Retrofuturism

Retrofuturism is a movement in the creative arts that depicts the future as imagined in earlier eras, blending nostalgic period styles with futuristic technology to explore the tension between past and future. The term first appeared in print in a 1981 concert review and gained wider currency through a 1983 New York Times advertisement and a 1986 film review of Brazil. In architecture and design it draws heavily on twentieth century visions of the future, especially the Googie and Populuxe styles and the related Raygun Gothic idiom that mixes Googie, Streamline Moderne and Art Deco elements, as seen in works such as the 1961 Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport, built to resemble a landed spacecraft. Contemporary architects have continued to borrow retrofuturistic motifs, though some critics regard the style as a nostalgic aesthetic loop rather than a source of genuine innovation.