Nostalgia for a Time Never Experienced

Anemoia describes the feeling of missing a time never experienced personally. Movies know how to inspire this feeling whenever a particular orchestra song from the previous century is played during a period piece of a Miami nightclub from the 1950s or whenever synthesizer pop and electric guitar solos transports people back to the 1980s.

In an article, “Feeling Chilly? Indulge in Some Nostalgia” written by the British Psychological Society, a series of tests were given to a group of subjects and the conclusions were striking. Nostalgic thinking is an excellent way to combat loneliness, and it is a way to offset the discomfort of sad thoughts. The subjects were asked to keep a diary for one month or stick their hands in a bucket of water, and for both experiments, nostalgic thinking helped the subject endure discomfort from the cold for longer periods.

Why is this important? Easily, here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are getting ready to begin a long, cold Winter, and knowing that thinking about nostalgic thoughts are sure to bring warmth to an otherwise cold day can be helpful.

Nostalgia is easily relived when rewatching an old movie (this is why tangible DVDs are much more reliable than whatever is made available on streaming services). It is the reason why local play houses to college campuses still show screenings of: The Last Unicorn, Labyrinth, and the Dark Crystal for adults in their thirties and forties. The memories of experiencing those films as young children in the 1980s and 1990s helps bring forward a happy nostalgia for a large group.

So this Holiday Season, when picking out a movie to watch, do not forget to dig into that Old DVD Collection and pick out a few former favorites. Hmm, maybe we can organize a group film screening for an obscure movie from the past, or we can all watch Cowboys and Aliens with an active chat-box for commentary throughout the duration of the film.



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