Programmer Tastes fluctuate around while society recalls older tastes from movies/sitcoms/books; the net result is a passive positive-reinforcement feedback loop from prior art. Psychology has an entire branch studying these sorts of reality -> views -> reality -> views effect chains.

I'm convinced the brutalist, utilitarian designs originate with those of us who spend the most time close to their machines and originate from the needs of the _system_ before the needs of the _users_. As you move closer to end users there'll be more visual flair and ergonomic attention will move from favoring system ergonomics to favoring human ergonomics.