Everything old is new again

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We’re in a cultural moment where it feels like so much is being rehashed, repackaged, and resold to a captive audience. This is certainly the case in entertainment, where the Hollywood reboot machine is the driving force behind what makes it to our screens; even “original” programming is frequently built from familiar storytelling tropes and formats. The same kind of recycling — sorry, remixing — holds true in pop music.

This carries over into matters of business and politics with just as much resonance. And when it comes to lifestyle topics like dieting, parenting, and even sex, we wind up circling the drain and repackaging old trends and ideas as hot new fads, too.

What makes newness, or novelty, or originality, so important in the first place, particularly in a society that heavily prioritizes individual comfort and choices? Are we in a uniquely not-new moment, or has it actually always felt this way?


Cristina Spanò for Vox

Could we ever really tell a new story about a very old mermaid?

By Alissa Wilkinson


Cristina Spanò for Vox

How today’s fight over pornography is rooted in a 40-year-old feminist schism.

By Constance Grady


Row of parents holding babies with speech bubbles above their heads. They are all offering the same advice to new parents.

Cristina Spanò for Vox

The endless cycling — and recycling — of parenting advice.

By Anna North


A cartoon drawing of a large figure sitting proudly on top of several people, who are struggling to hold the weight. The scene looks like a king on a throne with two bitcoins in place of arm rests.

Cristina Spanò for Vox

When you democratize finance, you get the good and the bad.

By Emily Stewart


A figure stands on a stage, which looks like a $100 bill, surrounded by showy rays of light. Audience members below reach their hands toward the stage to show their fandom.

Cristina Spanò for Vox

Self-improvement is old. What’s new is the bootstrapping mythos and toxic positivity of the very rich.

By Whizy Kim


CREDITS

Editors: Meredith Haggerty, Alanna Okun, Lavanya Ramanathan, Julia Rubin
Copy editors/fact-checkers: Elizabeth Crane, Kim Eggleston, Tanya Pai, Caitlin PenzeyMoog
Additional fact-checking: Anouck Dussaud, Matt Giles
Art direction: Dion Lee, Paige Vickers
Audience: Gabriela Fernandez, Shira Tarlo, Agnes Mazur
Production/project editors: Lauren Katz, Nathan Hall

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