The 20th Century Was Cool, Actually

The 20th century was cool, actually

We are well over one-quarter through the 21st century and Marshall McLuhan once said, "We look at things through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future.” We never see the present for what it truly is. We are always judging the present based off of the past. Whether that's people longing for the good old days with intense nostalgia or looking at history through a much more cynical lens and harshly judging humanity for its past actions. Either way, we are blind to the reality of the present. The present is never seen as its own thing we can judge it for. It's always seen as just the aftermath of the past, or like a final bad product or end game that's a result of decades or centuries of past decisions. 

People often act as if they are living in another century and sometimes even another millennium. We do this because history is already set in stone. It is documented and it is dead. The present is undocumented and alive. It's happening all around us. To shield ourselves from this chaos, we cling to the comfortable and the static. You'll notice this especially in Boomers and Gen Xers who often seem to think that time stopped in 1991. And to them, culture, politics, and pretty much everything else becomes a muddled blur to them after that point. I once heard someone say, "Back in the '90s when 9/11 happened." And I chuckled to myself a bit. I swear to these people there exists two time periods, the 1980s and everything after. It's rather bizarre. Once you see them think in this way, you cannot unsee it. 

I, of course, am not immune to this present blindness myself, as I have come to realize how much from the 20th century people took for granted.

20th century cool things: 

• Video games

• Experimental,legendary music

• Pre AI and pre algorithm internet

• Pre Great Recession and pandemic economy and life (with the exception of the Great Depression and the World Wars, most people in the Western world for most of the century had much better material comfort compared to both the century before and the century after)

• Fun, escapist TV shows and movies

• People had clear political goals and achieved them 

Now that we are fully immersed in the 21st century, I have a much clearer picture of the 20th century. So, I'm here to show my love for this century only after it is completely gone. The grass is always greener, as they say. Now, I've done a few posts on the centuries, such as my stages of modernist grief presentation and my post on how the 21st century has mommy issues, so feel free to read either of those if you need more info or context on this topic. However, in short, the theme of the 20th century could be considered the daughter, the maiden, or merely the teenage girl. I'm starting to prefer calling it the daughter or the maiden era, however, as I mostly just mean younger women, not teenagers specifically. Let's say women up to the age of 25 or so. 

The maiden is in reference to the triple goddess, a pagan concept represented by the maiden, the mother, and the crone, the stages of a woman's life. Now, I already covered the mother era, but I thought I would shed more light on the maiden century itself. 

This daughter era is one of depression and introspection. It might just be the most self-absorbed time period. I've spoken about how crummy the 20th century seems compared to what came before it, but there is a silver lining to the depression era. It may sound a bit strange, but this depression period was somewhat of a luxury. Stewing in your sorrow and wallowing in your own misery is a privilege to those with free time to spare. You can't indulge in your depression if you have lots of work to look after or other responsibilities and obligations. So, it's fitting that this depressing era of the 20th century is connected to that maiden archetype, the younger girl who has gained some independence, but has yet to be burdened with concerns outside of herself. While it may seem like a bit of a downer to sit alone, drunk, and write sad poetry, it's also kind of a vibe. Sadness can have a soothing quality to it. It can be strangely comfortable. 

It's a place to rest, relax, and contemplate before you get back to the challenges of the reality outside of yourself that sits around the corner waiting to wreck your entire day. I want to stress that this is different than partying or drinking in a group. That is more akin to the bargaining stage of grief than depression and is more about hiding from your problems rather than dwelling on them. I'd also associate that partying lifestyle with the 19th century. The vibe of the 20th century, on the other hand, is more like after the party has already ended and there's a couple of loners still around staring at the wall. Reality is setting in. But there's no real rush to leave either, so you kind of just sit there.

Many people have discussed their reverence for the Art Nouveau aesthetic and the optimism of the late 19th century. Now, the 20th century has its own aesthetics, and one of them is called “Art Deco” which I believe reflects the more pessimistic outlook of the century. Art Deco is a style that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s and would be prominent throughout the 20th century. There's a beauty to it. The once green plant life and animals give way to sterile and gray cities that are long occupied by humans. In my opinion, one way to look at Art Deco is that it is Art Nouveau in decay. It is Art Nouveau but sad. It's the decadence of our own civilization. It's showing us the dream of the future was just that, a dream. There was no future for humankind. Life will move on without us. I vibe with this aesthetic pretty hard. 

In all of these artwork, there exist sleek, geometric shapes, bold but not really bright colors, and luxurious materials. Art Nouveau showcased a promising future, a blend of environmental greenery and industrial optimism. Art Deco instead shows the aftermath of this. Art Nouveau is no longer the future but a relic of the past. We see diamonds and long furniture overtake the very plant life that was supposed to complement the tech, not replace it. We are not welcome in this world. We are outsiders who merely survive. It is harsh and unwelcoming, but at the same time supremely beautiful. 

These Art Deco artwork and post apocalypse stories often feature gorgeous landscapes and moments where you just absorb the scenery, full of depression, but also beautiful. Just like the maiden herself, all that can be done is mere survival. One is self-absorbed, dwelling on their own problems, shutting others out, and everything is always the end of the world. Quite literally. But it's important to note there is no illusion of being the center of the universe. There is awareness of one's insignificance and powerlessness which contrasts heavily with the 19th century and its horror story characters defeating or destroying the monster and the “Great Man Theory” of Victorians. The 20th century does not suffer delusions of grandeur in this way. Instead, they are utterly hopeless. They don't imagine themselves saving the world. In their view, the battle has already been lost. The Art Nouveau world they were promised has already come and gone. So now people just kind of linger around much like those leftover people after the party has ended or survivors after the apocalypse. 

But I would argue there is something oddly liberating about this. The maiden lacks responsibility. So even though there's not much to look forward to and she is lacking stability and direction, she also doesn't really have to do anything in the first place. She is free from really needing to do anything in particular. She doesn't have to be Atlas holding up the globe. She can just complain about how hard she has it. Shoulders unburdened with no future to work toward. Why do anything? And this is a mindset I see prominently in Boomers. And much like how past generations carried the baggage of their youth into their older age, I predict that many Boomers will still be cynics throughout their whole lives. Much like how the people of the 17th century were all stuck up Puritans and how the people of the 18th century were angry teenagers even in their 50s. 

The tragedy of this is that life changes and these lifestyles which suit one place in time may be a complete mismatch for another time period. And yet people get stuck in their ways and refuse to change. I rarely meet anyone who doesn't at least partially resemble the cartoonish stereotype of their generation. So maybe this post is just autobiographical. I'm admitting I fear that I will be unable to change with the times and still act like it’s the 2000s or 2010s. I fear that I will be a cynic forever. So now that times are changing, I find myself looking in the rear view mirror, longing for the 20th century. That Art Deco is strangely my comfort zone. And I see it being bulldozed. And now construction is underway for something new. And people kind of hate it. People in the 20th century were prepared for the end of the world. They were not prepared for this new one being built.