I’m writing this because there is something I’m trying to define…or prove it’s existence, but I am not exactly sure how to explain it.
I’m talking about an ‘urban millennial aesthetic’ that I believe exists in modern movies and television, but I have no idea if it has been categorized before.
It started in the turn of the 2010s — around the time The Office and the Harry Potter films reached their end.
At this period, HD filmaking become the norm worldwide. It was only in 2009 that Slumdog Millionare became the first film mostly shot digitally to win the Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
It doesn’t matter whether in the US, Mexico, South Korea, or India — the technology for digital filmaking has taken over most film industries around the world. And with that, the modernization of the production of films has been met with the modernization of the stories they tell as well.
It’s not to say there was a dramatic rupture in the film industry at this point but there was certainly an evolution.
The lives of urban millennials became increasingly centered in Movies and TV. The HD technology produced a dynamic of a bright, clean daytime and smooth, almost seductive nighttime. This created an aura that seemed to romantaize urban millennial life. Whether that be a drink at a bar with friends, an underwhelming but still enjoyable house party, or whatever.
Never before was film and television so lifelike as it has been the past decade. It gave insight into both the lives of middle class millennials (The Big Sick, New Girl, etc.) or their ultra rich counterparts (Crazy Rich Asians, Gossip Girl reboot, etc.)
I started wondering about this while trying to figure out why Canada’s What If and India’s Kapoor & Sons were my two favorite movies of the past ten years. I concluded that the underlying aesthetic had something to do with it — especially as I noticed enjoying other films and TV shows that shared it.
So I have no idea if this has been theorized before? This aesthetic seems so widespread now that I don’t even know if it’s worth categorizing but there’s some sentimental value I have that is unique to this style.
So what do you think? Am I on to something here? What should we expect as Gen Z’s stories become the norm in the coming years?
