Okay. Warning. I'm tired to the point of groggy, and trying to put together thoughts that have been ricocheting in my skull for a few days. I may fail to make them clear.

Anyway, I'm thinking of things that used to look cool (cool enough to become a standard enthousiastically followed by producers and succesful with the public) and are ridiculous in hinsight - not simply fashions, that come and go, but things that simply can't come back. I think.

Typically, the movie trailers of the 70s and before, with voiceovers telling you bluntly how thrilled or terrified you will be, or how much you will haha laugh. Or 80s/90s tv series starting with the protagonsts turning around to smile at the camera - the kind of stuff that now gets parodied by "Garth Merenghi" and others.

They are unbearable, they look dumb, but what makes them look dumb to us, now. People were not dumber back then. It's like there is an evolution of these medias, with choices that look naive and clumsy now, but can be found either in older productions, or in countries with a more recent media tradition (?). Is there an objective different of quality and maturity, a logical "evolutionary" time arrow for such medias, or is it more fragile and subjective ? Are these judgements due to the maturation of experiences, and if so, whose ? People who haven't been fed these oldies would still, nowadays, find them clumsy, wouldn't they ?

So, I wonder about such things. About the evolution of such conventions (like the "title sequence" lengths). And about the elements that, nowadays, are considered normal and avant-garde, but will look so retarded in the future. Not simply out of fashion (fashion can always do a come back - and I could imagine long titles doing it), but definitely idiotic-looking. In some sort of neo-intemporal "obvious" way.

How do things work ?

In circles.

Its just matter of time.

edit: in other words, once enough people forget about them they will become retro. :)

1) A wild new idea appears. It's super effective.
2) An army of clones appear and copy the wild new idea. It works.
3) People see the Nth copy of said idea. "That shit again?"
4) Goto 1)

Edit: and [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFjsOZDjnJA]relevant

I think certain things - especially graphical styles - enter the public view and become associated with certain time periods. Impressionism immediately makes one think of the late 1800's or Dadaism of the early 1900's, for example. Visuals become imbued with the culture of those time periods - or vice versa. And as humans advance technology (movie-making, photography, web design etc..) outdated methodology/technology takes on a sense of being 'dated' to a particular time period. Interestingly enough, we can see this progression in games as well ;-)

Isn't he they guy that does voiceovers for all movie trailers, the same as the guy who says: "LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLet's get ready to rumbleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" at the start of an important boxing event?

Creativity has always been around but two things have driven it forward;
- Evolution of media at the sources disposal and
- Mass marketing statistics on a regional, national and global scale that were not possible before the internet evolution

One exception though is how easy it is to recall a favourite, unforgettable advert from the past - I bet everyone can name at lease one ad that would hold its own today.

Kia-Ora Ad from the 80's


edit - Some people mention it has racist connotations.....not intended to offend, I took it at face value i.e. a kid who has a drink that crows like!

Made me remember an ad from here, they would air it just before Disney movies on Sundays and on every break :D in it and those cookies are so yummy. It´s a classic. Now I want a chocolate cookie.

yeah, they work in circles. There's always a crude or primal period, a "classic" or realism period and a flamboyant or somewhat extravagant period followed by some kind of a deconstruction and a subsequent return to the crude stuff.
So the return of voiceovers, smiley looks etc. or rather some kind of analogy to it is inevitable

*waits for the essay or even better the book version* :P

Well, in 30 years, people will look at our media and think "How could they have liked that shit?"

Or they will hate their current stuff and reminisce about the "good old days", look at our media and say "man, they don't make stuff like that anymore".

"I hate all that VR shit. In my days, when playing Call of Duy, I've had to use my gamepad to aim a gun and shoot at people - nowadays you just look in their general direction and hope to hit them. All complexily went out of the window."

Actually I think they work in a sinusoidal form ;P
"Gamepad" and the mention of a "FPS" in the same sentence makes a chill run through my back.

LOL - you're dealing with a co-ed here. Let's just say that my husband enjoys his status ;-p