Living in the past?

Being into a lot of cool retro things (Tiki, mid-century modern design and architecture, Googie, space-age bachelor pad and cocktail culture, exotica, old movies, TV shows, magazines, music and album covers, etc., etc.), like many of you here, I find I have really surrounded myself with retro items, constantly watch old movies and TV shows- in general immersing myself in the past. It makes me sometimes wonder if I'm just some loser living in the past. I find myself drawn to the design, style, and relative innocence of that period (40s through 60s).

Actually, I also embrace new technology and always find myself buying the latest gadgets and toys to go along with my vintage blenders, ice crushers, and citrus squeezers. I have the latest audio-video gear for watching the old movies and TV shows. I watch newer stuff, too, but not nearly as much. I have an extensive collection of contemporary music, as well, but hardly ever listen to it. My girlfriend for nearly two years was shocked when I recently played some contemporary rock- she's used to just hearing lounge music, jazz, surf guitar, and exotica (which she loves, too).

I guess there's nothing wrong with enjoying the best of both worlds, but I'm wondering if the fact that I am approaching 50 in a few months making me more, and more interested in things that remind me of my youth? Not that it's really worrying me, but I figured others here may have had similar thoughts, and might want to share them.

Although I am 9 years your junior (a Baby Buster), I sympathise with where you are at, as I am very much similar (apart from listening to contemporary music and collecting lots of techno gadgets). When I was a kid in the 1970s and a teenager in the early to mid-1980s, older generations took pride in their generations and the culture they came from, and had no to very little interest in contemporary pop culture. Nowadays pride in one's generation seems all but gone; Peter Pan complexes, staying hip to current trends, and deliberate ignorance or disdain of one's past abounds. To me, these people are losers. But without losers there can be no winners; and there are always more losers than winners.

Men and women are a sum of their past; and their most formative make up (basically, the generation they are and come from) is the past of their childhood and teenage years. It is only natural (unless one had a very poor childhood) that one should find cultural aspects from this time predominantly appealing and comforting, and one in which one wishes to surround oneself. After all, this time period is what makes you you. Embracing nostalgia -- one's past -- is what gives one generational identity -- without which one is simply an empty shell. But it is often we link nostaglia of our past with the generation that precedes ours.

On the same token, though they may have been touched by it in some way via their memories, their parents, etc., somebody in their 50s or younger isn't old enough to have been involved in the adult world of cocktail culture from the 1950s and '60s that so many of us admire and aspire to today. The same could be said regarding being into today a lot of music from those decades that is termed Lounge music or Easy Listening.

But really what it comes down to is taste and wishing to surround oneself with qualities that no longer exist (and never will again). To me, the 1950s, '60s, and '70s are the Golden Age of the 20th Century. These decades hold an apex of culture and pop culture, with a quality of style, ingenuity, and character that has sadly declined since.

The past is the new future. Embrace it.

On 2007-08-09 13:51, DJ Terence Gunn wrote:
Although I am 9 years your junior (a Baby Buster), I sympathise with where you are at, as I am very much similar (apart from listening to contemporary music and collecting lots of techno gadgets). When I was a kid in the 1970s and a teenager in the early to mid-1980s, older generations took pride in their generations and the culture they came from, and had no to very little interest in contemporary pop culture. Nowadays pride in one's generation seems all but gone; Peter Pan complexes, staying hip to current trends, and deliberate ignorance or disdain of one's past abounds. To me, these people are losers. But without losers there can be no winners; and there are always more losers than winners.

Men and women are a sum of their past; and their most formative make up (basically, the generation they are and come from) is the past of their childhood and teenage years. It is only natural (unless one had a very poor childhood) that one should find cultural aspects from this time predominantly appealing and comforting, and one in which one wishes to surround oneself. After all, this time period is what makes you you. Embracing nostalgia -- one's past -- is what gives one generational identity -- without which one is simply an empty shell. But it is often we link nostaglia of our past with the generation that precedes ours.

On the same token, though they may have been touched by it in some way via their memories, their parents, etc., somebody in their 50s or younger isn't old enough to have been involved in the adult world of cocktail culture from the 1950s and '60s that so many of us admire and aspire to today. The same could be said regarding being into today a lot of music from those decades that is termed Lounge music or Easy Listening.

