Some were chic … and some were weak.
In his book “Retromania,” rock critic and music memorabilia collector Simon Reynolds asserts that “there’s never been a society so obsessed with the cultural artifacts of its own immediate past” as ours.
It has gotten a little strange. While smartphone cameras offer technical capabilities that professional photographers could only dream of not long ago, apps like Instagram allow users to turn a new photo into something that looks like a faded relic of the ’60s and ’70s … an appearance we were often dissatisfied with in the ’60s and ’70s.
Hollywood appears to be on a quest to remake every film made more than 25 years ago; musicians apply high-tech filters to their music to make it sound more like the low-tech tunes of the past. Collectors pay top dollar for toys and household items that could be had for a quarter at yard sales a generation ago.
Studies have been done to attempt to explain this, and the results are often open-ended. I tend to agree with something Dr. Art Markman, a psychology and marketing professor at the University of Texas at Austin wrote on huffpost.com way back in 2011.
“Lots of the specific things that are happening right now involve the petty annoyances that you have to deal with to navigate daily life,” wrote Markman. “There are bills to be paid, stacks of laundry to be done, tests to be taken and errands to run. When you think about the past, those petty annoyances don’t come up. So, all you think about are the great times you had.”
MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey
There’s probably something to that, for most people. Recently, I posted an old home movie of the long-gone Vineland traffic circle on one of that city’s Facebook pages. Scores of folks weighed in with nostalgic memories; one, however, was able to view it without filters. “That circle” she wrote, “was my nemesis as a new driver!”
Here are more items from the 1960s and 1970s that we bring back memories – good or bad – from days gone by. And here are links to other galleries you might enjoy.
Vintage photos of everyday items from the ’60s and ’70s you might have forgotten
Vintage photos of things that have changed – for better or worse
Vintage photos of N.J. Americana
Greg Hatala may be reached at greghatalagalleries@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.