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Talk:Retrofuturism

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 65.15.11.58 (talk) at 22:40, 3 January 2007 (→‎Portmanteau?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Hi there I was just wondering (no idea how to edit pages) but doesn't A clockwork orange belong in this category??







If this article is on retro-futurism, should we be including things that were just plain futurism at the time? For example, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is obviously retro-futuristic, in that it uses a mid-twentieth-century vision of the future (and places it during the actual past), but Metropolis or Buck Rogers were genuine "future" settings. I think the article should be more clear on this topic. -Branddobbe 23:51, 17 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. As another example, Nineteen Eighty-Four was also futuristic in its time. The specification of 'futuristic' as set in the 1990s or afterward seems quite arbitrary to me. But then that begs the definition of futurism too. Is the Book of Revelations futuristic? Is futurism necessarily fictional, or can it be nonfictional? Can retro-futurism refer to either a retrograde style of futurism or a retrograde style of prediction? What is the status of factual information in futurism, such as satellites in Arthur C. Clarke's book where he predicted satellites? Is furutism necessarily science-fiction? The meaning of 'science-fiction' is not always clear, as it could refer to 'space opera' or 'science fantasy' or 'speculative fiction.' 'Prior futuristic' might also be 'prior specualtion' or alternate-history speculation. The usual distinction between possible-future speculation and possible-history speculation may not be clear-cut for fiction. oneismany 14:38, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Also, What is the status of settings that follow past futurisms that are now retro-futurisms? (For example the sequels to a futuristic story taking place in the past.) I vote for post-retrofuturism! And the status of present settings in retrofuturism, as distinguished from accurate predictions? Transformers: The Movie takes place in the year 2005. Is it retro-futurism, or is it just fantasy? Retro-fantasy? The year 2005 is now here, which makes the Transformers not futuristic, but simply fictional. On the other hand, in 1984 they were supposed to come from a planet millions of years old, which would make them futuristic fantasy, but in the present, not in the future. What is present-day futurism? If 2005 is the present in the Transformers movie and it is present now, does that make the year 2005 in the movie factual? On the other hand, what makes a year factual anyway? oneismany 14:38, 9 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I guess that every sci-fi story that occurs in the future is destined to become retro-futuristic, unless it's perfectly accurate. I think there should be a separation between futuristic stories that became retro-futuristic, and "true" retro-futurism, that was deliberately made in the style of old sci-fi. A sci-fi story doesn't have to occur in a year that has already passed to be considered as retro-futurism. Some of Asimov's stories, for example, occcur after the 21st century, but we already know the world won't be like the ones portrayed in them. I think retro-futurism is closely related to steampunk, because both are based on "what they thought could be". The difference between the two is sometimes blurred. Is Asimov's Multivac, that works on obsolete vaccum tubes, is retrofuturistic or steampunky? How about the 1984 telescreens? I think the connection between the two terms should be mentioned in the article. XamiXiarus 14:12, 20 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

'Futurism' is artifice in the style of a prediction. 'Retro-futurism' is artifice in the style of an outdated prediction. I argue that it also includes artifice in an outdated style of prediction, e.g., outdated futurism. In other words, sincerely futuristic literature that is now outdated, either because the time frame has passed or because certain elements are now anachronistic, is also retro-futuristic (in addition to futurism that is deliberately and knowingly anachronistic). I argue that if modeling your futurism on Transformers: The Movie (for example) makes it retro, then the source you are modeling is also retro. Discussion? oneismany 21:52, 28 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]
You are welcome to improve the article with your perspective. --Loremaster 00:37, 1 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Portmanteau?

I don't think "retro-futurism" is a portmanteau of "retro" and "futurism". I mean, obviously it is derived from those words, in that it is those two words placed one after the other. But surely a corresponding portmanteau would be "returism" or "futro". Or "futroism". -- Supermorff 15:12, 15 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Agree. I've made the appropriate changes. --Loremaster 15:43, 15 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

TV Shows

Shouldn't the new "Battlestar Gsalactica" tv series be included since it uses antiquated technology in contrast with it's futuristic setting?

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