In retrospect, was that something even any good? Maybe. In a lot of cases, probably not. But it can be hard to recognize that through the nostalgia. All you can recall are the good memories and feelings you have associated with that something, and all the flaws and negative aspects simply sink underneath it all.
What causes that? It's even harder to judge that. The place we were in our life when we saw it for the first time. The way we thought, or thought that we thought. The knowledge we didn't or didn't have that made that show enjoyable. Something about it that reached into our hearts and minds and touched us, and left an etching on us for the rest of eternity that can never be washed away.
As a writer, regardless of what for, you want to be able to tap into that magical something and use it to your own advantage. To make something that can touch someone and last with them forever, make an impact on their life in some way that helps them to grow and move forward as people. And I've met people who intentionally try to aim towards that goal, trying to make something that will be nostalgic for people, and they inevitably fail.
Some people think that there's some magic trick to tapping into the nostalgic part of a person's brain. And maybe there is. But if you ask me, the more you try to reach that part of the brain, the less you're going to reach it. Making something that becomes nostalgic for people isn't something that you do intentionally. If you hit the right target audience at the right time under the right circumstances, than maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to do it.
But you have to do it well. Even if it's only doing that thing well for the time. Maybe in the future, new things will be invented or discovered or modified that makes whatever you did irrelevant, or seem poor in comparison. But that's ok. Because even if no one ever acknowledges it, that thing that you did helped to pave the path forward for the new innovations that followed it, because you inspired people to do better.
So in my opinion, even if nostalgia clouds people's visions of the past and makes it hard for them to critically think about the things that have come before, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Those nostalgia goggles makes people want to tap into the magic of their childhood and recreate that feeling of happiness and wonder, and they might be able to succeed in doing so for another generation. And in turn, those people will go on to be touched and want to touch others, and they will perpetuate a cycle of happiness and curiosity and good will. I say, don't try to make something nostalgic. Try to make something good, and it will become nostalgic. Look to your own nostalgia for inspiration. Look all around you at the things that make you happy, and you will find the ways to move that onto your own work, whatever it may be.
Nostalgia may make us blind to the mistakes of the past. But a lot of things will. So instead of trying to eliminate it, just push forward and do everything in your power to make someone else blind.
That sounded way better in my head.
As a writer, regardless of what for, you want to be able to tap into that magical something and use it to your own advantage. To make something that can touch someone and last with them forever, make an impact on their life in some way that helps them to grow and move forward as people. And I've met people who intentionally try to aim towards that goal, trying to make something that will be nostalgic for people, and they inevitably fail.
Some people think that there's some magic trick to tapping into the nostalgic part of a person's brain. And maybe there is. But if you ask me, the more you try to reach that part of the brain, the less you're going to reach it. Making something that becomes nostalgic for people isn't something that you do intentionally. If you hit the right target audience at the right time under the right circumstances, than maybe, just maybe, you'll be able to do it.
But you have to do it well. Even if it's only doing that thing well for the time. Maybe in the future, new things will be invented or discovered or modified that makes whatever you did irrelevant, or seem poor in comparison. But that's ok. Because even if no one ever acknowledges it, that thing that you did helped to pave the path forward for the new innovations that followed it, because you inspired people to do better.
So in my opinion, even if nostalgia clouds people's visions of the past and makes it hard for them to critically think about the things that have come before, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Those nostalgia goggles makes people want to tap into the magic of their childhood and recreate that feeling of happiness and wonder, and they might be able to succeed in doing so for another generation. And in turn, those people will go on to be touched and want to touch others, and they will perpetuate a cycle of happiness and curiosity and good will. I say, don't try to make something nostalgic. Try to make something good, and it will become nostalgic. Look to your own nostalgia for inspiration. Look all around you at the things that make you happy, and you will find the ways to move that onto your own work, whatever it may be.
Nostalgia may make us blind to the mistakes of the past. But a lot of things will. So instead of trying to eliminate it, just push forward and do everything in your power to make someone else blind.
That sounded way better in my head.
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