An opposing view from a member here that commented on an article.
"Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace rules. It wasn't the best Star Wars film or even the best film of the Prequels, but it is certainly my favorite of the Star Wars Saga and I'm tired of seeing nerds still trashing it along with the other two Prequels on sites like this.
I mean the Prequels came out in 1999-2005. That almost 20 years ago now. To kids like me who grew up in in the 2000's, The Prequels was our Star Wars and meant as much to us as the Originals did to 70's/80's kids. Most of those who grew up with the Prequels are also adults now and it's time we had a bigger voice and be allowed to express nostalgia for something we grew up with."
The theme of his complaint is that his childhood memories are just as valid as kids who grew up in the 70s/80s. And no one can say they are not just as valuable, it is just that in my opinion they are not retro yet. The Phantom Menace barely squeaks into the 90s at 1999 in a retro decade the 90s even though it is not 20 years old yet. But anything from the 2000s not yet.
There is no argument over the terms old, ancient, vintage, etc. We can all agree what new, current, avant guard, and modern mean. But there is some argument over retro. Retro comes from Retrospect or to see again. Literally something old that is seen again is retro. There may be some confusion because of modern use of the word retro as something new done in an old style or retro style.
Retro style is currently in vogue because it is counter culture or against main stream and therefore unique or cool. The irony is that those trying to be counter culture defined the culture and became iconic of their generations much more than the homogenous general public, examples are greasers, hippies, new wavers, punks, skaters, grunge, emo, retro, hipster, geeks, whatever.
You can't blame 90s/2000s kids for wanting their memories to also be cool or retro. There are many modern things that I think are cool but they are not retro, not yet. All it requires is for the passage of time. It may be harder for current generations because a lot of what they are experiencing is regurgitated from other previous generations. Toys and role playing games from the 70s and 80s are reimagined. Films from decades gone are redone for new generations whether they needed it or not. There may be an identity crisis over what defines these generations of repeating themes if nothing is original. Well I got news for the younger generation and the next generation the same exact thing was said of the 70s and 80s by earlier generations, that there was nothing original under the sun. In time we found our own identity and what was iconic to us and so will you. Future retro subjects might include Harry Potter, Super Hero films, and Minecraft, but not yet. You will also be known as the technology generation.
10 years is still modern if slightly out of fashion, 15 years is debatable by case of merit and iconic status, there is no debate after 20 years. The time alone has earned it if it is more than a score of years old it is retro.
I think in general, a lot has changed in technology since the year 2000. HDTVs has been taking over, and currently replacing standard definition, if it hasn't fully done that already, digital distribution has been taking over, and replacing game discs, DVDs, and CDs. Cellphones have come a long way since the introduction to the original iPhone. These are some examples of what I look at, and see what can be retro.
And while you could make the argument that "the internet makes everything less retro", I feel like even that has changed since the year 2000. A lot has changed over the years that has people, even including myself looking back at it. MySpace is an example of that. While I haven't personally used MySpace, that's a site I see people look back on as that used to be popular at one point, and the site ended up being all but dead now (it's still around, but ended up being revamped into some music site. A complete shell of what it used to be). There's also been evolutions in web design. Especially with HTML5 taking over, essentially replacing flash video. You go to a site, like from the WayBack Machine, and you got to a site you visited from say, 2001, and you compare it to a site from 2017... there's a huge difference.
Also, I'd like to note that in three years from now, the 2000s will have started 20 years ago. Think we would consider it retro by then?
I've thought a bit more about this subject since my first post. I think the first big wave of nostalgia occurred during the '70s with '50s inspired movies and shows such as American Graffiti, Happy Days, and Grease. The earliest of those three, American Graffiti, came out 14 years after the last year of the '50s. Using that example as a guide, I'd estimate that the years of 2000-2009 will become undeniably retro once 2023 hits.
For 2000-2009 I would revert to the 20 year rule. I would not round up an entire decade but as the decade went on past the 20 year mark I could be persuaded like with the 90s but only in the last half of the 2020s. Up to 2005 is debatable on a case by case basis based on merit, iconic of the decade, or personally life changing for the sake of good stories to tell. As far as we are concerned for this website it is not really up to us but up to Vapor. He has already allowed several stories and articles to creep in that were not retro with his photogsmurf approval stamp but in the end he sets the parameters. For me retro would be within living memory of the decades 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Anything prior obviously is old but there are few with living memories of the 40s that are on forums like these and none from the turn of the 20th century to the 1930s. The 2000s I would deal with on a case by case basis and generally stick to the 20 year rule so in 2020 the year 2000 is retro etc. I of course am biased because I was already an adult and got married in the year 2000 so it doesn't seem like that long ago to me. My kids were born in the 2000-2009 decade and I don't consider anything about their childhoods retro unless it was from my childhood that I introduced to them.
Kids from the late 90s and 2000s have the resurgence of the home video game craze with multiple consoles and the Disney renaissance with new animated Disney films, Friends, Seinfield, Harry Potter, Pixar films, UFC, Pride Fighting, technology explosion, wikipedia, MySpace, usb flashdrives replacing floppy discs, 9/11, ipod, reality television, guitar hero, Shrek, Spider-Man, Gladiator, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shaun of the Dead, The Bourne films, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Moulin Rouge, The Lord of the Rings films, SpongeBob, Hanna Montana, South Park, the Office, Twilight books, The Road, the Kite Runner, Da Vinci Code, Survivor,etc. There are a lot of things good or bad that are iconic for that period that will become retro after they are 20 years old.
Yeah, in previous discussions like this it seemed like a consensus was achieved that declared something needed to be at least 20 years old. That at 2020 we would be open to considering stuff from 2000 - 2005 as possibly "Retro". But like NLogan said, it would be on a case by case basis
I honestly give stuff a ten year period between the time it has officially stopped being made (especially when it comes to cartoons, but other stuff applies as well) before qualifying it as "retro". Of course, your mileage may vary
