De-coding Gen Z's yearn for the past

Netflix’s new trio Fear Street is yet another example of nostalgia in mainstream culture, particularly for it's target audience of Gen Z. The films frequently and overwhelmingly tug on popular signs, symbols and signifiers used to define their setting era (in the trio, that's the 94, the 78 and weirdly 1666). It’s almost overwhelming how many cultural references are embedded into the first two instalments of Fear Street. From a hit-filled soundtrack (for example, opening the second film with Nirvana's 'The Man Who Sold The World' in their 90s setting and cleverly playing the Bowie version in the 70's scenes), the styling (plaid shirts and baggy jeans), even through to actor choices (Sadie Sink playing the lead in Fear Street 1979 as well as Max in Stranger Things). This shows there's even an acting niche in young actors having a retro 'look'. Finn Wolfhard being a great example from Stranger Things – embodying the ‘unusual’ look of a 1980s nerd perfectly with his bowl cut, sunken cheeks, sharp features and large glasses.

We lap up the endearingly cliché characters (rebels, jocks, geeks) and blue light cinematography linked heavily to cult horrors of the past. Even the fonts are intertextual references to classics like ‘Fright Night’.

This is just one example of this “code” cropping up in mainstream culture and we’re seeing it across categories. In film: Stranger Things, I.T, Summer of 84 and Fear Street are all tugging at these visual cues to provide a sense of nostalgia. It's a narrative we know, love and want more of. Small town America, mystery afoot, an unlikely but endearing group of young teens to investigate. Pass me the popcorn.

But this isn't just evident in film. These visual cues are evident across multiple brands and categories angling to target today's youth. In personal care, brands like Billie Razors heavily play into 90s hyper-feminine culture (jelly shoes, oversized hair clips and razors that look like Barbies!) and in make-up, MILK cosmetics are very much playing into the rebellious 90s teen archetype with their scrap-book aesthetic, fish-eye lens shots and intentional Word Art style fonts and editing thrown straight from Windows 1998. Even in Hard Seltzers, we’re seeing brands toying with the word ‘HARD’ in their brand positioning; likening it to classic heavy metal fonts born out of L.A’s 1980’s Sunset Boulevard.

As a Semiotician it’s fascinating to see how these visual cues are applied across categories to appeal to the younger generation – a generation who didn’t live through these years.

The predictable yet thrilling narratives, iconic song choices confined to an era (rather than the masses of media available to us now on Spotify), design created out of the limited tools at the time (basic computing), fashion choices linked to subcultures as opposed to the unlimited inspiration we have available to us now on the internet.

Perhaps it's a desire for a time of simplicity. A backlash against the amount of content, editing and perfectionism that now exists. Either way, I'm here for it.

What do you think?