Name: What is retro-futurism?
Uploaded: 2009-03-19T01:00:00Z
Duration: 12 min 39 s
Description: Bruce McCall paints a retro-future that never happened -- full of flying cars, polo-playing tanks and the RMS Tyrannic, "The Biggest Thing in All the World." At Serious Play '08, he narrates a brisk and funny slideshow of his faux-nostalgic art.

Bruce McCall paints a retro-future that never happened -- full of flying cars, polo-playing tanks and the RMS Tyrannic, "The Biggest Thing in All the World." At Serious Play '08, he narrates a brisk and funny slideshow of his faux-nostalgic art.

What is retro-futurism?

Retrofuturism playfully explores how past generations dreamed of tomorrow, often with hilarious optimism and wild inventions like polo-playing tanks and zeppelin cruises. Detailed, old-fashioned illustration meets absurd scenarios, blending precise realism with imaginative nonsense. Faux-nostalgia drives a sentimental longing for times that never existed, inviting both laughter and reflection. Even the most ridiculous visions, from flying cars to tank polo in the Hamptons, highlight the deep human desire to escape the present and rewrite history.