'New Age' defines a constellation of beliefs that peaked in popularity in the
60s and
70s. Expect lots of
crystal power,
psychic dolphins,
Atlantis,
pyramids,
good vibes,
reincarnation,
quantum consciousness and, above all, the
Age of Aquarius, the funkiest, highest-vibration-in-the-spectrum Age of them all!
Enemy of all that is bogus, mechanoid or square, friend to the chilled-out and open minded.
Rarely depicted without tongue firmly in cheek in actual Aquarian Age media.
See also
New Age Retro Hippie,
Granola Girl, and the
useful notes page.
Examples
Anime and Manga
- Sousei No Aquarion.
- Also most of the more fantastic mechs from the Super Robot Wars mythos, most notably Cybuster & family, though in this case the New Age ethos of the plot is much more restrained.
Film
- The... erm, "educational" film Unarius: The Arrival.
- If you liked the film, you'll looooove the real-life (in a manner of speaking) Academy.
- The 1988 film adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Nightfall. Asimov distanced himself from this movie as much as possible.
- The horrible mangling of quantum physics that is What the #$*! Do We Know!?.
Literature
Live-Action TV
- Enlightened features quite a lot of New Age thinking, as the lead character has used New Age philosophies as a way of rebuilding her life after a breakdown.
Theatre
Video Games
- The Atlantis video games.
- Serenia in Myst IV.
- Ecco The Dolphin.
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders is an unusual case. Although the game in its final form does poke a great deal of fun at New Age culture in general, designer David Fox originally intended the game to be much more serious in tone - in a brainstorming session, Ron Gilbert convinced him to go for the wackier atmosphere.
Western Animation