But really what it comes down to is taste and wishing to surround oneself with qualities that no longer exist (and never will again). To me, the 1950s, '60s, and '70s are the Golden Age of the 20th Century. These decades hold an apex of culture and pop culture, with a quality of style, ingenuity, and character that has sadly declined since.

The past is the new future. Embrace it.

Extremely well said - bravo !

Well said, indeed.

Cheers.

Extremely well-said. I don't imagine I have anything to add to that! Excuse me whilst I go and do something really retro...

Well said, DJ!

You're right about us being too young to be part of the 50s and 60s cocktail culture, and I think to a certain extent that makes it so attractive. I would go with my parents to have a drink inthe restaurant lounge before dinner, and see lounge scenes in TV shows and movies, and I couldn't wait to get old enough to partake in the fun that everyone seemed to be having.

How much more elgant and sophisiticated it seemed compared to the frat boy beer bong party scenes of the eighties and nineties, that I took part in when I became old enough to drink.

One of the great things about TC is that you can share opinions and experiences with others that appreciate what has been lost to most of modern society.

I am a contemporary of Urban Tiki. I crossed the 50 mark about 2 months ago. "The relative innocence of that period." There's something to be said for that. I collect bar glassware from the 40s and 50s. I particularly like the naughty and politically incorrect stuff. The peek-a-boo glasses and the tumblers with ribald jokes illustrated on them. Who even uses that word anymore? Ribald. What was naughty then in retrospect today seems so innocent. I think that's what intrigues me. I was too young for the Tiki lounge scene. I saw glimpses of it. It was just so exotic and so mysterious and so compelling. My generation had disco and punk and I always felt cheated that I missed the lounge scene. However, like Urban Tiki, I am also an early adopter of new technologies. I think you can look back with fondness and still look forward with hope. And I wouldn't go back if I could. I'm probably waxing too nostalgic and if so I apologize.

[ Edited by: khan_tiki_mon 2007-08-23 19:30 ]

On 2007-08-09 13:51, DJ Terence Gunn wrote:
The past is the new future. Embrace it.

Just wanted to quote this by itself. I like it!

To expand on what Kon Tiki Mon said, I have a collection of vintage Playboys from the 50's (to go with my space age bachelor pad decor), and they are so tame compared to what's out there today. Magazines like Maxim's and Sports Illustrated ar more ribald.

It's everything I have ever thought or felt. The golden age was better then this age, in almost every way.

I have authentic redline hotwheels from the 60's

And I am authentically a dork!

Keepin em though. They may be valuable some day!

Good thread

Mahalo

I have begun to wonder about living in the past myself as of late. I too am too young (42) to have experienced a lot of the retro culture first hand. But I recall the “tail end” so to speak. I remember my grandparents and their Don Ho records, aluminum Christmas tree with color wheel, their amoeba ash trays and their love of bowling. I remember when ranch houses were the norm rather than the McMansion. Hell, I remember a time before cable tv.

It fascinates me, particularly the aforementioned relative innocence of the times. A lot of it is just plain cool. But I try to remember that history is a “generous editor.” Its not like those times did not have their share of problems as well (Jim Crow, McCarthy, Polio, etc). The houses and drinks were cool, but they still required mortgages and common sense.

Still, the digital age seems to bring its own problems, namely the destruction of the attention span and a peaceful pace in society. People, all people, seem to have less and less respect for one another. Our quaint landscape becomes ever more sterile and uniform. People complain, yet it keeps morphing.

Oh well, perhaps I will cash out my 401(K) and finance an updated version of The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit.

We always seem to have filters up when we look at the past. Depending on perspective, much of the past can seem exciting, dangerous, brutal, laconic, depressing, and ideal all at once. I really enjoyed reading my Hawaiian history in school. When setting up my first apartment, I wanted that look and feel of old Hawaii that I saw in my family home and the homes of my friends. That's how my love of tiki started. A way to connect to my roots in a contemporary way.

I really enjoyed your post. I agree so much with it. I was born in 1970. While it might be the year 2007, I wish it was the swingin' decade of the 60's. Most of the music I listen to comes from that decade. Many of the movies I watch come from that decade as well. I love classic tv shows, game shows, and cartoons. If I had more money, I would probably really decorate my apartment like a bachelor pad of the 60's.

