Philosophy of ＡＥＳＴＨＥＴＩＣＳ: The Floating World of Ukiyo-e

The aesthetics of Vaporwave and Synthwave represent more than just a retreat into the past -- they are the modern embodiment of the Japanese artistic tradition of Ukiyo-e. 【ＵＫＩＹＯＷＡＶＥ】
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Hauntology, Lost Futures and 80s Nostalgia: • Hauntology, Lost Futur...
Special thanks to ukiyo-e.org, which maintains an incredible online gallery of woodblock prints and paintings: ukiyo-e.org/

[@jonasceikaCCK]

Very interesting! It's great that you tied this into Eastern philosophy, as it's not something I ever got to study as part of my degree. I would disagree with the characterisation of Western philosophy of history as being linear, at least when it comes to postmodern philosophy. Postmodern thinkers like Derrida were inspired by Nietzsche's anti-historicism and so viewed history as having varying time-scales, discontinuities and ruptures. So, for example, Baudrillard wrote "Perhaps, deep down, history has never unfolded in a linear fashion … Everything moves in loops, tropes, inversions of meaning … Everything occurs through effects which short-circuit their causes, through the Witze of events, perverse events, ironic turnabouts, except within a rectified history, which, for just that reason, is not a history." That's not a criticism of the video though, as it is true that the aforementioned philosophers do not view history cyclically! I'm surprised this isn't more popular, your production quality is great, going to share this on Twitter!

[@MichaelSaba]

Oh shit! I wasn't sure whether you'd see this, so I appreciate the dialogue and constructive engagement. That's a great Baudrillard quote, and I think there's a lot to recommend this notion of nonlinear time (I've been obsessed with the concept since reading Foucault's 'Archaeology of Knowledge' *western analytical lens alert*). I definitely need to read more on the topic, because I truly believe that retrofuturisms like synthwave and vaporwave contain a kind of punk-like potential to do exactly that -- disrupt our attachment to linear progress and its limited view of human existence. Thanks again, seeing this really made me smile :)

[@aerion4077]

From what I gather from lectures, the critique of the linear conception of history goes back at least to Hegel. But this a great video. I just found this channel and I subbed so fast, I hadn't even gotten to your response to CP, who I have been a fan of for a while now. Looking forward to more content from both of you!

[@adamjscarborough5600]

Cyclical time in western philosophy existed since you can name a philosopher, Pythagoreans thought about time cycles, and so did some Stoics. I didn't feel that the point in the piece was that West = linear, East = cyclical, but that there were/are/have been prevailing trends, or "ideologies of time" that have informed those societies (grouped as described) and we can broadly define them as that. Agree this video should be more popular!

[@FelonyArson]

@@MichaelSaba I don't know if there is enough worth saying about it in the moment, considering the fact that there hasn't been much actual media produced, so it is only the idea. But Solar Punk is the idea for a new genre wich seeks to create utopian scenarios based on a high-tech but ecological society with heavy influences of libertarian socialist philosophies of organization. Like I said, besides a few articles blog posts and pictures, there isn't much yet, but do you maybe want to talk about it or the concept?

[@SmoothHourglass]

Wow, what a class act. This is how you approach criticism. You make whatever defense is necessary while acknowledging the strengths of the critique, all in the spirit of fair dialogue and mutual acknowledgement.

[@Danashae]

Aesthetic with neon lights and rain always makes me feel melancholy. It brings up visions of sitting on a fire escape with a cigarette, contemplating /something./ It is lonely, dark, but oh so tempting. Something sedated, secluded, away from the consistent noise of worldly issues. It is a beautiful solitary moment.

[@lordtachanka903]

Danashae I love that

[@YanaDasgupta]

I just realised, I do that everyday. It feels so sad and happy at the same time.

[@lennytheghost4484]

Don't know but to me is the opposite, big cities makes me feel safe, warm and protected by the gigantic skyscrapers. Maybe cuz i've live in cities all my life. Maybe cuz i don't like the farm life idea; but i think in a big city theres always adventures to come, places or people to know, always something waiting for you... And other side, in a place so big, if u feel alone and sad. U know theres more people feeling like that and u suddenly feel ok

[@jmalmsten]

There's also the 30 year cycle. The artists of today usually tend to create works looking back 30 years to the past... In the 2000s it was the 70s, in the 90s it was the 60s, in the 80s it was the 50s... etc This does mean we should be getting to the 90s by now, and in many ways we are. As the aesthetics mentioned encompasses the latter half of the 90s and early half of the 90s. Conveniently the era of the japanese bubble economy, the transition from hair metal to synths and 16 bit videogames. We even have a Reagan like american president, and fears of a new cold war. I finally even got myself a VR headset so I can visit cyberspace! One should however remember that the cyclical nature of the 30 year rule doesn't mean it's carbon copying the past. It's an adaptation each time. The 80s we mimic by all intents and purposes never existed, wasn't exactly that great to be in in actuality. One movie that's had a comeback is the Back to the Future franchise. A film that in itself was made with the rose tinted glasses that era had for the 50s. Or posters from John Carpenters late 70s films show up in modern films, and his that were influenced heavily by the sci fi and horror of the forties. Indiana Jones in turn was a love letter to the adventure serials of that same ww2 era. But the makers of those serials could never have made Indiana Jones, hell, even Spielberg couldn't bring Indy 30 years forward in the 4th film. So I would probably go with occams razor for explaining this resurgence of neon synths and underpowered graphics... Instead of metaphysical analysis... It's just the 30 year cycle triggered by artist in their early 30s feeling nostalgic for their carefree youth.

