How’s that for an unprovocative blog title to ward off curious job recruiters? Joking aside, I’ve been trying to analyze this particular mindset I’ve had for years. Freshman year of college, I thought I was cleverly self aware enough to have figured it out, but recently I have accepted there’s a lot more to it than I previously thought.
So what the hell am I going on about? Well I’ve only described it as a nostalgia for a time or thing I never was around to even experience during its initial realization. I’ve been told by friends that I’m a hipster and “a boomer with motor skills”.
Why the hell do I like old things so much? Why do I find it so much more interesting than what we have today? Is it my economic or social status? Is it family or environmental influence?
I once wrote a self reflection of myself in a creative writing course freshman year of college. I thought my nostalgic grip for classic cars and old music was some heartfelt way of longing for a past that I thought was better than my own. That maybe perhaps the teenagers and young adults of yesterday had it better than I did. Would driving a classic car make me forget about my daddy issues and broken lower middle class home? That was foolish, I thought. Then I perhaps thought my love for the old was a manifestation of my own fear for the future. I didn’t know where the future was taking me at the time, and perhaps it terrified me deeper than any religious deity or death itself. The only thing more terrifying than dying is spending your entire life wasted in mediocrity.
The problem in that line of thinking is that I enjoy so much about what today’s world has to offer, and even on my worst days, I can’t help but keep a glimmer of hope and determination. How could I be clinging to a false sense of security in the past, if I constantly strive for a future I want? I’ve learned in the past few years that time continues on, regardless of whether you are ready to step forward, so you may as well take it with stride.
Recently I’ve kind of come to terms with who I am, and what I’ve always liked. I don’t always think older is better. I appreciate the medical, safety, and ecologically friendly advancements we’ve made over the course of just my life. Hell, I lived through the major transition to flat screen televisions and smart phones. I really don’t miss an old massive low quality tube TV being our main form of watching entertainment. Although I admittedly own an old broadcasting monitor from the local news station for better quality retro gaming haha.
The point I’m trying to lead my rambling to, is that experiences and designs don’t have to be lost forever. Wanting to purposefully seek out those older things doesn’t make you a hipster or small minded, but I’d like to cautiously point out, that ignoring societal advancements and progressions at the expense of others for your own nostalgic nonsense isn’t what I’m talking about.
You can have a laserdisc player, and watch a special edition of Indiana Jones, because you want to see what the technology was like. Perhaps you just enjoy the weird physical media format it came on, or love collecting Indiana Jones stuff. Maybe you respect the historical significance that particular media format has for later advancements.
My obsession with classic cars stems from my love of history and design. I love what an older vehicle represents as a particular place and time in the automotive world. I like to think what that auto manufacturer was doing at the time, and how the social climate was. It makes me appreciate how far we have come. I also just appreciate the design of older vehicles a lot more than today. I know the safety and aerodynamics of such vehicles may have been lacking, but the designs of some of these vehicles are a special piece of art. I don’t mean to like my old 1977 Ford Thunderbird’s looks over any new Ford being produced today, but I just DO. It speaks to me in the same way any other piece of art or history fascinates someone.
I think that understanding older “retro” things helps us grasp the present, and better prepare for the future. I’ve watched sitcoms, cartoons, dramas, movies, and documentaries from every decade since film has been invented. There is a universal human condition that carries on throughout each decade. Feelings and thoughts from one generation aren’t as unique as people may think. Every generation shares similar issues, whether it be societal or personal. Why doesn’t this person like me? Why did I give up my dreams? why is there prejudice?
All of those are universal human questions captured in the past through what we have left of it. Each recording, product, and piece of literature holds the answers we ask every damn generation. They always say history is doomed to repeat itself, and the biggest reason is society’s refusal to understand or appreciate the past. And no, I don’t mean those morons who fly confederate flags are on to something. Perhaps “appreciate” can be misunderstood. I think respect is a better word. Respect the fact that both good and bad things have happened in the past.
Respect the good and bad design throughout history. Respect the good and bad societal norms throughout history.
Whether it be a 300lb CRT Televsion, the LA Riots, or a Ford Pinto, they all offer insight into human nature, societal progress, and where we are going in the future.
So be curious about all of those old topics, technologies, and entertainments. The world has a backlog of things to evoke a spectrum of emotions.
I don’t thing nostalgic is a fair word for what I feel, or what others may feel. There should be something else for it. Hipster isn’t quite right either. I like too many modern and mainstream things to fit that label.
I’ll leave you with a quote from some underpaid game writer; “Tradition is the corpse of wisdom.”
