Dreams of an Era Gone-by

I embark on my own strange tangents of inquisitiveness. Every day. So why not write about them? I like to find significance behind everything. At least I think it's significant.

I want to introduce you to my intense curiosity for the mid-20th-Century. Especially through the easily accessible lens of glamorous Old Hollywood and the entertainment industry -- so then, especially in Western culture.

Etta James, the bold prints, old fashioned cocktails, Marilyn Monroe, big hair, beautiful Travilla gowns, retrofuturism, muscle cars, Marlene Dietrich, The British Invasion, Valley of the Dolls, and on and on and on . . .

I've talked to people who don't share my fascination with the 1940s--60s, but who like the 1970s--80s or 1990s, for instance. Or they dream of very far-away times like the Renaissance Era, the Victorian Period, Ancient Egypt . . . history in general, even. It varies, but interests in past time periods for different reasons are common.

Industrialization definitely changed things, though. It's shaped society -- now we're better able to relate to post-industrial slivers of time, than to ones before.

And yes, the Mid-Century had a lot of bitter darkness in the shadows of its glittery entertainment industry.

I also consider the awful things like the super-blatant racism, sexism, and brutal war/dictatorships -- that's all best left in the past (it's not entirely absent from the present, unfortunately).

I like to examine how this pain and marginalization all mixes into the good vibes that somehow bleed through the photos, movies, and music. Like, is this why people drank and smoked so much back then?

Pondering the crappiness of that time period makes my dreams of it less peachy, no doubt . . . but they don't go away!

If I let darkness ruin my fondness for things, I'd hate everything.

I still long for the hairstyles, the clothes, the music, the cars, the sex appeal, the made-to-last quality of things, the drive-in movie dates with milkshakes, etc. I like it all more than many of the "in" things of today.

And there's nothing wrong with that. Honestly, people who tell me that it's bad to fetishize the Mid-Century act like we have it all figured out now.

Yes, many important improvements have been made in society. Women have more rights and choices now. LGBTQs are more accepted. Segregation (in an institutionally-forced way at least) is no more. There aren't quite as many cruel dictators out there . . . wait, is that even true? Anyway, things have changed dramatically and certainly improved in many ways, but big problems have certainly not been erased from our world.

I think that the combination of true-to-its-time, expressive cultural output with the dark global ideologies and political turmoil only seems to transform. Although certain things improve, other issues arise. Although old trends die, new ones are introduced. This can be clearly seen throughout the span of humanity's time on earth.

What is humanity, if not its beautiful creations, expressions, interactions and evil tendencies?

I wonder, will young people 50--60 years from now examine pictures, music and movies from today and long for it? Fetishize the vintage style, art and seemingly good feelings while ignoring the horrible negative aspects of our world?

And then, once they consider the problems that we had in the early 21st Century, will they juxtapose it all to their own era and say exactly what I'm saying now? That humans, when considering both our greatness and our faults, only transform over time?

OR will we finally have evolved past this transformative trend into something else? I doubt that will happen in only half a century, but I'm open-minded. Meanwhile, I'll keep loving what I love and perceptively tearing things apart.