Reflection: Nostalgia is not Such a Bad Thing!

I suppose writing this particular post to the "Silver Bloggers" community only makes sense... as I'm noodling around the concept of nostalgia, or that sort of longing for things that once were, that most of us experience, from time to time.

I came across an interesting observation, made as part of the commentary in a documentary about Nostalgia and the Synthwave band "The Midnight."

In case you don't known them, The Midnight is actually a contemporary band, but their mastery at capturing "that certain sound" of the 1980's is beyond compare. In fact, they sometimes "sound more 80s" than the 80's, themselves.

One of the interesting points made was that people who feel nostalgic are typically happier than those who don't... and often by quite a wide margin. I guess I should find that encouraging, given that I am prone to quite a lot of nostalgia!

The interesting thing here is that "80's nostalgia" isn't necessarily just about people who actually grew up in the 80's. As someone who did spend their youth in the 80's, I'm not sure what's so special about that particular decade... at least not on the surface.

On a different and deeper level... it was the time of the birth of personal technology. It wasn't that technology hadn't been around before, but thanks to microchips it became personal, from computers, to Walkmans, to the earliest of the Internet, to the Space Shuttles and far beyond. Not sure that huge hair, shoulder pads and "all things shaped like a triangle" was anything special...

But that also misses the point, to some degree. Nostalgia is about how people feel/felt about/during an era, not just about a tangible historical inventory of the things we used and did.

On a personal level, I'm sad to say that the 1980's — in many ways — represent the last time I felt truly hopeful. Hopeful, as in a general state of mind, rather than just a few minutes here and there.

It seemed like at least the possibility of a brighter and better future hung in the air... but somehow it fizzled out. In thinking about that, the end point of that hope came with the start of the first Gulf War in August 1990. At least for me, it was.

I've previously mentioned the Japanese concept of "mono no aware," which is impossible to translate, but essentially speaks to that slight sadness ar the passing of moments in time that will never be again... from the fleeting beauty of a magnificent sunset to the realization that our children are no longer "small," and never will be, again.

In some sense, nostalgia activates our reflective feelings.

And so does music, especially when it represents "the sound of an era."

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!

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Created at 2024-01-19 00:52 PST
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