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The internet has imploded in a new obsessive trend: retro items. From vintage filters, faux-vintage, anachronism, thrift shopping videos, retro-like VHS, disposable film cameras and polaroids, these items have become “the new aesthetic” on social media. Although internet users have constantly adopted different trends, the obsession over these old-school products have sustained for quite some time.
To begin with, the disposable film cameras have had an enormous impact on the photo and video-sharing medium Instagram.
During the 2019 Met Gala ball, American singer-songwriter Frank Ocean shot a series of film on his Contax T3 35mm film camera, posting it to his film-focused account on the platform. Then came YouTuber David Dobrik. He has promoted the Fujifilm disposable camera by capturing candid film photographs of the Vlog Squad; he recently launched a disposable camera merchandise line due to the popularity of this trend. Other celebrities such as supermodel Gigi Hadid, singer Joe Jonas, and actress Diana Silvers have also been a part of this film trend.
At the moment, the bestsellers Fujifilm Quicksnap and Kodak’s Funsaver have 27 exposures each for film photographers to capture the perfect shot. Blog content coordinator Kristen Hadjis emphasized that “not knowing how your photos are going to turn out until they are processed is the most fun part.”
In addition, other 90’s favorites have accommodated this aesthetic. Millennials and Gen Zs have taken interest in capturing authentic and candid photographs that reflects a vintage, retro, or old-school ambience.
An easier alternative to the process of taking film and developing it has been photo apps. These photo-editing apps, such as Huji Cam, develop a high exposure and time-stamped digital photo that can be easily snapped from an iPhone. Other photo-editing apps have also adopted the old-school vintage filters, colored light streaks, grainy effects, and other additions that express the same 90’s film quality.
On the popular video-sharing medium YouTube, thrift-shopping videos and Super8 films have become immensely popular in the YouTuber community. This trend has doubled since 2018 with top film videographers and photographers posting similar 90’s film content, including Mango Street, Matti Haapoja, Joe Greer, Willem Verbeek, and Jessica Whittaker.
On January 11, 2020, NBC Left Field followed 20-year-old film photographer Willem Verbeek to discover the reason why people still love film. In the video, they discussed how the younger generation has embraced the concept of shooting and developing film, which is evident through the Instagram hashtag #FilmIsNotDead with over 14 million posts. The video documented Verbeek’s experience with his film photography YouTube channel as he walks around parks and shoots 35 mm film on different cameras. Despite the costly film and the lengthy developing process, Verbeek pointed out that social media has helped the spread of film photography online.
Sophomore Jami R., who has a YouTube channel, shared her ideas on the popular film trend on the platform. “I think it’s becoming more popular because it feels more nostalgic, especially when you’re making films. It captures the storytelling aspect really effectively. For example, travel videos to Greece or a road trip with friends.”
Moreover, junior and photographer Maya T. further discussed this trend. “[Film] usually has a different mood to it than you would get from a phone or standard camera, and you can also see a lot of filters online that try to make normal pictures look like film photography. I also think that it’s become very popular due to the look of the camera itself or the fact that it can oftentimes look kind of artistic or intentional when one is not an experienced photographer, or how it sometimes already looks like it’s been ‘edited.'”
In 2020, people can expect their feeds to be more film, retro and vintage-like as the trend continues to spread amongst the social media generation.
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