[@NihongoWakannai]

Why do so many people seem to assume it's all just nostalgia? I played hotline miami when I was like 14 and I've loved this aesthetic pretty much ever since. Making old new again also means framing it in a way to bring in the youth to experience it for the first time and fall in love with it.

[@indigolabsindegoshark]

jmalmsten yeah was gonna mention that

[@godfrey4461]

I'm 18 and I fucking love stuff from the late 70s to the late 90s

[@babasrj1816]

Man can you refer to me some articles or papers you may have read about this 30 year cycle?...I am writing this article about how futurism took over the 80s.

[@babasrj1816]

However, by that logic...were the artist in the 80s trying to recreate the 50s?

[@kattoob6801]

AAAAAAAh you have no idea how excited I am by this video! Retro-futuristic aesthetics are absolutely connected to Japanese aesthetics. In Japan they would call Dukkha "mono no aware" - the impermanence of things, which interestingly enough was an artistic theme for kabuki performers as well, who in turn influenced not only the aesthetics and themes of ukiyo-e artists but forged sub cultural spaces for social outcasts whose art, literature, and stories helped shape the later cyberpunk subcultural scenes that still exist in Japan today. On that note I would say there are more modern ties between western culture and japanese ukiyo-e aesthetic as well, via Takashi Murakami's "Superflat" and the previously mentioned 80s cyberpunk philosophy (William Gibson novels, anyone?), which critique the hollow, soul-eating, alienating excess of late capitalist "floating worlds".

[@MrDzoni955]

I always connected neon lights to consumerism.

[@krassadvert9484]

vaporwave is definitely a critique of consumerism tho

[@MrDzoni955]

@@krassadvert9484 I never saw it as a mere critique. I'd say It's more ambivalent than you think. Start with this: many fans of such music are deeply involved with the consumerist culture.

[@dorobo81]

The fantasy part is that when we look back at this 80's aesthetic the consumerism was sorta innocent still. We weren't aware of plastic gathering in oceans. There was no looming end of the world and american dream was still alive and the future seemed bright.

[@Alexeiyeah]

I do too, and I think that because of the 80''s media, an era that valued hyper consumerism. Also, it was used a lot by some futuristic media, maybe because of Blade Runner's influence? Also, some 80's songs remind me of City Pop, another genre borne out of a hyper consumerist society.

[@TigirlakaLaserwolf6]

Whenever I listen to synthwave, vaporwave, or lo-fi , I feel like a ghost. well, more like I feel like time is frozen, like the instant I'm in will last for an eternity, and not necessarily in a comforting way. It's like the shed skin of hedonism, like the aftershocks of pleasure.

[@Alsyoutubeaccount]

The paintings and concept remind me of many elements from the Spirited away spirit world bathhouse.

[@neveroddoreven6597]

That’s literally what the designs in Spirited Away were based on.

[@doyleharken3477]

For the longest time I viewed this 80s revivalism as a purely reactionary phenomenon. Boomers longing for their childhood/adolescence or America at large longing for a perceived Golden Age. But your framing made me reconsider my stance. Thanks again!

[@sultanaljuhani1571]

Doyle Harken same here. And I'm impressed by his well researched argument regard it

[@olivercuenca4109]

Ooo, I never would have said that most of it was the product of boomers. There is a straight form of nostalgia they produce, but most of this stuff is churned out by young people. I always took to be a response to them listening constantly to the utopian rose tinted way that their boomer parents talk about their own youths as being so much better than that of young people of today. And young people, looking around and seeing that being young isn't actually that great, take it on board entirely because it's nice to believe all the talk about a "golden age" to aspire to.

[@NucleaRaptor]

Culturally, the 80s was the last great decade, and about half of the 90s. The 90s was the last decade before the apple-lead hipster nonsense began. It was grounded. It was before the Internet completely destroyed normal human interaction. As soon as 9/11 happened, it felt like the world became awash with that latte-chugging holier-than-thou attitude. It was also the sweet spot where cheesy old stuff and classic fantasy with elves and bandana wearing heroes meshed with the cusping of new technology that was still in infant stages. This allowed for sweet shit, crazy shit, heartwarming shit and other shit. Today everything is grimdark and removed from humanity. After '97, things started to nosedive rapidly, then 2000 came and the next big hurdle was around 2006/07 when everything became a fucking freefall towards some kind of degeneracy singularity.

