retro

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Retro is a term used to describe, denote or classify culturally outdated or aged trends, modes, or fashions, from the overall postmodern past, but have since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc. has occurred from around the time of the industrial revolution to present day.

Origin

The word "retro" derives from the Latin prefix retro, meaning "backwards" or "in past times" -- particularly as seen in the words retrograde, implying a movement toward the past instead of a progress toward the future, and retrospective, referring to a nostalgic (or critical) eye toward the past.

In the postwar period, it increased in usage with the appearance of the word retrorocket (short for "retrograde rocket", a rocket generating thrust in a direction opposite to that of a spacecraft's orbital motion) used by the American space program in the 1960s. In France, the word rétro, an abbreviation for rétrospectif ^[1] gained cultural currency with reevaluations of Charles de Gaulle and France’s role in World War II. The French mode rétro of the 1970s reappraised in film and novels the conduct of French civilians during the Nazi occupation. The term rétro was soon applied to nostalgic French fashions that recalled the same period.

Shortly thereafter it was introduced into English by the fashion and culture press, where it suggests a rather cynical revival of older but relatively recent fashions. (Elizabeth E. Guffey, Retro: The Culture of Revival, pp. 9-22). In Simulacra and Simulation, French theorist Jean Baudrillard describes "retro" as a demythologization of the past, distancing the present from the big ideas that drove the “modern” age.^[2]

Usage

“Retro” can be used to simply mean “old fashioned” or old, functioning much like “timeless” or “classic”. It has also been associated with modernism in the immediate post-war years, encompassing an aesthetic that ranges from tailfins on Cadillacs to ranch houses. Sometimes, it can also suggest an entire outlook on life, for example, social conservatism, home schooling, or the embrace of traditional gender roles. “Retro” can also be applied to forms of technological obsolescence, for example, manual typewriters, cash registers, bulky hand-held cell phones, or the resurrection of old computer games. But most commonly, “retro” is used to describe objects and attitudes from the recent past that no longer seem “modern.” It suggests a fundamental shift in the way we relate to the past. Different from more traditional forms of revivalism, “retro” suggests a half ironic, half longing consideration of the recent past. It has been called an “unsentimental nostalgia,” recalling “modern” forms that are no longer current. "Retro" sometimes also refers to the fifties era.

Today it is often used in a positive sense, referring to quirky or attractive products that are no longer available. For example, "Retro fashion" or "Retro Chic" may consist of outdated styles, such as tie-dyed shirts from the 1960s, or poodle skirts from the 1950s. A love of retro objects (things from the past) is called retrophilia. Retro often reflects a sensibility aligned with camp. Camp is an ironic attitude, an explicit re-introduction of non-dominant forms.

Retro also can mean a type of music from the 1950s

Specific types of retro

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Retro art

A 1950s-era poster in pop-art style, the style of which retro art is based upon.

The style now called "retro art" is a genre of pop art which was developed in the 1940s and 1950s in response to a need for bold, eye-catching graphics that were easy to reproduce on simple presses available at the time in major centres. Retro advertising art has experienced a resurgence in popularity since its style is distinctive from modern computer-generated styling.

Perhaps the most famous example of a retro pop-art character is the more generalized form of the Ward Cleaver-styled J. R. "Bob" Dobbs-esque icon which has been widely played off, copied, and parodied.

Retrogaming

Retrogaming is a pastime which is becoming increasingly popular where individuals play video games on vintage computers or vintage game consoles; although what constitutes a vintage or retro machine is open to debate. Typically most retro gamers are interested in Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive, Sega Dreamcast, Super Nintendo, and classic Game Boy games and consoles.

Retro cars

Retro cars are vehicles that bear characteristics inspired by past cars while still technologically modern.

Examples

• 2000 Audi Rosemeyer concept car — the 1936 Auto Union Type C racing car
• Chrysler PT Cruiser — Chrysler Airflow
• Chevrolet HHR — the original Chevrolet Suburban
• Chevrolet SSR — Chevrolet 3100
• Plymouth Prowler — 1930s hot rods
• 2002 Ford Thunderbird — the 1955-57 models
• 2008 Dodge Challenger — the 1970 Challenger
• Toyota FJ Cruiser — the original Toyota Land Cruiser
• 2008 Chrysler 300C — the original Chrysler 300C
• Ford GT — the 1964 Ford GT40
• 2010 Chevrolet Camaro — the 1967 Camaro
• 2005-09 Ford Mustang — the 1964-70 Mustang
• 2002 Mini Cooper — the original Mini Cooper
• BMW Z8 — the BMW 507
• Volkswagen New Beetle — the Volkswagen Beetle
• Buick Blackhawk — the 1938 Buick Y-Job concept car
• Lamborghini Concept M — the Lamborghini Miura
• Fiat Nuova 500 — the Fiat 500
• Ford Forty-Nine — the 1949 Ford
• Subaru Vivio Bistro, the Nissan Be-1 and Nissan Pao — the original Mini
• Toyota Origin — the 1955 Toyota Crown
• Nissan Figaro — 1958 Austin-Healey Sprite
• Nissan S-Cargo — the Citroën 2CV
• 1998 Honda Z — the Honda N360

Retro fashion

Retro fashion is a clothing style which consists in wearing clothes commonly used in the past. This way of clothing often includes garments and accessories that are characteristic of such times, and many people use them in an exaggerated way and in combination with current clothing. Examples are: leather handbags from the 50s, "bell-bottom jeans", big sunglasses, funky jackets (commonly Adidas Classics) and shoes, small neckties, chiffon scarves, sport equipment,^{[citation needed]} etc. Makeup may also play a part in feminine retro fashions, with focal points being heavily-lined eyes and bright red lipstick; hairstyles such as pompadours, ponytails, and ducktails may be adopted, as well as styles that model film stars of the 1940s and '50s.

