What Is…Nostalgia

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of “nostalgia” is as follows:

nos·​tal·​gia | \ nä-ˈstal-jə  , nə- also nȯ-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl- \

Definition of nostalgia

1: a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition also : something that evokes nostalgia

2: the state of being homesick

When the trailer for Jurassic World: Dominion came out earlier this year, a wave of nostalgia washed over me, and I couldn’t wait to see it. I’m not really a huge fan of the franchise except for the very first one, Jurassic Park, so I surprised myself with my eagerness to see the most recent take on dinosaurs run amok in our time and place.

But seeing those dinosaurs bound across the screen took me back to that very first time we all saw dinosaurs bound across the screen. I remembered the awe of how real they looked. And there’s Laura Dern! and Sam Neill! and Jeff Goldblum! together again.

And then I saw the movie. And I couldn’t have been more disappointed. The dinosaurs were still dinosaurs. Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum had very little to do in the movie – it’s not their fault, they’re all good actors who weren’t given good material. And the story, well, honestly, I barely remember the story and I don’t really care.

So much for nostalgia.

And then I watched Stranger Things Season 4 and that wave of nostalgia returned. The 80s! The 80s music (that Kate Bush song)! The adventure! A group of teenagers and young adults saving the world (Nancy is a badass)! Amazing VFX, a lot terrifying (reminded me of A Nightmare on Elm Street), a little bit of humor, and, of course, the queen of Gen X herself, Winona Ryder. Even when I got frustrated with the story (that 2 ½ hour last episode could’ve used a touch of editing), I still loved watching it. Why?

The nostalgia.

Let me be clear: You could not pay me a million dollars to go back to being a teenager or back to the 80s or back to being a teenager in the 80s. I wasn’t the happiest of 80s teens – I was on the nerdy side. And nerds were not actually considered cool in the 80s - that came later when nerds from the 80s grew up and started writing shows that became cool. But my escape at that time was the movies. All of those 80s movies that had friends on an adventure, saving their town or their world. Movies that were a little scary, a little funny, and a lot cheesy. Movies that were testing out the latest VFX and gave us the first almost photo-real dinosaurs.  

My nostalgia is for the movies that helped me escape whatever I didn’t love about being a teen in the actual 80s. So, of course I’d prefer Stranger Things to Jurassic World: Dominion. Jurassic World: Dominion tried to give us a contemporary story without actually acknowledging the nostalgia of that very first movie, while Stranger Things gave us an original story but with all of those nostalgic 80s vibes.

What is nostalgia, then? Nostalgia is an escape, just like a good story. It takes you away from the moment you’re in and lets you enjoy another time and place for a while. Maybe it’s the house you grew up in, or the meals your mom used to cook, or playing soccer with your friends in the park. Nostalgia is, ultimately, a personal thing.

So, if you need an escape today, indulge in a little nostalgia or a good, cheesy 80s movie. But don’t get too carried away. You still have a lot for you in the here and now.

Ask yourself what nostalgia means for you and…

Stay Curious.