So everyone likes to be on what's new and hip. They want to be on the forefront of cutting edge. So they jump on new styles, designs, movies, and web trends. As soon as they get into it, they pretend to know so much about it, and develop educated opinions. But most of these things aren't new.
Let's take movies for example. The Hitcher, The Fog, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, the list goes on. Not a single one of these is a new movie. They've all been done before, and had their own hype in the past. I grew up watching TMNT and Transformers. My mother remembers when The Hitcher and The Fog came out. A Ghostbusters movie is rumored to be in the works. Ghostbusters attempted a re-emergence in the mid to late 90's, but it didn't work. When this movie comes out, I'm sure there will be a game, and it will become one of the “cool new things”.
But it's not just movies.
It happens with the internet as well. Myspace.com is a heavy perpetrator of trying to turn old fads into new trends. Social netowrking, such as myspace, is nothing new in itself. I remember being a frequent user of bolt.com. In fact Bolt is still active, although it's merged with another site and has a total redesign. Bolt had everything Myspace has and more, it's own IM client, personal messaging, profiles, message boards, pages for pictures, the list goes on. Somehow, Myspace, supposedly, did something right. Although I'm guilty of having a myspace profile, it's a terrible service. The main reason it got so popular is because in this digital age, parents don't know what's happening online. They don't watch what they're children are doing. So kids, who have no purpose for social networking, are all over these services. And older people, think this may be a good way to keep in touch with distant friends. But it turned out to be about as useful as AOL chat.
Anyways my main point is, it's hard to find new things.
I remember in junior high school, I'd go to the mall with my mom, it was especially embarrassing, my mother would talk on and on about how such and such styles were from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Me, thinking I knew everything, always tried to correct her, informing her in typical preteen-going-on-25 attitude that these were all new styles.
As far as personal style goes, the only thing moderately new is wearing these giant shirts and baggy pants... aka, thug style... which just looks ridiculous. I've been through the fads and phases, I have no problem with rap music, but the clothing... damn, they look like a walking parachute. When everyone liked bell bottoms... that came from the disco era, some people wear torn jeans, from the days of grunge. It's all recycled. Tattoos are in no form new. Piercings are in the same boat. You think piercing body parts other than your ear lobe was ever new or groundbreaking? It's been happening for centuries in many parts of the world.
Recycling of trends is apparent everywhere, even in technology. Failed attempts at gadgets and websites come back around after a lackluster start. Videogames get turned into horrid movies, or some up and coming development studio bashes all of their would be credit by pumping out a remake of a classic, only to butcher it.
There's not much left in the world that's original, what is original, goes unnoticed. Most original creations become part of some underground or cult scene. Others get put into the spotlight, and become some commercialized garbage and ends up blending in with everything around it.
When you think you've stumbled upon something new and creative, or you've designed something totally original, take the time to look it up, it's probably just a twist on something already done, you just don't realize how heavily influenced it is.
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