I think the only thing I don't agree with you on is your dislike for nostalgia, otherwise you're one of my favorite internet critters. Ironically, I think one of the reasons I find so much joy in your posts is because you remind me of how one of my childhood friends was. Why the hatred for nostalgia?
I don't hate reminiscing on old things, I just dislike the usage of Nostalgia as this quick, cheap tool in invoking an emotional response out of someone. I don't like how 99% of the world uses nostalgia - they treat it as a novel, disposable little referential device, or as an aesthetic veneer to mask a poorly-executed creative work.
Your melodies aren't any less shallow just because you learned what tape distortion and pitch warble is. Your TV show isn't any less poorly written just because you've dressed it up in an 80s theme. Your movie isn't good merely because it references an older movie I actually have a fondness for.
And yet it works on people, time and time again, they fall for this cheap party trick. It reaps your sentimentality and leaves you a bloodless husk that can't discern the real feeling from the manufactured. When done so lazily, it becomes akin to emotional manipulation.
Nostalgia has become such a common creative tool, it begs the question how novel the concept truly is anymore and what value it has in our community and culture in general. Nostalgia is a tool that should be used to inspire and iterate upon, not to wallow in.
Our fondness for things shouldn't be anchored to the past, lest we give up on the prospects of a future where something new and beautiful appears before us. I see people trapped in their own memories and it saddens me, because it means they've given up on the concept of experience. It's a false comfort to believe that the ghosts of the past can bring you happiness in your future.
jbbartram-illu
andulkaphoto
annaxmalina
yousharknotpass
turnnoffyourmind
kaledo-art
