Issue 003: The retrograde age of nostalg-ugh

Cultural Currents by The Akin

A lot of what I am reading about concerns the great dissolution of contemporary culture—the enshitification, as you will. After reflection, could nostalgia be the significant culprit here? 

TLDR this month:

• What is nostalgia?

• Why people turn to it.

• The problems with it.

• The people shaping it.

• How brands are using it.

• Why it might be time to stop.

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Our pervasive and powerful obsession with nostalgia is defining the current cultural landscape. We are stuck. We live in a postmodern bricolage, where the internet dissolves time and space.

“You could argue that when the culture became knowing, it signed its own death because it became stuck. You’re constantly Meta-ing. Really, what Meta is about is nostalgia. It’s a posh word for nostalgia. Nostalgia is history altered through sentiment…Society has become so dependent on ideas from the past we are completely unable to envision a time when things are better…” Adam Curtis.

We collectively find ourselves caught in a captivating dance with the past as we navigate the intricate interplay between cherished memories and a desire for modern innovation. We have reached a paradoxical combination of speed and standstill. From the resurgence of vintage fashion, interiors, and food to the revival of retro video games, the allure of bygone eras has seeped into every facet of our lives, redefining how brands connect with their audiences.

Have we reached a tipping point? Could our culture's yearning for nostalgia impede its capacity to move forward? Perhaps our fondness for the past is a consequence of our culture's stagnation, leading us to revere more eventful and progressive eras. Where are the significant or new genres of subcultures of the twenty-first century?

‘The funny thing about our time is that it is all times, all eras at once. Something about our time makes you wish you lived in another one.’ Glenn O’Brien

Nostalgia has evolved from a mere sentiment into a powerful cultural force, weaving into the fabric of our daily lives. In contemporary culture, the trope of nostalgia has surged to the forefront of creative expression, permeating fashion, media, and music. 

The theorist Gilles Lipovestky says, “We live in a paradoxical present that ceaselessly exhumes and rediscovers the past.”

Our fetishization of nostalgia isn’t a post-pandemic thing.

Nostalgia is a complex and multifaceted emotion that various stimuli can trigger. It doesn't always require direct personal experience. It often revolves around the emotional resonance of a particular time or cultural context, regardless of whether one lived through it.

Often, a period is revived as people are amused or charmed by it - it grants things a new status value. As negative associations fade, trends are primed for a comeback. Once a convention is removed from circulation and no longer associated with present-day ‘adopters,’ it can be resurrected - this has now shortened to a 10/15-year cycle. 

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What is contributing to our current nostalgic cycle:

• Youth culture