I was thinking earlier today about how, for the most part, movies set before the turn of the 20th century tend to fall into a relatively small handful of relatively specific periods of time and place that seem evergreen for a great variety of storytelling. Some of the more notable (in English and American media specifically) are the likes of Victorian England, Post-Civil War American West, Colonial and Revolutionary America, Revolutionary France, Elizabethan England, etc. Until you end up in more generic period settings like "Medieval Europe" or "Imperial Rome," etc where any specificity of culture, costume, etc. seems to be left significantly more up to the interpretation of the artists working on the film. So, as time carries us further and further from the 20th century, which specific time periods do you think will survive in our storytelling as iconic settings and which will disappear into the blender of generalized history? The World Wars will no doubt be fuel for centuries to come (at least until the next one) but will "Midcentury" be a Period genre 50 years from now? The Speilbergian 80s? The Roaring 20s? Depression West? What say you?
It's hard to say but when I think of The 20th Century, I think of The Cold War Period or, to narrow it down further, when TV was common but the Internet wasn't and one income could support a typical family. So, I'd say the 1950s to 1980s. But pop-culture and social mores changed a lot during those decades. If I had to pick one, I'd go with the 1960s. Change is happening but you also have how things were with how they were about to become. The 1990s and Early-2000s are more like a Transitional Period from the 20th Century to the 21st. If I had to narrow that down, I'd say from when the Internet started to become common until the rise of Social Media and Web 2.0. So, I'd say from about 1996 to 2005 is The Turn of the Millennium. If you want "modern" social mores but not the "modern" Internet and 21st Century tech, I think the 1980s are a good compromise. Not Mad Men but also not Today. From about 2006 on, it's too early to say what will stand out. 2016 will stand out, that's for sure. I don't think there'll be any one 20th Century. People will pick and choose, when looking back, depending on what they're looking for or are interested in.