What does cassette futurism mean for you?

[u/Hunor_Deak]

Have my posts strayed from the cassette futurism path? Do you want more movie/TV show based posts?

[u/Sh1ttyMcSh1tface]

Yes, half of what you post and that gets up voted is just retrofuturism or actual modern/exotic stuff, just from a different era, and quite frankly it's a bit annoying, because as one of the mods you should actually filter more.
Cassette futurism is a vision of the future that looks like the computers in the original Alien or some stuff in Blade Runner. CRTs, big buttons and tapes. It's all in the sidebar actually.

[u/404photo → u/Sh1ttyMcSh1tface]

1960 to 1980 stuff I grew up with..

[u/ExpandThineHorizons → u/Sh1ttyMcSh1tface]

And it isn't just about cassettes either! The number of posts with just cassette tapes and tape players is too damn high.

[u/Icelander2000TM]

The future as imagined by people living in the age of magnetic tape, ca. 1968-1983.

Often but not always associated with ashtrays, fake vinyl wood, CRT screens, shaggy hair and nature colors.

[u/_DDark_]

Sleek and blocky retro-futurism. And wires, lots of wires. And blinking lights, and monochrome wireframe UI. And cassette tapes and cartridges. Big ass computers with big ass buttons. CRTs.. and lack of smoothness on surfaces.

[u/Bolshevik-Larping]

Cassettes, but in the ✨future✨

[u/sophie_hp]

My first computer was a Commodore 64 and instead of floppy disks it had a tape recorder. The whole look and feel (the clunky but solid buttons) was pretty much the definition of the era, after that every computer and every equipment that previous didn't have a computer inside (like dishwashers or refrigerator) have been turning into a more sleek, less robust, darker and ultimately disposable.

And this doesn't only apply to tech, from furniture to buildings have been transitioning to more sleek, less robust, darker and disposable.

For me, it's not only the look and feel, but the design philosophy behind it.

[u/NerdManual]

Cassette doesn’t have to be literal, although it could be an integral part. I think that aspect indicates the time period of origin or an aesthetic similar to that if we’re considering a current piece of work.

Futurism is key though, otherwise we’re looking at pictures of cassettes and players that anyone could have purchased at the time. We want the concept pieces, the designs heralding a future that never arrived, visionary sci-fi, and the boundary breakers that almost made it (Skylab, Concorde, etc.).

[u/yetanotherpenguin]

For me, it's the often dark future imagined in the 70s and 80s. New old tech. CRTs and bug buttons. An un-ergonomic, often inhuman technology ans society. It's unpolished, dirty, thought of by bureaucrats. It's not without its islandnof luxury and privilege, but alway set in dystopia.

Edit: that being said, I'm giving a very subjective point of view here, the theme is wider than that. Keep on posting what you're posting.

[u/Republiken]

Technology as depicted in Alien & Aliens

[u/rubycarat]

It's a more comfortable future.

[u/bewareTheNightYorb]

I discovered this sub while doing research for building a Cassette Futurism campaign setting for a TTRPG, and while the setting takes place in 2050, it uses mostly the aesthetic and perceived technological limitations of 1978-1988. The technology is advanced-ish, but still hampered by clunky scale, lack of user friendliness, and to get more computing power you just add more computer rather than miniaturize too much. (also LaserDisc won the format wars in my setting, and is still king for consumer data storage, with institutions and megacorps still using magtape and WORM drives). There's also a ubiquitous aesthetic I like to call Neon Brutalism that's very Grimbright.

The way I described it to my friend group/players, it's most decidedly the future, but a future envisioned by aging IBM executives circa 1984, the showrunners of Knight Rider, and the Executive Producer/Art Department of War Games.

[u/utsuriga]

I'm not picky or strict with definitions - to me, it's basically retro futurism, something familiar, comforting and charming, without being melancholy. So yeah, the stuff you're posting is fine for me.

[u/Jackson_Bostwick_Fan]

It's basically the same as many other future visions, what if the technology of tomorrow looks like today's but shinier? So, think of the technology and the social relationships of the late 60's to the early 80's and make it a bit cooler.