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Ask HN: Will the energy of the 80s ever come back to the West?

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Ask HN: Will the energy of the 80s ever come back to the West?

#1

Post by keepamovin »

I was alive then, and it was wild. Say what you want but it was a good time to be alive. Snapshotted in the films of that era: a mix of possibility and optimism, expansion and vibrancy - that started to decay in the 90s (grunge et al was a symptom of the 90s zeitgeist) and was completely demolished by the noughties.

Stranger Things is one of a few recent 'era remake' period pieces that capitalizes on demand for this kind of nostalgia.

In a strange way, I think hacker culture of the 90s continued the excitement of the 80s, but underground, when it had already begun to die in the mainstream. Who's with me on this? Or knows what I'm talking about?

In the 2000s I traveled to Asia and found the same sense of aliveness in the Sinosphere, unsurprisingly. That's gone from there now, too, replaced with something else in capitalisms' rapide marche. But I really want to know -- will this vibe ever return to the West?

Or, put it differently, where in the world can you now find that mix of fun, openness, positivity and possibility that was once alive in the 1980s? :)

Re: Ask HN: Will the energy of the 80s ever come back to the West?

#4

Post by keepamovin »

bejk22 wrote: post #2

I never went there but judging by music and TV output I'd try west Africa.

Yeah, I hear you on that. A long ago question on where is cyberpunk rn? I answered "probably somewhere in Africa rn". Good to know the view from someone who's watching, thanks! :)

Re: Ask HN: Will the energy of the 80s ever come back to the West?

#5

Post by keepamovin »

DamonHD wrote: post #3

London (and nearby) seems fairly good right now if you can squint past some of the politics and media culture war fixations... As good as ~Y2K I'd say. Indeed I may be having more fun now!

Cool, man. I will have to swing by sometime. Only been very briefly to Paddington Station, Thames, The Wharf, Shakespeare and British Museum. Good show. Have to skip back based on this, thank you!!! :)

Re: Ask HN: Will the energy of the 80s ever come back to the West?

#7

Post by glitchcrab »

DamonHD wrote: post #3

London (and nearby) seems fairly good right now if you can squint past some of the politics and media culture war fixations... As good as ~Y2K I'd say. Indeed I may be having more fun now!

Really? As someone who lives within easy commuting distance of Central London, I'd say the UK is a pretty dire place to be right now.

Re: Ask HN: Will the energy of the 80s ever come back to the West?

#9

Post by keepamovin »

082349872349872 wrote: post #8

Are you sure you don't mean the energy of the 70s? (When were you 13 years old? ;-)

Very sure! :)

Ha. 70s is a diff vibe. To me it's diffuse, unfocused, open and permeable, but no direction -- no decisiveness. The 80s is all like "We know what we want and we are going there now! You with us? Okay, come along! You're not? CYA later, alligator." Hahaha! :)

But I'm curious -- for you, where was the 70s good and what was good about it? :) haha! :)

Re: Ask HN: Will the energy of the 80s ever come back to the West?

#10

Post by DamonHD »

glitchcrab wrote: post #7
DamonHD wrote: post #3

London (and nearby) seems fairly good right now if you can squint past some of the politics and media culture war fixations... As good as ~Y2K I'd say. Indeed I may be having more fun now!

Really? As someone who lives within easy commuting distance of Central London, I'd say the UK is a pretty dire place to be right now.

It's always easy to be doom and gloom, and the press loves to push that fear and dread end-of-the-world line too for their sales. But having been through several rounds of crashes and recessions and lived other places around the UK and spent significant time in various other countries, I think that London is doing fine. Not utopia, but good.
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