Retro erotica

Retro erotica is usually photography in the style of pinups or pornography typically dating from the 1970s or earlier. It ranges from hardcore to non-nude pinup style photography, often featuring lingerie such as girdles, bullet bras and garter belts and hose with hairstyles, makeup and props fashioned after those periods. Some aficionados distinguish retro (modern photography in an older style) from vintage (actual period photos or film) while others conflate the two as either retro or vintage. There are a number of web sites dedicated to both types.

Retro sport

A specific and clear example of this trend is the way in which the sport garments from the 70's and 80's are used nowadays. Soccer jackets, jerseys and t-shirts with former logos of the soccer associations are very popular; their designs commonly remember the old days by using lines in the sides and combinations of colours characteristic of those times. An specific case is the 1970 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico. Its logo and font type is used in a variety of retro sport garments. Brands such as Adidas, Puma and Nike have their own divisions specialized in retro products. Some soccer, baseball and basketball clubs also have re-edited their former garments to raise their sales.

Retro music

Retro, during the 1980s, referred to a new genre of music, particularly dance music, popular in the U.S. at the time and originally termed New Wave music which was in part an outgrowth of the Punk rock genre of the late 1970s and early '80s and Psychedelic genre of the late 1960s and 70's. Many of the songs and albums termed retro at the time came about during great advancement in the development of generating music electronically (that is, with computers and electronic equipment - or Electronic music - rather than with either traditional or electromechanical instruments) and the popularization of this type of music in the mainstream. Ideas as to how broad and inclusive the Retro category of music is vary; nonetheless, not all music - not even all dance music - from the decades of the 1980s were considered Retro music. Now, in fact, retro music refers only to music that came out of the retro era.^{[citation needed]} This psychedelic style of music is still widely listened to today.

Retro metal

In the mid-2000s, a rise in popularity of hard rock music combining classic rock elements with psychedelia, heavy metal and modern hard rock came to prominence among the Millennial Generation and others, with such bands as Wolfmother, The Sword, Jet and Buckcherry becoming very successful using methods of past bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Beatles and Pink Floyd. While the strength of the "movement" has been argued by some music critics on both sides, "retro" or "heritage metal" has become a common term for trendy hard rock.

Retro rock

Retro rock is modern original music, but influenced by all the genres of the ‘50’s and ’60’s – rock ‘n roll, blues, rockabilly, rhythm and blues, west coast, psychedelia etc - without specifically fitting into any one of them.

Retro sweets

Everyone will have differing opinions of what constitutes a retro item because people of different ages remember different things. One area which seems to offer more agreement is retro sweets, the ultimate confectionery for kids of the 70's and 80's. Black-jacks, fruit-salads, sherbet dib-dabs, wham bars and flumps are all brands which were popularised through tuck-shops of the 70's and 80's. The old school retro sweets of yesteryear are not gone forever though, many retailers offer retro sweet collections and retro sweet hampers. Whilst new brands take to the high-street excitement always peaks when something triggers some nostalgia.

See also

• Kitsch
• MAME
• Old School
• Popular culture studies
• Ralf Metzenmacher
• Retcon
• Retro-engineering
• Retrofit
• Retrojet
• Vintage
• Retro-futurism

References

• Baudrillard, Jean (1995). Simulacra and Simulation. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472065219. 
• Collins, James C (1989). Uncommon Cultures: Popular Culture and Post-Modernism. New York/London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415901376. 
• Eco, Umberto (1986). Travels in Hyperreality. New York: Harcourt. ISBN 9780151910793. 
• Eco, Umberto (1988). The Structure of Bad Taste. Amsterdam: Bert Bakker. 
• Guffey, Elizabeth E (2006). Retro: The Culture of Revival. London: Reaktion. ISBN 9781861892904. 
• Robyns, Clem (1991). "Beyond the first dimension: recent tendencies in popular culture studies", in Joris Vlasselaers (Ed.) The Prince and the Frog, Leuven: ALW, 14-32.
• Ross, Andrew (1989). No Respect. Intellectuals and Popular Culture. New York/London: Routledge. ISBN 9780415900379. 
• Samuel, Raphael (1994). Theatres of Memory. London: Verso. ISBN 9780860912095. 
• Retro-Trader, 2002: Web site listing and displaying many retro related items

Notes

1. ^ French definition of rétro
2. ^ Baudrillard. p. 43

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