[@kobehanrenobi3911]

@@NucleaRaptor Care to elaborate? Why '97? Why 2000? Why 9/11? Why '06/07? Weren't there David Foster Wallace type dudes in the '80s?

[@jordanjacobson6046]

@@NucleaRaptor What a myopic take you have there. Everyone has a different "Great Decade" or golden age that usually is during their youth or young adulthood and is the basis for nostalgic feelings. Its not exactly the same for everyone and the people who are like 10 right now are going to be nostalgic for the 2000's in the same way we are now. The format is always different, but every age has its own nostalgic period it looks back on. Right now we have the umbrella of vaporwave and whatnot for expressions of 70s-90's nostalgia, but other genre and formats will come that people will express their 90's-2010's nostalgia.

[@one.ebrown]

I just had a crazy thought, but if I don't post about it i'll regret it. But as someone born in 2000, I tend to feel a nostalgia for the 80's, obviously a time I didn't grow up in. But the funny part is (an this might relate to how history, past, present and future are like a circle), the whole meaning to retro wave/vapor wave of the 80's about imagining a world that's futuristic. A world that has unlimited access to consumerism, that has access to a expansive network that might connect nations or worlds. But when you actually think about it, our current reality is that futuristic dream. We have a global network (the internet), we have worldwide instant access to products (unlimited consumerism) and could have a connection instantly to anyone we want. So, why do we as a generation feel the need to look back to our past? Why do we feel that were missing something and if so what is it? One of those a e s t h e t i c gifs that you shown in your video, was a pixelated man looking at a distant futuristic city while the sun set in the background. Almost as if he's looking at a dream. That's us, but in our case were looking at the past, while the past is looking at our distant future. I believe the Philosophy of A E S T H E T I C S goes both ways, for the past and the future. I felt the need to write this, as I was heavily inspired by this video.

[@mygetawayart]

perhaps because we take for granted all these innovations. They imagined a time with endless interconnections and now we have smartphones and laptops… I think we take for granted these innovations but we'd be desperate if one moment they went away. But taking for granted those things meant that we focus on other things like: politics, corruption, economy, climate, things that they used to take for granted and now they've been jeopardized.

[@Enzaio]

Good observation, hadn't thought about it that way! I think you're right in that our world today is hyper-connected (at least in Western societies), but I think in a different way than people imagined in the 80's and 90's. The hyper-connectedness is mostly invisible, online, virtual. In movies like Blade Runner or Akira it's all much more visceral and visible. Maybe the preference for the latter comes from the fact that it looks much better on screen.

[@eddiegarou]

This really gave me a lot to think about, and I was wondering if you considered how Vaporwave and Synthwave also have a Wabi-sabi sensibility. It's almost an electronic expression of Wabi-sabi. There's the classic loneliness and isolation of the dark cities and rainy nights. There's the flawed wear-and-tear "rustic" nature of the technology, the CRT monitors and chunky dials and buttons. It has all of the same atmosphere, but trading out mountains and stone gardens for skyscrapers and alleyways.

[@zinovialinardopoulou7719]

"ukiyo e is reality as seen through a veil of fantasy; it is a duality that sees us retreating to a world of imagination in order to escape the grief of the present" I can't seem to get the analogy to its full extent between the ukiyo-e and the vaporwave/synthwave even though I totally agree with your conclusion that both are/were retreats from a discomforting present. However even that assumes a homogeneity in the audiences of ukiyo-e that didn't exist. Also, the ukiyo-e had more of a contemporary character and were a commentary to what was happening at that time inside the "pleasure areas" where the daimyos were indulging in excesses, whereas Vaporwave is referring to past times. Ukiyo-e woodcuts had more than one function depending on if you were a samurai visiting Edo while escorting your daimyo (feudal lord) or if you were a city dweller getting a cheap replica of the actual woodcut. There is also an incredible variation within the ukiyo e category itself, so for example a great part of the artistic production was dedicated in advertising the actors of Kabuki. Overall, this channel is an oasis, not only in the world of KZbin. Keep up your amazing work.

[@Enzaio]

The video reminded me a lot of Cowboy Bebop, which quite literally presents a floating world and which has main characters who are all dwelling in the past, struggling to make something of their lives after the most important events of those lives have already happened. I think Cowboy Bebop would be a great example of understanding the connection between ukiyo-e (as far as I have come to understand from this video) and the futurist aesthetic of one of its influences, Akira. Although I think Cowboy Bebop has a lot more to say than just that (God, I love that show).

[@drgonzo334]

When someone articulates something you've been subconsciously wondering about for almost a decade. Thanks

[@nico26985]

I WILL SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND MISTER. NOT BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME OR BECAUSE I'M DRUNK, I'LL DO IT BECAUSE THIS VIDEO IS AMAZING. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT..... OR DAY.

[@heinoustentacles5719]

I'm stoned

[@r.r.4674]

hey if most adults like vaporwave and all that, what would explain teens born in the early 2000s attraction to this aesthetic?

