Why does UFO/AI aesthetic always look cheap next to gothic?

[Chouchou 522]

I don’t know why, but every time I see a UFO, space, or AI concept, it always feels kind of “cheap” to me—like it lacks depth.
On the other hand, dark and gothic concepts always feel richer, more layered, and more captivating.
Maybe it’s just personal taste, curious if anyone else feels the same?

 

[River 117,594]

Lack of budget 

[faysalaaa 4,713]

I think alot of artists use futuristic themes as an easy gimmick, because they dont have a real artistic vision. They always end up using the basic ideas around futuristic themes like silver and spaceships, so they all end up looking the same and cheap. But alot of real artists use futuristic themes based on their own artistic vision, and it looks expensive.

 

[Roughhouse Dandy 11,632]

I think there's a level of objectivity to your observation. A lot of modern space-age and tech aesthetics focus on sleekness and minimalism with colors that don't add much depth. 

Gothic aesthetic's reliance on a limited color palette without the minimalism means you can add layers to keep it from looking shallow. Plus, ornamentation is a major pillar of gothic style so you're usually gonna be presented with more to look at than shiny metal surfaces. 

[ALGAYDO 32,753]

Fun 

[nATAH 50,078]

any examples?

[faysalaaa 4,713]

4 minutes ago, nATAH said:

any examples?

Any Katy Perry tour? or Ava Max?

[Gagaism 11,939]

I feel like, for a first impression, there’s nothing as gothic as to think about you being on a “dark” space full of “nothing”, which seems to be, supposedly, the way we would feel like being out there. 
At the end of the day, it’s just like the “life after death” or everything else we can’t actually do experience, talk about or describe with certainty, but will still get us so curious about, and that’s probably why we get caught in so many questions.
The cheapness aspect of it probably comes from the movies we are used to watch through the generations lol 

[nATAH 50,078]

18 minutes ago, faysalaaa said:

Any Katy Perry tour? or Ava Max?

bold of you to assume i've willingly seen footage of those tours

[Sorcerer 12,508]

It's because many space/alien aesthetics have already been used for intentionally campy stuff. Think of Ariana's "Break Free" or Britney's "Oops, I Did It Again." They are memorable music videos, but they are never THAT serious.

You can make space aesthetic serious like "Blade Runner" or the "Alien" franchise, but that doesn't work for pop music.

This is why I'm glad Gaga dropped the galaxy aesthetic for The Chromatica Ball. The darker, edgier visuals made it more thematically impactful. We all know what went with Enigma.

[hELXIG 43,098]

Dark and gothic themes are connected to strong human emotions that connect us. They feel passionate and evocative. Whereas UFO/alien themes generally rely on overused sci-fi tropes that make it feel sometimes.. weak, overdone, unoriginal, cheap, uninteresting, childish. It's hard to get that stuff right in a way that triggers anything powerful in us as viewers. AI slop is obviously just an uninspired reflection of past art that our brains can detect. If the latter themes are done in totally unique, original, interesting ways it could work but it's hard to pull off