No time like the past? On the new role of vintage and retro in the magazines SCANDINAVIAN RETRO and RETRO GAMER

Abstract

The article presents a cultural historical rendition of the terms vintage and retro and how the revival of the recent past based on objects of modern culture is a characteristic feature of late 20th and 21st century culture. In the words of music critic Simon Reynolds, we have entered a state of retromania, where revival has become ubiquitous and has changed the focus from new to old. Retro and vintage has been made accessible to a wider audience and is not delimited to the subcultural sphere. This development is shown and analysed through the case of two monthly magazines: SCANDINAVIAN RETRO (2011-present) and RETRO GAMER (2005-present). On the basis of these specialised retro medialisations the framing of the past through retro and vintage is discussed and suggested as being nurtured by myth and well as materiality.