[@belstar1128]

I think its because old music is just really different from modern music there is a real lack of relaxing sounds in mainstrean music these days so for people who where not around in the 20th century it is completly new.

[@mygetawayart]

my guess is that: teens born in the early 2000's all lived in a post-9/11 world, with endless wars and corrupted, untrustworthy politicians, continuous recession, the rise of nationalism and the global climate crisis. All these elements contribuited to the anxiety permeating our generation. I believe we look back at the 80's because we look at how they saw their future, not bleak but colorful and full of hope. There's probably a good amount of envy in that, but also fascination and respect.

[@yunguboa]

@@mygetawayart You hit the nail on the head. Teens around my age never got to experience a pre 9/11 world. It puts an weirder longing for some type of paradise. The idea of being used to technology means that the weight of it is lost. We never got to experience the dream, so we condition ourselfs to dream for it anyway. It's a form of escapism in the world slowly going further into the abyss. Anyways, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[@heliosthevaporwaveelf7275]

belstar, As a 14 year old, I completely agree with that statement of Vaporwave. It just seems that today, all mainstream music is either energetic beats or has a nice vibe but once you understand the lyrics, it completely loses its vibe. But Vaporwave is the exact opposite of that which makes it the perfect music to forget about everything else that’s going on in the world today and just let your mind wonder to a happier place. I wish more people understood how beautiful this entire genre truly is.

[@digi2542]

Anemoia- A nostalgic feeling for time before a one's time.

[@johannaderee4763]

Your pronunciation of van Gogh was almost right, better then I have ever heard from a non native speaker, but Dutch has no soft g's at all. None. All our g's and al our ch's are pronounced with the guttural g you correctly used (and mocked) at the end. And that's all the criticism i have for this video. it was spot on. Some food for thought perhaps: Although not directly present in much of the retro-wave out there at the moment, I see a distinct overlap with the ideology or aesthetics of the eighties Goth movement (although I could point you to many bands/artists for whom this connection is more explicit). If I try to analyse the eightie's and ninetie's large distinguishable countercultural movements (punk, metal, emo and goth), i feel like each of them is a reaction to being an outcast. metal is a expression of the experienced rage of being an outcast, it's violent sounds and rhetoric are largely apolitical, but express a deep dissatisfaction with the status quo. punk is an externalised rage at being an outcast, the anarchism and activism that are associated with punk are an emergent property of punks deep sense that it is all societies fault. Emo is the internalised rage at being an outcast. it seems to almost say: you're right, i'm a freak, and a weirdo and I wouldn't hang out with me either. And finally goth, the genre that birthed synthwave (and coldwave, and darkwave, and new wave), is an attempt to embrace the darker side to demystify it. it is masochism in the face of adversity. Goth was an attempt by the living to appropriate the culture of the death. To tame the existential dread that is caused by living by making death and darkness and being an outcast a normal thing. I see this tendency echoed in the eighties retro nostalgia that is going on now. it is a dead future that is being celebrated. By resurrecting it one might even argue it's a zombie future now. by embracing it we are, in a way, accepting that our future, no matter how we perceive it, is already as doomed in the same way the future from the eighties was.

[@MichaelSaba]

This is great. I've been fascinated by esoterica and goth counterculture for pretty much my entire life, for exactly this reason -- the idea of reclaiming 'forbidden knowledge' and celebrating the perspective of marginalized outsiders. I had never considered the connection to modern retrofuturism, but it makes perfect sense. That was really beautiful, thank you.

[@johannaderee4763]

No problem! you have a great channel! I'm definitely gonna recommend it to people. Keep up the good work!

[@nelsonphillips]

Johannes de Ree Interesting thoughts, may I elaborate or discuss. First some context: without a strong and carefully constructed argument about the sign and sigifier that this video presented I suggest that the notion of the historical linearity is a product of the objects and context of the culture and environment. This was suggested here with the parallels of western development and its notion of linear history. Particularly I think this is a product of scientific analysis brought about the understanding of the world as something built up from layers, probably coupled with some Christian doctrine. Such analysis has been a very, 'powerful', influential method of understanding the world and in a sense provides the context for counter cultural movements in the west. So if this is half correct then the subcultures you mentioned could be either a stepping out of that linearity of continuation as they come and go and/or adding another layer to the past. Cultural layering is a valid view that could be easily positioned in the institutions that support our current society. However, these liberal institutions also have become vehicles for carrying counter cultural blends of society. The musical subcultures mentioned definitely have had a peak of existence suggesting a form of linearity. On the other hand there is clear cyclical trend in them with the rise and fall of signs and hooks within the artifacts and musical styles. Analytical justification of cyclical trend is well established and particular tools are suited to such an analysis. My problem with the need to suggest that one method, linear verses cyclical, as being superior is not a valid or supportable position as different tools suit different purposes and the outcome is subjective as well. From a technological perspective this sits much better, but culturally the difficulty is that humans are the stable artifact that carries the meaning. Technological progression renders new futures constantly as the artifact have different cultural carrying capacities. These subcultures may be interpreted as technological driven, but as you mentioned they have a similar human dimension of disillusionment. This is I think where this video has its nuance as it is in the end about the picture and the humans in the picture, not the pictures themselves. The pictures come and go, but the human struggle will always exist in some manifestation. Excuse the indulgent, I can't help myself. 🙄

[@grisflyt]

It's Hoch, with an H. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jp67knmDYtOMfpY

[@Enzaio]

@@grisflyt That information is incorrect. Some people in Belgium would pronounce it that way, but Van Gogh was Dutch. Anyway, as a former Dutch teacher, I know it can be very hard and sometimes near impossible for non-native speakers to learn.

