Why is looking back so popular in 2013, when we’re supposedly living in the future? When I’m feeling more cynical I think that it’s because the past was a time when the illusion of monoculture was stronger—when Bruce Springsteen’s lament that there was nothing on the 57 channels he was presented with seemed absurd on its face, since 57 was a far cry from the 10 or 15 that had been available to televisions not many years prior. [...]