Making sense of nostalgia

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(via)

The other day, when discussing brand communication, we noted how nostalgia was such a broad platform that it would appeal to almost everyone.One moment you’re in the present, and sometimes, even without the slightest provocation, you’re off with a reconstruction of events that transpired. For instance, just a week before that, when I learnt that Kammatti Paadam was releasing, a lot of my excitement was because it was set in Kochi from the 1970’s onwards. Until 2003, that’s pretty much my life. Before and after I watched the movie, quite a few hours were spent recollecting my life in my hometown across a couple of decades. 

When I recall many life situations from the past with a nostalgia tint, a part of me also behaves like a little rebel and claims that it wasn’t really the best of times. But that voice is quickly silenced. So, what exactly is the magic of nostalgia? I had a few ideas, all around certainty.

Is it the certainty of knowing what came after that forms this appeal? While my dreams at 22 may or may not have been fulfilled, I am now in a reasonably good place. Is that what creates a fondness even for the not-so-great times, knowing that it had all turned out okay later? We live in an uncertain world, and therefore will lap up anything that promises even a modicum of certainty – God/faith, nation states, money, a known boss, a favourite restaurant, and so on.

Or maybe it’s the other way. There’s a certainty that the past provides – it cannot change. Even if our memory creates a different reconstruction, we are not likely to notice it. Or maybe it is the exact opposite – memories are personal, and in my own mind I have the freedom to reshape the stories to make it pleasant forever irrespective of what transpired. It is a fantastic escape from the present.

I also wondered, does it work the same way for those who have come down in the world? At first I thought not, because remembering a better time would bring pain. But then I thought, maybe they need it even more, that’s what gives them hope. Maybe nostalgia is also an evolutionary tool – a way for the mind to terms with the past so that it can be hopeful of the future. Is that a good thing? I don’t know.