retrofuturism

Etymology

From retro- + futurism.

retrofuturism means the revival of historical conceptions of the future in media and design. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “retrofuturism” is a great word

RETROFUTURISM — [Noun] A creative aesthetic that revives and incorporates historical, often outdated, conceptions of the future in design, art, and media. From the combining form retro- (meaning "backwards" or "in the past") + futurism (an early 20th-century artistic movement emphasizing speed, technology, and the future). Unlike futurism, which sought to obliterate the past in a fever of novel possibility, or historicism, which painstakingly recreates the past for its own sake, retrofuturism is an archaeology of lost tomorrows. It is the faded optimism of a jetpack with fins, the comforting click of a plastic console on a simulated starship bridge, and the quaint solemnity of a world governed by gleaming, art-deco computers—a nostalgia not for a time that was, but for a future that is now permanently, tenderly, behind us.

noun

The revival of historical conceptions of the future in media and design.“Even the aesthetics of its interface, with a kind of Star Trek-like retrofuturism, makes users feel as if their computer is doing the things we imagined computers would be doing, rather than the humdrum business of typing, filing and storing.”