First off, I would like to thank Jack Black, Mos Def, Michael Gondry and Focus Features for the awesome title to this article, for a phrase that most people under the age of 25 have probably never heard or at least don’t remember. Lost with all the toxic VHS tapes from blockbuster and Hollywood video. But that phrase goes through my mind every time I see another “reboot” trailer.
In my opinion, sometime around 2004 or 2005, we lost creativity. That's when the “flash backs” began. It started with bell bottomed jeans, striped shirts and BONGOS that echoed the 70’s. It seems every couple years we try to echo a style of the past for a while, and that would be the “it” trend. Butterfly clips and shiny pants were the last time I saw something new (thank you Brittany Spears and Melissa Joan Hart).
It's 2016, and originality is almost completely lost. Everything from clothing to movies and music is nothing more then a remake. Retro gaming is at an all time high. Prices of old gaming consoles have doubled in the last three years (if not tripled)! I feel like we're stuck in Back to the Future.
We've remade, rebooted or continued "Ghostbusters," "Point Break," "Grease," "Rocky Horror," "Independence Day" and what feels like a million other things not to mention all the ones they are talking about remaking. ("The Crow?" Please don't).
Music has been simplified and downgraded.Today's music mostly consists of the same topics on repeat, with verses and choruses that are repetitive and throw out pop culture references from the '90s. I've heard so many songs that sample “one hit wonders” that I get confused and don't know what's going on half the time. Artists take advantage of writing things that are trendy and appealing instead of writing about things that are real or at least unique. One of the most legitimate mainstream songs I've heard lately is Mike Posner's “I Took a Pill in Ibiza,” which only became popular after someone else mixed it. His words and feelings portrayed in this song are painfully real and accurate, proving the song even more prolific since his rise back into fame is still seemingly short lived. Not to mention that listening to the radio these days is painful.
We are stuck in the mud like Atryu in The Never Ending Story, with our "throw back Thursdays" and "flash back Fridays." No one is upset. No one feels bad about ridding the backs of the creative minds that came before. Everyone is so wrapped up in “nostalgia” of the good ol' days that they are forgetting that we need to leave a legacy for our generation. So far the “millennials” will be known as the laziest, most uncreative group in the last century. I'm not saying that because that's what mainstream media tells me. It's from pure observation and my personal experiences. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some amazing things come from our young generation. I'm not saying all the contributions to society are bad but, I'm majorly disappointed. When I graduated high school I had this idea in my head that the world was going to be a better place in 10 years. So far, I mostly see the same struggles or worse. Our country is more divided then ever. Where is the art? Where are the great novelists, poets, and scholars of our generation?
I'm not sure how much longer we can continue to push the repeat button on pop culture and style before we just end up walking around naked.
Really, I'm ready for our generation to explode. I haven't lost faith in us yet; I believe that there is hope for us as a whole. I know we can do it. We have the capabilities. We have so many awesome opportunities at our finger tips. I want to see it happen. I love the things I grew up with like Mario and Zelda but I'm so tired of seeing the same things over and over until they are so played out that they sell it at Walmart. Let's trade in for something better something new. Let's write stories that are more creative more unique than before with all of this technology, all of these resources, at our disposal. It’s time to step out of the past and into the future, because, really, why don't I have a hover board yet? Don't be scared of the future, and don't be scared to get out of your comfort zone. I think it's time we all put away that Pink and Elvis Edition Cadillac VHS rewinding machine. I'm ready for holograms and people named Xenon and Protozoa.
Come on millennials, trade in your yoga pants, man buns and beards. Let's show the world that we are more than pop culture repeats.
