Back to the Retrofuture

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Back to the Retrofuture

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By Ben Elliott

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What if things were different? What if, somewhere amidst the zooming pace of progress, alternate technologies had taken hold, reshaping the style, texture, and order of our world? That’s the question at the heart of retrofuturism, the creative movement that imagines worlds where past visions of the future came true, for better or worse.

Brazil, 1985

Films like Blade Runner and Dark City filter the future through a postwar noir lens, blending trench coats with robots and alien intrigue; Brazil and Don’t Worry Darling channel the stylish conformity of the 1950s to create oppressive dystopias; while The Rocketeer and The Incredibles tap into golden age sci-fi optimism to fuel heroic escapism.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps, 2025

Two new films — James Gunn’s Superman and Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, opening at The Triplex this Friday — draw on that same spirit. Both borrow heavily from the 1960s Silver Age of comics, building worlds where hope and heroism win out over cynicism and despair.

It’s a trend gaining momentum in post-COVID film and television, as we grapple with a world that feels murky and unstable. When it feels like we’re stuck in the darkest timeline, retrofuturism reminds us that the future is not fixed — and that facing down the darkness with hopefulness can be an act of heroism all on its own.

Showtimes

Showtimes Freakier Friday | 1:00PM, 3:30PM, 6:00PM, 8:30PM The Life of Chuck | 1:15PM, 4:15PM Highest 2 Lowest | 1:45PM, 4:45PM, 8:00PM The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg | 7:00PM

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