satire?
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I really couldn't agree more. We seem to be living in the Twilight Zone, but then again, even that would meet the criteria for nostalgia held, yet never experienced lol. Wasn't born yet. But without a skipped beat, there's another reboot for this and that. (e.g. another damn Final Destination, AND another Saw movie). I mean come on. They alll deadddddd, literally. Stahhpppp ittttt.
Also, "fetishistic" is way easier to just read, understand, and move past..., rather than stopping to try and say it out loud for reasons unknown....more than once..🤷♂️
"They're acting like people at a party instead of being people at a party." there is a certain level of 'uncannyvalley' effect in some of the photos! they are just like my old (nostalgic!) party photos, but glossier, more stylish, perfected. Oh, and a shot-by-shot remake of How to train your dragon was, truly, unnecessary
This is a strange dissonance, fiction may have very well stopped evolving because the perception of reality has already surpassed it.
The late-stage repackaging of nostalgia acts as a controlled regression, a way to cling to the simplicity of the past while distracting us (those who are old enough to remember the times) from the uncertainty of the future. It placates the bleakness of uncharted waters ahead. This phenomena has been creeping for quite some time, think the 90s artist and rockstars on tee shirts.
Starkly, this all coincides with the quiet resignation of the Black Mirror writers, a show once known for its dystopian vision. Didn’t they cite it becoming too “bleak” to keep writing? Has new forms of entertainment become too horrifying or uncanny for audiences to digest? Have we reached a point, much like The Simpsons once did, where modern television and film no longer entertain the future but merely predict the world eerily beyond satire?
I thoroughly enjoyed this, and I really couldn't agree more. We seem to be living in the Twilight Zone, but then again, even that would meet the criteria for nostalgia held, yet never experienced lol. Wasn't born yet. But without a skipped beat, there's another reboot for this and that. (e.g. another damn Final Destination, AND another Saw movie). I mean come on. They alll deadddddd, literally. Stahhpppp ittttt.
Also, "fetishistic" is way easier to just read, understand, and move past..., rather than stopping to try and say it out loud for reasons unknown....more than once..🤷♂️
Anyway...thanks for posting, this was solid. 🤙
wow. your work and thoughts are so spot on. love it, thanks for sharing
Brilliant essay. 👏👏
Loved this as always
"They're acting like people at a party instead of being people at a party." there is a certain level of 'uncannyvalley' effect in some of the photos! they are just like my old (nostalgic!) party photos, but glossier, more stylish, perfected. Oh, and a shot-by-shot remake of How to train your dragon was, truly, unnecessary
Second time I've read this article and I will probably read it again.
“Like a mother bird, capitalism regurgitates the digested media of the past into our mouths and we eat it up every time.”
I can already tell that I will be coming back to this article and referring to it often.
This is my favourite essay that I've read on Substack so far. If I never go to see an animated remake in the cinema it's too soon.