zeitgeist

Zeitgeist (say TSITE-guyst) is the mood and spirit of a particular time: what everybody is talking about, wearing, worried about, laughing at. It is German: Zeit, time, and Geist, spirit. When something captures the zeitgeist, it shows exactly how that moment feels. You rarely see your own zeitgeist clearly; it is easier looking back. In the animation, a wind of cassettes, coins and app icons blows past a walking man.