[@Raymond9197]

You deserve way more views and subscribers than this. You work so hard on these videos.

[@arcanecola9906]

This actually hit me rlly hard, Knowing there was someone and something that knew how hopeless I actually feel

[@edschleck2722]

Discovered this chanel today because yt recommended your street fighter video. Absolutely great content, another rare high-quality channel. Thank you for your work!

[@wreday720]

Yeah you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I wouldn’t have been able to dig deep enough to find these connections but with Vaporwave/Synthwave, it depicts to me an ideal, automated future that somehow managed to fail. The bright colours, the cyberpunk, the used future, the consumerism, the echoing reverb and the harmony of western and eastern cultures to form large metropolises. It feels as if we reached a peak and hit the ideal future, the world is a mall and you can just buy happiness at every turn in the neon playground. And even then, there’s an underlying sense of sadness that we just can’t do anything about, despite how perfect and sterile dream worlds depicted in the genre. It’s like somewhere along the way, humanity lost its soul, and the optimism that was initially there was abandoned, hence why you see so many shopping malls and pastille colours that give off something innocent, yet at the same time the music has a broken, stuttering, reverb effect. The cracks are showing, but it persists in convincing you this is the future you want when in reality we can see how incompatible and downright fake this utopia would be for humanity. Yet still, we’re attracted to it, because these promises of happiness, fulfilment and beauty that are found both in these dream scapes and the commercialism of the 20th and 21st century promise us an escape from the human curse of never truly being fulfilled or happy. That’s why I think Vaporwave manages to attract a large crowd of people, from those struggling with depression, to your average joe, to the philosophical. In the end, all we really want to do is get in our convertible, drive off into that neon sunset on a never ending road, with a glass bottled coke in hand and someone who loves sitting in the other seat, because in that scenario, we’ll be in a never ending state of contentment. TL;DR Pretentious asshole explains that vapourware is the perfect world for us and is still not enough for us to be happy

[@laudanum09]

You can change your future 闇の向こう We can share the happiness 捜してゆく 許し合えるその日を The vanguard has made its declaration: Gundam themed archaeologies of the future, STAT!

[@JLCL01]

ohshit, wasn't expecting someone to mention "Beyond the Time" on here.

[@shaliah6827]

Artistic and academic. I enjoyed this video more than I thought I would, it developed like an essay in visual form! I’m staying tuned for more of your work! ✨

[@lerouxpurple7766]

I really liked this video. The deep dive into the subject was informative and very fun!

[@groverburger]

golly gee this video is actually amazing, this brings up a lot of points that i felt myself but didn't know how to put into words. watching it for a second time just to try to understand all that you're saying. keep up the good work.

[@qbikmusik]

You have no idea how huge this video has just impacted my life, thank you 👌

[@mrjuly302]

This is so depressing... so melancholic... it is nostalgia towards a world I haven't lived in...

[@JaimeAndresJaramillo]

This mini documentary is so well done. Congrats dude

[@vagabond8385]

Just discovered your channel because I was doing some research on Ukiyo-e. I haven't seen such an inspiring and well made video in a while. It's like a video essay. Keep it up, I hope you get the recognition you deserve. Subscribed

[@mono277]

9:05 funny that when you were talking about sorrow the japanese second from the left says "kanashii" ("kanashii no"?) which means sadness. I see that a lot in this form of media and its pretty great

[@seir323]

The future is ephemeral and permanent, the inevitability and the past's worry or dream. Retro-future is my jam, from as far back as the 60's - the technicolor and neon possibilities of a future that was never achieved. And, it just looks really fucking badass. The fleeting world, whether ukiyo-e prints, or hauntingly beautiful paintings, pixels or neon, the stories that took place in those fantasy worlds impacted us in our reality - they give us alternate glimpses of what can happen, no matter when they are viewed. And though the moment passes away, whatever feeling or experience we had stays with us.The nostalgia that draws us to the retro-future is the triggering effect it has on us for those strong emotions, perhaps. You remember where you were, who you were, when you experienced it first, and then you think back to the person you were then - and still ARE. It doesn't always have to be a self-soothing endeavor alone - it may bring up something painful, that you used these archetypes and images to defeat. Things that gave you strength, or hope, or pleasure, or excitement. And then you get fired up to fight the revolution. JK. But also not. When you think of old dreams, don't be defeated if they didn't become real. Because you can still dream it, be it, make it happen now.