Having past the 40 mark, I do not feel like a loser living in the past. I'm old enough to know what I like and what I don't.... definitively. I'm set in my ways and wear them like an old pair of comfy sneakers. I have chosen to take the best of the 20th century and celebrate them in the now. That's my STYLE and I'm sticking to it! And you can keep your reality T.V. ( except that top chef one. )

I too am 40 and do the best I can to surround myself with the past. My house, cars, furniture, and housewares are all from the 50s and 60s. The design of the Populuxe era is so exciting and full of possibilities I can't help myself from immersing myself in it. Something special happens when you can come home mix a cocktail with vintage barware, turn on the hi-fi (wait for the tubes to warm up), and go out back to play lawn darts before dinner. Damn you hippies! You ruined everything!

I am pretty much the same way, although I try not to eschew the present totally- I am on a computer right now.

rougespy007:

You can easily acquire the 60s Bachelor Pad look. Craigslist and thrift stores are full of decent Danish Modern pieces. Ikea has many decent items and there always the more high end places like West Elm or Design Within Reach. CB2 is fairly reasonable and has lots of good things. And there is always eBay.

It helps to reside in a building that is actually from that era. Mrs Lord and I live in a highrise that dates to the late 50s and it has lots of huge glass windows, clean lines and really cool fixtures. Acquiring things for it is our hobby.

The past is the new future? I would say the future never came. In the 50s the future was so promising. Look at old issues of Popular Mechanics and see all the marvelous stuff predicted for the future. The coolest things were fantasized about at places like EPCOT center and Tomorrowland. The Worlds Fair in Montreal, Expo '67, showcased so many wonderful things that never came to be. I grew up reading in the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Authors like Ben Bova, Lester Del Ray, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Andre Norton, to name just a few. The books were about space travel, adventure, and inventions. I still read science fiction today but a lot of it is post-apocalyptic. The future is bleak. We look back in time with nostalgia to a time that looked ahead with high hopes. Sure there has been progress but I'm talking about the outlook. The outlook today is not as rosy as it was in 1957 is it?

Depends. Huge strides in medicine as well as information technology. Cars are safer and more efficient, although they have lost alot in appearance. Machines require less energy to use.

Tolerance has certainly moved at warp speed. In 1957, did anyone foresee having two black Secretary of States in a row, a Latino attorney general or a serious black Presidential contender? Women are at the highest levels of government and industry and we may have one as President soon.

Economically, there is actually unprecedented prosperity. Where else do you find poor people with cars, big screen tvs and obesity problems? College has gone from something for the elites to something for the masses. Travel is now something run of the mill rather than expensive and exotic.

Are there bad things? Sure, but I will leave that for another day.

Jack,
I must say the sword cuts both ways. Today we live in world where a political party is banking on intolerance and actually promoting it. Today as in yesteryear, brown people and Muslims have replaced blacks as those who are "what's wrong with this country". Technology has certainly exploded and we have accomplished amazing things in the worlds of technology and medicine. The the caveat is that George Orwell seems to be closer to what's happening today than Popular Science Magazine. That wonderful technology is also being used by governments (including ours) to spy on its own citizens and to track people's lifestyles in every increasing detail. The advancement in AIDS research has been politicized and thus slowed.

Having said all that, it seems that basically nothing has changed on one sense. Now, as with then, people looked back to "the good old days", some suffer, some prosper, everyone is striving for better and better. We live in amazing times as did our parents and grandparents. Our children and their children will live in amazing times as well. In the 50's nobody predicted the Internet. Who knows where the future will take us. But, with increasing knowledge comes increasing responsibility.

I am pretty disappointed that I don't have my hover craft....I was really expecting to be living in more of a Jetson style world by now....at least that was what I was lead to believe when I was educated in Tomorrowland. :lol:

Some of us do grow up to be our parents...look how we collect items from their era (things we admired as children). I go all wobbly in the knees when I see retro kitchen and bar items. I am very lucky to have my parent's first bedroom set in my home....and when my Mom comes to see me, she sleeps in that room and uses that furniture...how cool is that!!!