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Originally posted by Paradox Lost I look at it as being part and parcel of this larger 'cult of nostalgia' that SYSTEM-J alluded to earlier, which tends to be characterized by this semi-facetious, semi-genuine nostalgic appreciation for certain aspects of popular culture essentially associated with their childhood. "Hey, remember Labyriiiiyeahhhh, that shit was awesome- those were the days!," is the conversational representation of what I'm talking about. Replace Labyrinth with The Never Ending Story, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or JEM, and you've managed to replicate precisely the same conversation, and possibly the same theme party later that night.

I don't think that is really nostalgia, though. It's another example of "ironic" re-appropriation of kitschy, cheesy elements of another decade, something that has really blown up these past ten years or so. But I guess there might be a slight tinge of nostalgia to it, something like, "I wish I could still enjoy such movies on a primary, non-"meta" level, without any ironic distancing." Although I'm not sure how many people think it through to that level. They may just be having a good time poking fun at the '80s.

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Originally posted by Maige Hahah, holy shit are you high right now?

No but you are, Lexapro !!!

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I posted a pedantic one liner about your spelling of Maher's name. Then I replied to someone else and you randomly quoted me and kept talking about Bill Maher like it had anything to do with what I said to Paradox Lost. I'll repeat Maige's question: are you high?

I knew you were getting at the misspelling of Mahers names, that is why I said "Go enjoy your cake"

Sarcasm is a 2 way street.

My bad for not realizing you were already on another topic.

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Your number 8 with black lines around your eyes, shades to hide your habits. I don't know your age but you guessed mine, my sign, your sign. The opening line is always just the same, the same intentions...destinations, just you and me and rainbows.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Excession is in my sig, but my hosting is gone so the other two are no longer online.

Well reup them already as I didn't know anything about them. I'm posiitve someone on here has a bit of hosting space they can lend you if you don't

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Originally posted by DJ RANN Well reup them already as I didn't know anything about them. I'm posiitve someone on here has a bit of hosting space they can lend you if you don't

I'm uploading them now. They'll be done in about 40 mins.

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Originally posted by Sushipunk I'm uploading them now. They'll be done in about 40 mins.

you are the man. THANKS!!!

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I don't think that is really nostalgia, though. It's another example of "ironic" re-appropriation of kitschy, cheesy elements of another decade, something that has really blown up these past ten years or so. But I guess there might be a slight tinge of nostalgia to it, something like, "I wish I could still enjoy such movies on a primary, non-"meta" level, without any ironic distancing." Although I'm not sure how many people think it through to that level. They may just be having a good time poking fun at the '80s.

I've been inclined to view it as an amalgam of both. As you mentioned, taking light hearted jabs at 80's bombastic ridiculousness is something that has received a greatly enthusiastic reception in the past several years, but that's just a component of the nostalgic perspective I'm referring to. A yearning or longing to re-experience the past is not at all an essential condition for nostalgia (at least, according to my understanding of it, and you're free to correct me in the event that I'm incorrect); it's the mere act of deriving some sense of pleasure through an active reflection of a period of time in your life that has since drawn to a close, or at least through a reflection of specific elements linked with that period of time.

The cultural current I'm talking about is certainly taking a playfully comical angle towards the absurdities of the 80's, but it nevertheless has a fondly reminiscent 'those were the days' connotation assigned to it- which as far as I'm concerned, makes it nostalgic. Considering the subject matter that's commonly discussed, it's no surprise, then, that this current is populated largely by mid to late twenty-somethings. These are the same people who are responsible for having completely devalued the word 'awesome,' by the way.

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Last edited by Paradox Lost on Jun-19-2010 at 22:54

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I don't think that is really nostalgia, though. It's another example of "ironic" re-appropriation of kitschy, cheesy elements of another decade, something that has really blown up these past ten years or so. But I guess there might be a slight tinge of nostalgia to it, something like, "I wish I could still enjoy such movies on a primary, non-"meta" level, without any ironic distancing." Although I'm not sure how many people think it through to that level. They may just be having a good time poking fun at the '80s.

I think it's much simpler than that. These people don't really "ironically" love these things. They just love them. The irony is self-protective, like when someone feels self-aware on a dancefloor so they ironically dance. It's not that they're "poking fun" at the occasion, it's just irony is a method for people to disown something should it become problematic.

They may be aware that the 80s trash culture in question is tacky and tasteless, hence the protective irony, but it gives them that warm nostalgia of an idealised past just on the edge of memory.

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Originally posted by Paradox Lost A yearning or longing to re-experience the past is not at all an essential condition for nostalgia (at least, according to my understanding of it, and you're free to correct me in the event that I'm incorrect); it's the mere act of deriving some sense of pleasure through an active reflection of a period of time in your life that has since drawn to a close, or at least through a reflection of specific elements linked with that period of time.

I think it is an essential element. Or at least, the yearning to experience similar feelings to the ones you imagine having had in the past, if not the actual past events themselves.

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The cultural current I'm talking about is certainly taking a playfully comical angle towards the absurdities of the 80's, but it nevertheless has a fondly reminiscent 'those were the days' connotation assigned to it- which as far as I'm concerned, makes it nostalgic.

Hmm, maybe. I think there is a feeling that the '80s were more "innocent" in some way, perhaps less corroded by self-awareness and self-censoring, and people wish for that much at least.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I think it's much simpler than that. These people don't really "ironically" love these things. They just love them. The irony is self-protective, like when someone feels self-aware on a dancefloor so they ironically dance. It's not that they're "poking fun" at the occasion, it's just irony is a method for people to disown something should it become problematic.

I don't think they really do, though. At the very least, I don't think they view the movies in anything like the light they did when they first saw them. Otherwise we have to posit that, for example, people our age take Bastian's struggles in the Neverending Story as seriously as they did when they were six or seven years old. That seems more than a bit far-fetched to me. If they "love" the movies at all, they love them for the unintentional humor of the cheesy dialogue and chintzy special effects, not for their drama or artistic merit.

Yes, these retrospective angles are more multi-faceted than the spin I'm putting on them would suggest. I'm still not sold on the idea that a yearning to re-experience a particular set of emotions is an intrinsic component of nostalgia, though even so, and when taking this all into account, it's rather apparent to me that the perspectives I've been discussing fit appropriately and meaningfully into the idea of nostalgia in its most basic sense.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I don't think they really do, though. At the very least, I don't think they view the movies in anything like the light they did when they first saw them. Otherwise we have to posit that, for example, people our age take Bastian's struggles in the Neverending Story as seriously as they did when they were six or seven years old. That seems more than a bit far-fetched to me. If they "love" the movies at all, they love them for the unintentional humor of the cheesy dialogue and chintzy special effects, not for their drama or artistic merit.

You're certainly correct to point out that one doesn't necessarily love something for the same set of reasons now as they did when they were younger, though I would have to disagree that the nature of this 'developed' love exists by virtue of aspects such as cheesy dialogue and special effects, or dichotomizing in such a way so as to contrast it between loving it for inadvertent silliness or its dramatic and artistic qualities.

I still love Nevereding Story, though in a way that's more contextually relevant towards who I am now relative to the function it had during my upbringing, despite being fully cognizant of the overly sentimental ridiculousness that either evaded me when I was younger, or was conditioned to accept. I'm fairly confident that many others appreciate similar films for similarly holistic reasons.

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Last edited by Paradox Lost on Jun-19-2010 at 23:32