4 ms·

Yeah, I think people don't realize that the extreme variation in culture over the decades of the 20th century was due, in part, to the fact that older media sim

Yeah, I think people don't realize that the extreme variation in culture over the decades of the 20th century was due, in part, to the fact that older media simply wasn't available. Think of the 70s. Want to watch a TV show from the 60s? You're SOL. Maybe you can find records from bands of that era, but want to see fashion trends from a decade earlier? What do you do? Dig up old magazines in the library? Want to watch an old movie? Better hope it turns up on TV or as a rerelease in theaters. Culture really did exist in this relatively narrow window of just a few years. That's completely gone, now, and I just don't think we're going to see these dramatic decade-tagged cultural shifts any more.

ConceptJunkie 9y ago
I have to wonder if you actually lived in the 70s because what you are describing is simply untrue. TV reruns were a huge thing, especially during the day. As a kid in the 1970s, I was deeply familiar with a lot of TV from the 50s and 60s. When we got cable in the mid-70s this became even more true. Syndicated shows and reruns ruled the airwaves. There was no lack of exposure to earlier decades through television. Now in terms of movies, what you're saying is a little more true, but a lot of movies were aired on network TV, so eventually you would see a lot of the big ones. HBO was around in the 1970s as well, so there was an opportunity to see lots of movies that way as well. xkcd's thesis seems to be premised on the idea that there are no catchy, and widely accepted, names for this decade and the previous one. I've considered the same question and decided that music, fashion and other cultural touchstones are becoming less distinct from decade to decade than they were going back to the last century. However, I've also considered that it may be the case that I'm simply less aware of the details of pop culture than I was 20+ years ago. I can hear a piece of music from 1965 to about 1980 that I'm not familiar with and pin it down to within a year or two just by its sound. Maybe it's possible to do that with music from the last 20 years, but I certainly can't do it.
- chasing 9y ago
  I was born in the 70s, but was not old enough to remember them directly -- so I'll defer to your direct experience. Of course there wasn't zero access to media from other decades -- but I remember in the 80s and even 90s cultural access was very, very different. I could access an album from the 70s, but I'd have to go buy it. Or borrow it from a friend and give it back. I could see reruns on TV, but only certain TV shows and definitely not on-demand. (Or I'd have to go rent, which, again, limited access.) > I can hear a piece of music from 1965 to about 1980 that I'm not familiar with and pin it down to within a year or two just by its sound. Maybe it's possible to do that with music from the last 20 years, but I certainly can't do it. I also think some of what you're describing re musical trends is related to the above: Artists have a million outlets and tens of millions of tracks at their disposal to be influenced by, so the idea that there's a "sound of the year" as promoted by major labels and radio stations is just... gone. It's not like Justin Bieber songs are playing everywhere. He's a huge celebrity musician and I still would have to go out of my way to hear one of his songs. They just don't permeate my media sphere. Again, compared to the 90s when a hit song would be unavoidable. Anyway: I don't think it's the sole cause. I think labelling decades was also simply a branding and marketing trend that has fallen out of vogue, maybe due in part to the simple problem of what to call the "aughties." It's an interesting topic! I love the media environment today. God. When I was first tinkering with music in the 90s I would've killed for access to things like Spotify and SoundCloud. So amazing.

ConceptJunkie 9y ago

I have to wonder if you actually lived in the 70s because what you are describing is simply untrue. TV reruns were a huge thing, especially during the day. As a kid in the 1970s, I was deeply familiar with a lot of TV from the 50s and 60s. When we got cable in the mid-70s this became even more true. Syndicated shows and reruns ruled the airwaves. There was no lack of exposure to earlier decades through television. Now in terms of movies, what you're saying is a little more true, but a lot of movies were aired on network TV, so eventually you would see a lot of the big ones. HBO was around in the 1970s as well, so there was an opportunity to see lots of movies that way as well. xkcd's thesis seems to be premised on the idea that there are no catchy, and widely accepted, names for this decade and the previous one. I've considered the same question and decided that music, fashion and other cultural touchstones are becoming less distinct from decade to decade than they were going back to the last century. However, I've also considered that it may be the case that I'm simply less aware of the details of pop culture than I was 20+ years ago. I can hear a piece of music from 1965 to about 1980 that I'm not familiar with and pin it down to within a year or two just by its sound. Maybe it's possible to do that with music from the last 20 years, but I certainly can't do it.

chasing 9y ago
I was born in the 70s, but was not old enough to remember them directly -- so I'll defer to your direct experience. Of course there wasn't zero access to media from other decades -- but I remember in the 80s and even 90s cultural access was very, very different. I could access an album from the 70s, but I'd have to go buy it. Or borrow it from a friend and give it back. I could see reruns on TV, but only certain TV shows and definitely not on-demand. (Or I'd have to go rent, which, again, limited access.) > I can hear a piece of music from 1965 to about 1980 that I'm not familiar with and pin it down to within a year or two just by its sound. Maybe it's possible to do that with music from the last 20 years, but I certainly can't do it. I also think some of what you're describing re musical trends is related to the above: Artists have a million outlets and tens of millions of tracks at their disposal to be influenced by, so the idea that there's a "sound of the year" as promoted by major labels and radio stations is just... gone. It's not like Justin Bieber songs are playing everywhere. He's a huge celebrity musician and I still would have to go out of my way to hear one of his songs. They just don't permeate my media sphere. Again, compared to the 90s when a hit song would be unavoidable. Anyway: I don't think it's the sole cause. I think labelling decades was also simply a branding and marketing trend that has fallen out of vogue, maybe due in part to the simple problem of what to call the "aughties." It's an interesting topic! I love the media environment today. God. When I was first tinkering with music in the 90s I would've killed for access to things like Spotify and SoundCloud. So amazing.