Is it just me, or do nostalgic television movies soothe the soul? There’s something about a world without cell phones, where kids climb trees and teens hang out at the mall that’s calming.
Over the last few years, there seems to be a trend in ’80s television and movie settings. From Stranger Things, with a first season set in 1983, to Young Sheldon beginning in 1989, to the 2017 remake of It, set in 1989.
What makes nostalgic content so loveable?
A personal connection
Writing this piece, I can’t help but wonder if some of us are drawn to one form of nostalgia more than another. For example, I have an affinity for ’80s settings, but my sister who is three years younger prefers ’90s settings. Was it the content we watched growing up? The stuff our parents were into when we were young?
Without giving away my age, I grew up with a healthy love of ’80s television and music because of my mom. She’s improved over the years, but I wore backcombed bangs to school until I was at least eight (I see now why I was teased as a child).
Between The Human League’s “Don’t You Want Me,” The Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” and the entire soundtrack to Dirty Dancing, I’m surprised I warmed up to modern music at all. Then there was my television and film upbringing. The Wonder Years, Labyrinth and The Princess Bride were early favourites.
Seeing the ’80s revival in contemporary cinema and television is comfortable. It’s like a warm blanket I wrap myself in for an hour or two.
The science of nostalgia
According to a study published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, nostalgia is sought when we’re sad or lonely. The study focuses primarily on university students. Researchers provided students with negative, neutral, or positive news stories and the student’s moods were evaluated. Results suggested students who consumed negative content were more likely to seek some form of nostalgia to feel better.
Dr. David B. Feldman, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University in California, discussed his study in an article published on the university website. He believes the COVID-19 pandemic, political division following former American president Donald Trump’s time in office and racially-charged tragedies like the murder of George Floyd are influencing the climb in nostalgia as a means of comfort. He also feels looking to the future is equally important.
“I remind myself that, while revisiting my past may be temporarily comforting, it’s not somewhere I can stay. Heck, it’s not even somewhere I’d want to stay,” Feldman writes.
I agree, but I can’t help loving the old stuff and with it, the new stuff based on the old. It just makes me happy.
Stuff to check out
Depending on your preferred era of nostalgia, there’s a wide range of goodies to try out. Some are novel, others based on classics.
I hear “Picard” is a goodie for the Trekkies out there. Star Trek: Next Generation ran from 1987 to 1994. Picard picks up 20 years after the last appearance of the titular character Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Nemesis. You can catch the show on Crave.
Another blast from the past is Cobra Kai, a sequel to the Karate Kid film series which began in 1984. The new series began in 2018, and season five streamed on Netflix on Sept. 9, 2022.
For students with a love of the ’90s, you might be happy to learn that MTV’s favourite adult animation is back. Beavis and Butthead first aired in 1993 as a pair of oddballs critiquing music videos. The show ran for eight seasons and it had a movie, a CD and a multi-system game (including Sega Genesis and Super NES).
If you loved the original, check out the new movie, Beavis and Butthead Do The Universe, released June 23, 2022, on Paramount+. The series also has a new television show, also on Paramount+. Instead of MTV music videos, the duo critiques TikTok videos and other modern mediums.
Another ’90s hit is, ironically, That ’70s Show. I can’t lie, I was obsessed, and I still watch it when and where I can. The show, which aired from 1998 to 2006, followed a group of kids from Wisconsin from 1976 onward.
A That ’90s Show is in the works, but doesn’t have a release date yet. You can bet I’ll be checking it out as it features some of the original That ’70s Show cast, including Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp. I should note there was a That ’80s Show in 2002, but I saw it and it was awful.
There are plenty of other gems to fill that empty vintage void in your soul. Personally, I’m holding my breath for the fifth season of Stranger Things. It likely won’t be out until 2023 or 2024 but I bet it’s worth the wait. Long live Steve “The Hair” Harrington!
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