[@SomeLoser911]

This is the most intriguing thing I've heard in a long time. Your channel is something special.

[@GlitterPrincessOfDarkness]

i appreciate your great effort and hard work into uploading these videos, please do not stop! i recently came from your nier videos and i am completely in-love with the content you provide. You’ve got yourself a sub and i am definitely sharing that :)

[@josemoreno9397]

What a wonderful video, absolutely amazing, this makes me love the synthwave more than i already do. You made me understand where come those feelings of when i hear this beautifull genre

[@TheWavyCake]

Sitting in a nice loft up high in a bustling city, big open windows in front of you. Neon lights decorating the dark city-scape, rain gently patting the window. Late night, knowing that you’re in a place where people are doing things, on the go, and in the city never sleeps, something is always going on. Its a feeling of melancholy, a setting where you can just sit and just be. Contempt with where you are in that moment. Happy with what you have.

[@Stevem]

Nice little Tatsuro Yamashita outro ya got there

[@liizzset]

Was looking for this comment. Also I was about to say this.

[@Stevem]

@@liizzset I'd never miss such a detail ahahh

[@datdeerdude5139]

Wonder in your world! 🌏

[@mikehawk3171]

I thank the heavens for Macross 82/99's work every day.

[@jordanrambles7127]

This video puts into words why I like a lot of synthwave and vaporwave so much despite being born in 2000, I used to think 'I guess I wish I grew up in the 80s'- which is not true considering I'm queer, but a lot of comments by naive people my age or younger are wistful for a different time. But this video here has made me realise a lot of it, for me at least, is severed from nostalgia and is more about being in an a-historical time full of pleasure, on the surface it can be 'feel good' music and sometimes the authorial intent is 'things were better back then', but there's a nightmare quality that I'm also interested in.

[@shadowdabber2759]

Could not have said it any better myself.

[@superanimenerd13]

I agree that a lot of modern aesthetics isn't just looking to past imaginings of the future because if that were the case, I feel like people would take reference from Syd Mead's cleaner "Jetsons-like" artwork instead of the Blade Runner cyberpunk style he's known for. It's telling that even with all the purple filtering and neon lights and bright colors, the base of so much modern aestheticism is based in the bleakness of cyberpunk. That underneath the bright neons is a contempt for the rich and powerful that drain our life force and leave us for space when we beg for our lives. Also, more like Ukiyo-EEEEEEEEYYYYYYY 👌👌🔥🔥💯💯

[@AndiLambe]

Man your videos are amazing. Keep up the surreal work!

[@asadpuppy1259]

Channels like this will be remembered by future generations thousands of years from now just like how we remember the Pythagoreans

[@juanpch2175]

These videos are amazing man, good work!

[@mygetawayart]

the worst part is that not only we wish we could live a time that is not ours but that time is way overidealized, and maybe we do so to avoid the harsh reality that, yes even the 80's, with all their lights, music and hopeful future were not as glamourous as we pretend they were. There is no escape from our bleakness but, for some reason, we can try to evade for a few minutes and feel at least satisfied.

[@IVLIVSCAMILLVS]

I love Vaporwave and Retrosynth, and the visuals of both. This video really ties everything together and explains a lot. Thanks!

[@CronyxRavage]

You've captured the ideas that I've struggled to express for years about why I love the cyberpunk aesthetic and especially Shadowrun. Thank you so much.

[@yunglynda1326]

Absolutely amazing video!!! I was sent here by the lovely Angie ♥️ Just a little fun fact ~ "dukha" is pronounced "duukh" with the "d" a mix between "d" and "th." The emphasis of the word is on the "duu." As a person of Indian heritage, I have noticed that when Sanskrit and Hindi words are anglicized, there is often an "a" included at the end that gets emphazised by English speakers when it shouldn't be. In this word's case, it's instead more of a schwa, and my guess is that it's a leftover of translating a syllable based alphabet into a letter based alphabet, because the letter/syllable "kh" when pronounced on its own is "khə" 😊

[@lilchelby1213]

You’re amazing ily for making this

[@dariusmorgan5343]

That “mm” at the beginning killed me 😂😂😂😂😂

[@joshcummins3916]

I first found you a year ago with the Daria video. That show was my favorite show growing up since it felt like it perfectly captured the emotions I felt as a young teen. Now I see this and the idea of a future you don't want but seems like there is nothing you can do to change it. It makes sense everyone has awesome tech but is so lonely. Everyone wants to look back at a simpler time or dread the impending future.

[@Slewedleo]

Astounding and simply excellent. You drive the point home in a fairly good explanation of the whole sinth wave movement.

[@pamemg9405]

Your videos are so well made and interesting!

[@EmperorKarsa]

Your video are criminally underrated. I am gonna share you as much as I can.

