Comments on: Repurposing Nostalgia

By: Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:46:08 +0000

Ah, I see, as in The Culture of.... It seems to me that for as many highlights one can list, people these days tend to dismiss the idea that "The past was oh, sooo much better than today." And those who don't end up trapped in recursive thought loops, as was joked about in a recent interview with John Hodgman on the WTF podcast w/Marc Maron, "You know what isn't as good as it used to be? Nostalgia."

By: John E. O. Stevens

John E. O. Stevens — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:30:38 +0000

I’m thinking obliquely about Lasch’s idea of it, nostalgia as narcissistic reflection. Memory is refracted to buttress one’s identity in the present. Rather than reliving a memory or refashioning it to discover the creative potential of its qualities, the nostalgia is all about making one’s identity more grand or powerful (in a very broad sense of the term).

By: Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:27:27 +0000

With age comes wisdom, etc., not to mention an understanding that the present is certainly full of its own baggage.

By: Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:24:29 +0000

How ’bout, IT’S ALL INTELLECTUAL DOUBLESPEAK and I DON’T UNDERSTAND ~~ENGLISH~~ A SINGLE WORD!!!

I actually hadn’t explicitly thought along the line of creative rethinking vs. narcissism. I’m curious. By narcissism, in this case, you mean…?

By: Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:11:52 +0000

Thanks, Paul!!

By: John Wiswell

John Wiswell — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:15:49 +0000

I guess I’m part of Generation X, and have seldom really wanted to revisit old times. I’m interested in studying them, and recollecting over certain parts, but I spent most of my life in acute chronic pain and with medical disasters. Would I like to resume an element of my youth, like not having to pay bills? Sure, but otherwise I find myself more possessed of the ability to let go of past grudges and issues, and am perhaps too interested in the present. The future would be healthier. I’m sure Serling would bruise my psyche, too, if he had the opportunity.

By: John E. O. Stevens

John E. O. Stevens — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:14:21 +0000

THERE ARE TOO MANY BIG WORDS IN THIS POST.

No, not really. But I figured I’d get it out there so that maybe others won’t make that remark.

I think that rebooting and mashing-up are as old as culture in terms of intent, although the practices vary widely. What makes the 21st-century US zeitgeist so interesting is that we can draw from deep archives of both the past and the present and have all sorts of SFnal tools to remake the past into visions in the moment. Our nostalgia is vast and its sources are generally accessible, and it is encouraged culturally. Re-imagining the past may be a necessary cognitive task, actually. But I like your idea of trying to talk about how the geeking-out works and how we generate it. I am curious to see how you handle the line between creative rethinking and narcissism.

I look forward to seeing where you go with this.

By: Paul (@princejvstin)

Paul (@princejvstin) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 15:47:23 +0000

Welcome to the team, Don!