gmtPLUS09 | live from Seoul

Spring has not only brought Chinese-borne dust but a new seasonal trend for the young and the hip Seoulites. Many of the clothing stores and fashion boutiques are carrying clothing and accessories branded with cartoon characters from the 80’s like Batman, Superman, and The Simpsons (yes, The Simpsons have been around since 1989). No idea  if these establishments are infringing on trademark rights, but that’s for another post.

All industries (entertainment, fashion, automotive) recycle anything
with nostalgic value, and they profit by commodifying people’s
memories. The process of reusing pop culture artifacts is usually on
20-year track. While the ‘70-ish revived in the 1990’s, the ’80’s are
popular now, and in 10 years the 1990’s culture will regain some
popularity.

The 1980’s cartoons and movies that many of my generation have grown upto have been seeing a resurgence on the big screen and release of DVDs. Star Wars Episode 3 is currently showing across the globe, The Goonies was finally released on DVD, and even Steven Spielberg is currently working on a 2006 release for a "Transformers" film.

The timing of the resurgence of 1980’s pop culture coincides with the
children of the ’80’s finally coming of age with disposable income. And while reviving these cartoons will not only tap into the generation
that grew up with them, the entertainment industry will be seeking to
make new customers in the current young generation of children who are
eager for ‘new’ material.
 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 27th, 2005 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.