Retro-futurism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Retro-futuristic)
Jump to: navigation, search
The jet pack, an icon of the future, appearing on an August 1928 issue of Amazing Stories science-fiction magazine.
The jet pack, an icon of the future, appearing on an August 1928 issue of Amazing Stories science-fiction magazine.

Retro-futurism, retrofuturism or retro-future (terms combining "retro" and "futurism" or "future") can refer to two distinct concepts:

  • A return to, and an enthusiasm for, the depictions of the future produced in the past (most often the 1920s through 1960s), both in science fiction and in nonfiction futurism of the time, which often seem dated by modern standards.

This article focuses entirely on the first definition.

The word retrofuturism was coined by Lloyd Dunn in 1983, according to a fringe art magazine published from 1988-1993.[2]

Contents

Retro-futuristic settings fall into two main categories. The first is a total vision of the future as seen through the eyes of the past, often a utopian society characterized by high technology (relative to the base time), unusual or exaggerated artistic, architectural and fashion styles, and an abundance of consumer goods; its spirit of optimism and embracing of the status-quo is a contrast with cyberpunk, although in many cases the utopianism is presented in an intentionally ironic or campy light.

The second type of setting is an altered but recognizable versions of the past in which the exaggerated technological innovations which science fiction writers and illustrators imagined might be compatible with their own times (e.g. as created by a brilliant scientist) were indeed real. Examples include Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, set in an alternate 1939 which includes ray-guns, robots, and rocket-ships, which are rare and not characteristic of the technological fabric of the society as a whole; The Rocketeer, set in 1938, whose "futuristic" element is an experimental jet pack. A variation on the above themes gives the "futuristic" technology an alien origin, e.g. The Iron Giant.

Steampunk can, to some extent, be regarded as an extreme form of retro-futurism, based on a vision of futuristic technology inspired by science fiction of the 1860s to 1910s. However, in many cases steampunk works involve steam- or clockwork-powered versions of more advanced technologies that are known today but which were not imagined in 19th-century science fiction; for instance, the mechanical computers of The Difference Engine. Such stories are less easily regarded as retro-futuristic.

There are also many works which take styles and genres of past eras and place them in a futuristic setting, such as the Old West elements in Firefly or the 1940s film noir elements in Blade Runner, but these would not generally be seen as retro-futuristic because they are not based on a specific past era's vision of the future.

The Jetsons are a classic example of a 1960s precursor to retro-futurism.
The Jetsons are a classic example of a 1960s precursor to retro-futurism.

Several films of the past, which can be characterized as straightforward futurism in their own time, have been mined by artists and authors of the present to evoke retro-futuristic styles. These include:

Giant robots from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Giant robots from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

A great deal of attention is drawn to fantastic machines, buildings, cities, and transportation systems. The futuristic design ethic of the early 20th century tends to solid colors, streamlined shapes, and mammoth scales. It might be said that 20th century futuristic vision found its ultimate expression in the development of googie or populuxe design. As applied to fiction, this brand of retro-futuristic visual style is also referred to as Raygun Gothic, a catchall term for a visual style that incorporates various aspects of the Googie, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architectural styles when applied to retro-futuristic science fiction environments.

Although Raygun Gothic is most similar to the googie or Populuxe style and sometimes synonymous with it, the name is primarily applied to images of science fiction — it describes the typical mad scientist laboratory as seen in films like Bride of Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's Metropolis, as well as the architecture of The Jetsons and, more recently, Futurama and Dexter's Laboratory. The style is also still a popular choice for retro sci-fi in film and video games, such as the designs for the film Mars Attacks! and the video game Fallout. Raygun Gothic's primary influences include the set designs of Kenneth Strickfaden and Fritz Lang.

It is thought that the term was coined by William Gibson in his story The Gernsback Continuum: "Cohen introduced us and explained that Dialta [a noted pop-art historian] was the prime mover behind the latest Barris-Watford project, an illustrated history of what she called "American Streamlined Modern." Cohen called it "raygun Gothic." Their working title was The Airstream Futuropolis: The Tomorrow That Never Was."[3]

Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy
Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy

Main article: Googie architecture
An example in Shanghai of a retro-futuristic design in architecture
An example in Shanghai of a retro-futuristic design in architecture

Retro-futurism has appeared in some examples of postmodern architecture. In the example seen at right, the upper portion of the building is not intended to be integrated with the building but rather to appear as a separate object - a huge flying saucer-like space ship only incidentally attached to a conventional building. This appears intended not to evoke an even remotely possible future, but rather a past imagination of that future, or a reembracing of the futuristic vision of googie architecture.

The familiarity of genuine retro-futuristic depictions of the present era from past decades lends a measure of credibility to the retro-futuristic hoax. Such a hoax may involve photoshopping elements from genuine period images into combinations which did not exist at the time, together with a fictional caption adjusted to give the appearance of aged newsprint. A notable example by the user Lukket of Fark.com fooled a number of news outlets.[4]

  1. ^ Carrico, Dale (2005). "Neo-Conmen and Retro-Futurists". Retrieved on 2007-02-13.
  2. ^ http://pwp.detritus.net/in/1997/rf.html
  3. ^ "The Gernsback Continuum" in Gibson, William (1986). Burning Chrome. New York: Arbor House. ISBN 9780877957805. 
  4. ^ See Image:Lukket-50s-computer-HOAX.jpg for details of the hoax.

Literary sci-fi punk genres
Cyberpunk — Postcyberpunk — Steampunk — Biopunk
Other themes
Retro-futurism — Cyberprep — Transrealism
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retro-futurism"
Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.