Document Type
Research Paper
Publication Date
9-8-2023
Abstract
Over the past several decades, there has been a growing trend of nostalgia in popular culture, with the number of remakes, reboots, and revivals of classic films, television shows, and music at an all-time high. Dozens of old TV shows have also been rebooted in the past few years, old movies are being remade, much of the music that’s been released lately has been engineered to sound like it came from the past, and a subset of recent video games either build upon old games (like Pokémon GO), or are made to look and feel like old games (like Flappy Bird). This trend has led some scholars to debate whether nostalgia is a positive, or negative, force in popular culture. Specifically, they want to know: is nostalgia a source of creativity and inspiration? Or, is our increasing reliance on nostalgia the sign of a dying culture that’s stuck in the past? I will argue that nostalgic content, when presented in fresh, new ways, can be innovative and creative.
Recommended Citation
Clawsie, Ethan, "Nostalgia's Complicated Role in Contemporary Pop Culture" (2023). Pop Culture Intersections. 57.
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/57
Included in
American Popular Culture Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, Nonfiction Commons