[@lambbone8302]

Really great video that gave me an interesting new stance on this style

[@jennalexisko]

Absolutely loved this! Thank you

[@notconvinced2204]

This was a cool video. It introduced me to terms I could use while describing the aesthetic of the series “maniac”. However, it should have “retro futurist” or, “hauntology” in the title, rather than aesthetic, as it was not really about aesthetics, nor did it really explain what aesthetics is. When I think aesthetics, I don’t think about retro futurism.. I actually think “wabi sabi” which is the antithesis of retro futurism. My point is that this video didn’t really explain what makes either idea an “aesthetic” which is what I was hoping to learn about when I clicked on the video, but I am glad that I learned what I did from it. As a learning addict, I’m glad I’ve recently subscribed to you.

[@pumpkingamebox]

“History doesn’t repeat itself. But it does rhyme.” - Mark Twain

[@redpapermen]

Bravo, this is a profound and very interesting angle I hadn't seen before. Looking forward to sharing this - I really, truly loved your Nier Automata and Metal Gear analysis... more videos please.

[@4era]

Using Ukiyo-e for a block printing project. Helpful video!

[@tellingfoxtales]

Fantastic content.

[@Obekant08]

Absolutely great video! Amazing work Micheal Saba! I have long wondered why im drawn to Vaporwave/Synthwave, this might just be it.

[@DoggmaticProductions]

You're so good. I have no words.

[@Gorcnor]

great video, man. just kind of stumbled across your channel. have found myself getting farther and farther into "vapor"/"synth" wave lately and well wasn't really sure why. this answered a few questions, and I thank you for that. however there is still more questions to answer.

[@chromadelay]

Please make more videos like this!! ❤❤❤

[@swordguy1243]

Would you make a video on cyberpunk and how we are entering that age ? 🤔 . Not only we are experiencing the boost on technology but also other world problems like science vs religion, human appearance like face tattoos transgenderism, androginism and soon to be mechanical prosthetics. Weapons of war and conscious A.I . Science fiction always seems to predict the future , it has before and it keeps doing it . Nikolai Tesla was the closest person to actually understand the whole science behind it . Anyways thanks for your videos they’re great . 🙏🏻

[@XRXaholic]

Excellent rejoinder. I wish more of KZbin was like this, frankly.

[@Halberddent]

"when cultural innovation has stalled and even gone backwards," yeah right. Y'all're just old. This is the academic equivalent of 'back in my day.' This video is a perfect example of cultural innovation going forwards! We can watch well edited philosophical video essays online at any time for free. That's great!

[@mygetawayart]

we're at a time when we feel the need to separate and segregate immigrant families, we're at a time when we don't know if we'll be here in 10 to 12 years, we're at a time when, no matter how hard we fight, the politicians don't listen to us but rather the blood money in their pockets and the corporate greed they protect. We're at a time when growth has stalled, our buying power is less than 50 years ago and we keep focusing on pointless issues. So yeah, cultural innovation has gone backwards, no matter how many phones, G's in out internet connection, smart appliances and robots we have, we still think like 80 years ago.

[@bilbo_gamers6417]

We need to live in a world of hedonism. It's humanity's ultimate goal. It's the only way we can go right now, the only direction we can even think to work towards.

[@llyando]

Thanks for putting into words what I struggled to articulate about the appeal of those styles. :)

[@ldmun]

Damn, what a great video!

[@CS-by4vg]

aes·thet·ic /esˈTHedik/ adjective 1. concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty. "the pictures give great aesthetic pleasure" noun 1. a set of principles underlying and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement. "the Cubist aesthetic"

[@jartist4]

Excellent analysis of Ukiyoe and it's relation to Vaporwave! I have learned a lot more about the ideology behind Vaporwave by watching this video. I now totally understand why I get that floating, "Timeless reflection" feeling when I hear Vaporwave music.

[@joshuathomas2012]

I'm sharing this to a vaporwave subreddit , hope this video gets more views.

[@kayleegregory770]

This has expanded my knowledge. Now time to study further so I can articulate. Thanks

[@alanhorton7300]

It seems appropriate that the Ukiyo-e aesthetic should arise not only in retrofuturism, but was also popular in the 19th century Paris art world, which was another bright floating world.

[@badradish2116]

"come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination"

[@vezokpiraka]

Your videos are just so good. I hope you'll blow up one day.

[@user-nf5qt6yc7p]

youre my fav youtube channel now

[@HarryBeats_]

Great video, thank you

[@NKingTotoro]

Cool video. I actually think the idea of the floating world fits pretty well into the ideas of postmodernism. Seemingly endless spectacle, visceral sensations, a sense of timelessness, and yet, an emptiness behind it. Utopia and also dystopia.

[@dubzilla6978]

I’m glad I found this channel

[@GradyBroyles]

wait. that aesthetic ORIGINALLY was responding to the hopelessness that GenX saw in their future. That's how we got Akira, Aeon Flux The glitch-y anti-tech tech aesthetic. I was the of age in the late 80s and remember it well.

