by Marcella Kearns
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| Ray Bradbury (top), John Hodgman (center) and Vanya (C. Michael Wright, bottom) each have their own takes on the benefits and disadvantages of nostalgia. |
“I learned to let my senses and my Past tell me all that
was somehow true.” In an introduction to semi-autobiographical novel DANDELION
WINE, Ray Bradbury rhapsodizes about the creative soil of memory. His
fictionalized portrait of Waukegan, Illinois in the 1920s centers on young boys
encountering firsthand the delights of capturing a summer’s spirit in their
grandfather’s wine and a summer’s events in their reflection and writing. Even
the darkest moments—and there are dark moments—remind his characters to capture
and fully embrace the richness of simply living
and the sweetness of remembering the past.
In VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, playwright
Christopher Durang too dips into nostalgia. Siblings Vanya and Sonia look back
on the past and find comfort, along, perhaps, with a trace of wistfulness or
longing for what once was. That past wasn’t perfect, but its recollection has
the effect of soothing them in need. Though their sister Masha declares “I can’t
remember dates or decades. I just live!”, listen for what follows—even she finds
herself recalling what was and what might have been.
No harm, right?
Exactly, according to Southampton professors Constantine
Sedikides and Tim Wildschut, who have revolutionized thinking about this potent
force and experience.
Nostalgia has been typically characterized as a useless
or potentially dangerous impulse, a sense of “living in the past” without
regard for present needs. Certainly, for all humans who perceive our lives
unfolding along a linear timeline, idealizing the past without taking into
consideration the changing circumstances of the present in order to build a healthy collective future is irrational. Writer and comedian John Hodgman often and
eloquently warns of this very risky aspect of nostalgia. In an interview with
Josh Jackson, he says,
Everyone who enjoyed a stable and relatively
happy childhood will look back on their childhood and think that it’s the best.
That’s the parlor trick of nostalgia, and it’s why nostalgia is the worst. It
is a toxic impulse that leads to nothing good, honestly. The idea that things
were better once and are terrible now and getting worse every minute is what
fuels the worst, in my opinion, movements in contemporary culture…
Sedikides and Wildschut’s study over the course of the
last decade asks us to re-frame our thinking, however. They attest that instead
of vilifying nostalgia, we can and should actively employ its effects to
counteract depression, anxiety, or pain. As they’ve discovered so far, nostalgia
is a universal human experience and powerful for healing across cultures. This
kind of thinking about the past, Sedikides explains, “is always related to
intimacy maintenance: I want to remind myself of the people who are no longer
here and what they meant for me. It serves to remind you of what intimacy you
have achieved and therefore what you are most capable of… Nostalgia stands out
as adaptive.” Indeed, historical-based research and current studies indicate that
the mind, through nostalgia, actually temporarily alters the body’s perception
of the condition of a room.
With this framework in hand, they have been developing
nostalgia-based therapies for depression and are even beginning to explore the
potential for its active use in easing the effects of Alzheimer’s. The key
seems to be mindfulness of nostalgia as a tool—a
calming agent, fuel for resilience in difficult periods. By connecting to the
past and what we loved, we flood ourselves with warmth. Ever hear a song that
“takes you back”? Smell a smell that recalls holiday meals, a loved one’s
perfume, a campfire? Memory, along with that sweet tinge of longing for what’s
past, buoys us.
The conclusion may seem simple, but its application is
tricky. Sedikides speaks of nostalgia as the “perfect internal politician,
connecting the past with the present, pointing optimistically to the future.” The
trick is not to try to re-create any perceived notion of the past, but to draw
on that, in Sedikides’ words, “inexhaustible bank account” to move forward.
Durang’s characters certainly find an anchor in memory, but their nostalgia
also serves as a platform from which to speak. Nostalgia, that anchor in the
past, becomes a general reminder that warmth, love, and true connection with
others in the present is possible.
References
Adams, Tim. “Look Back in Joy: The Power of Nostalgia.” The Guardian. The Guardian, 9 Nov. 2014.
Web. 1 Aug. 2016.
Jackson, Josh. “The Real John Hodgman: We’re Not Making
This Up!” Paste. Paste Magazine, 17
Nov. 2012. Web. 1 Aug. 2016.
Ward, Baldwin H., ed. Nostalgia:
Our Heritage in Pictures and Words. Petaluma, CA: News Front/Year, Inc.,
1975.
To continue the
conversation on the topic: Charles (Chuck) Bryant and Josh Clark of STUFF
YOU SHOULD KNOW fame explore nostalgia
(and John Hodgman’s perspective!) in an episode of their podcast. Check it out
at http://www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/nostalgia-is-not-the-most-toxic-impulse/
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