Hey, Remember Nostalgia?

Photo by kafka4prez

Let's talk about nostalgia.

Nostalgia comes from the Greek word nostos, which means "returning home." We use it today as a way to describe a yearning for the past, an idealization of what was. More often than not, we get nostalgic about our childhoods, and the things we associate it with it. Any time you have a conversation with your friends that goes "Hey, remember ___?" chances are, that's nostalgia.

We all have nostalgic memories. I refuse to throw out the many POGS I have stored away for that reason. They're useless, but I still have an emotional tie with them that I can't fully explain. We all remember the cartoon shows we watched as children (Transformers, Smurfs, Rugrats, Scooby Doo, etc.) and pity today's youngsters for not having the entertainment that we did.

But I also see nostalgia as dangerous. It is, after all, an idealization of the past, and that's the part people forget. Ideals and reality are not always compatible. Many of my friends talk about the old Transformers cartoon as if it were some golden standard. Looking back on it, it was really just a crappy cartoon show hastily put together to sell toys. If it were a new show now, we all would look down our nose at it as garbage. But because it is a part of our childhoods, it's given a free pass.

This is problematic because it impairs our judgment. Instead of making decisions based on what is actually in front of us, and taking into account that things (ourselves included) can change, we start making decisions based on a preconceived notion that may or may not hold up. On the trivial end of the spectrum, it causes people to think the Star Wars prequels are good, even though, if their association with Star Wars were removed and they were merely another sci-fi epic, I guarantee they would be universally panned. But because they ARE associated with the original trilogy, and because people do not want to admit that something born of something held in such high regard could be bad, they are defended as being part of a greater picture. They may not be as good as the originals, some say, but it's still Star Wars. It's a flawed logic, and it is akin to playing pretend. (The same can be said of the last 10 or so seasons of The Simpsons for those who think im picking on Star Wars fans)

Now, like I said, that is a pretty trivial example. Whether or not nostalgia effects the entertainment we consume is a rather inconsequential point. But this same principle, idealizing the past at the expense of the present and future, can also have more problematic effects. Think of the high school hot, perhaps the star quarterback or other some such example, who never really moves on from his hometown. He still hangs around the high school, buys beer for the younger kids, etc. His inability to move on from his past leaves him stuck, unable to grow or evolve. He is resistant to the idea of change. As time goes on, his position becomes sadder and more pitiful.

Or think about politicians (or anyone, really) who talks about a desire to go back to the way things were, a more innocent time when father knew best and what not. For all the innocence and simplicity they yearn for, they also gloss over the fact that racism was much worse back then, and women were still viewed as largely inferior to men, their place at home in the kitchen. That's the biggest problem with nostalgia; it emphasizes the good while neglecting or ignoring the bad.

We all have moments of nostalgia. But it's important to keep an eye forward even when remembering the past. Otherwise, you end up so focused on what was that you become unable to cope with what is. The animated show The Venture Bros. deals with this theme quite nicely. Just about every character in it lives in the shadow of some idealistic version of the past, and are miserable because they're present lives don't seem to measure up to the promises of yesterday. They cling to their former lives, and in doing so are incapable of making the kinds of changes that could improve their current disposition.

This isn't to say that we should just forget the memories of our past. It just means we need to be careful of just how much stock we put in them. I recently came across an old VHS copy of the movie 3 Ninjas. As a kid, I watched it hundreds of times, thinking it was the greatest thing ever. Rewatching it now, it's a remarkably stupid movie. That doesn't mean I can't think back to a time I thought it was great, and remember the joy it gave me. But I'm also not going to try and defend it as some kind of masterpiece simply because I liked it way back when. I've grown up, my tastes have changed. Part of me will always like it in some capacity; there is nothing wrong with having a soft spot for the things you enjoyed in your past. But we do need to be mindful that our soft spot isn't clouding our judgment of the present. After all, there is always so much more that is yet to be explored than there are things already experienced.