[@datdeerdude5139]

Sparkle in my heart!💖

[@SaharatOfficial]

Love the content btw. Subscribed and the commentary style of your editing cuts are very basic and your voice is soothing.

[@StalinBrosef]

It's actually really interesting when you take a step back and listen to the cultural box people put themselves in by referencing only a handful of scholars and philosophers and assuming that it gives them a definitive outlook on on a piece of art, or movement. This is a refreshing video, because of how it opens the scope of possible perspectives and lenses through which we can view things like a e s t h e t i c culture. I think the nature of KZbin's critic culture along with the current climate of what I'm gonna call the "Take Culture" of social media encourages a lot of rigidity of thought, and actively incentivizes heel-digging and doubling down on beliefs and ideas.

[@hedgehog3180]

I think this neatly lines up with how it seems like the 00s and now the 10s never really formed a coherrent vision of the future. Past decades had some form of coherrent sci-fi and visions of what the future would look like but we haven't really been able to do that. Instead we have just made new versions of those old sci-fi, There's new Star Wars and Bladerunner.

[@thaizzz]

Thanks for this video. I has no idea of what was Ukiyo-e in the first place, but now that I know about I've been thinking about pieces of media that resemble this idea and I just realized that we could take pieces like Kyousougiga (Which has references to various eastern religious imagery as part of the Main plot and even has a place called "The City On The Mirror" a world that is a mixture between ayes, a hedonistic fantasy of a Monk, an atemporary world) and analize them from that perspective.

[@hunterrogersmusic]

Great Video!

[@wezzuh2482]

Really good video

[@matias9978]

This video was so *aesthetic* ❤️

[@SaharatOfficial]

This video is so aesthetic!

[@MauricioPereiradaFon]

love the video

[@freddymireles4558]

I FINALLY FOUND THIS VIDEO!!! I've been looking all over the interwebs for this video. Thank the Synth Gods.

[@FrenXIII]

I was expecting some DJ Krush beats... :( But that Tatsuro Yamashita ending really Sparkled my day! ;)

[@TheKlever666]

6:28 background music is ""２８１４ - 新しい日の誕生/Birth of a New Day" if anyone interested

[@erikbarrett85]

Very good video

[@swordguy1243]

Second video from you that I see that has to do with some kind of cyberpunk-synthwave genres . Subscribed :)

[@giorgisabashvili2664]

i thought this was obvious tbh, it all came from weeb uprising + ironic depression and deattachment

[@hukboricha6164]

Facts

[@mygetawayart]

that's one way of looking at it. But irony is not without purpose and Japanophilia is not without reason.

[@leosabat4636]

the level of analisis of art in this video is insane and ofcourse this channel has my aesthetics of chooise ( intelectual ego proyecting, 1 sec reversing ) . Real comment : Tnks for sharing your data about art desing pretty interesting and I found interesting that cyberpunk is getting into more mainstream media. We go from ciberpunk to anarquism mad max style to ciberpunk once again . Rage or depression .. utopic visions has became out of fashion .

[@MichaelSaba]

That's another element of retrofuturism that I find so fascinating -- that when we do dream of the future, the dream is more likely to be a dystopia than a paradise. And yet we find ourselves drawn to it anyway, and can't look away...

[@snapsnapper2951]

That was very insightful and on point, with the feelings I have when dipping into retro-futurism it's not just pure nostalgia it is anchored in the present as a fantasy that isn't only escapist in nature as it gives us space to imagine an aestheticised dystopia that clashes with the mundane or our reality. However, I get the impression that the cyclical vision of the world is also presented a bit as the "exotic other" or a cliché of "eastern wisdom". Most cyclical visions of the world are also deeply rooted in social conservatism and used as means to explain that change is only part of an ever-recurring process and that fighting for it would be deemed ultimately pointless to a point we could perceive retro-futurism as a kind of "post-modern spleen".

[@adamjscarborough5600]

This is a really good point about conservatism. I have experienced this a lot whenever I've travelled through predominantly Buddhist or Hindu countries. Are you saying there is something conservative implicitly built-in to the cyclical order of time?

[@adamjscarborough5600]

But I think the "exotic other" aspect is built into the whole premise and texture of the discussion, because the subject of the video (vaporwave etc) takes that exoticism as its material, so I think as a starting point it's a really good point of entry.

[@jeraldbaxter3532]

The view of life being transitory goes farthed back, atleast to the Heian period, when mono no aware was the fashionable view of life. The writers Murasaki Shikibu, Kenko and Chomei use this as a major theme in the works.

[@vai82]

very good!

[@euridulay334]

Very thought provoking. I like that you incorporated eastern philosophy’s belief in life as a cycle. :)

[@alexandrecormier6476]

HI micheal . I recently discovered your channel And it realy helped me putting words on many accumulated sensations from my teenage years, and perhaps restored my faith in art ! so thank you for your inspiring work ! ------ i realy loved the particular tracks of this videos. would you be so kind to put the link to it ?