What films have you seen in the cinema over the last few years? Audiences have frequently reported finding themselves frozen in slack-jawed horror at the depraved antics of Barry Keoghan in Emerald Fennel’s Saltburn (2023). The film’s 2006 setting and 4:3 aspect ratio, however, has sent Millennials in particular hurtling down memory lane. Not to be left out, it is the semi-autobiographical releases - Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast (2021) and Stephen Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (2022) - that have dredged up Boomers’ younger years. Furthermore, when it comes to Barbie, few could resist the twinge of kinship with Gloria (America Ferrera), who, in a period of dark mental health, sought happier childhood memories by playing with her daughter’s doll.
Culturally speaking, we can’t seem to get enough of films that deal in nostalgia, as these examples do. Belfast was nominated for 255 awards and won 51 of those (including an Oscar). While not Oscar nominated, Saltburn was a favourite for the 2024 BAFTAs and Golden Globes. The Fabelmans achieved massive box office success, with a global gross of over $250 million. Barbie has broken box office records, followed by a slew of BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations. This isn’t even accounting for the small screen, where the vaguely vintage aesthetic of Sex Education, the ‘90s flashbacks in Yellowjackets, and the overwhelmingly ‘80s setting of Stranger Things reinforce what hardly needs stating: nostalgia isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
The pull of nostalgia is and always has been strong across the arts. Painters such as John Constable and J.M.W. Turner are renowned for their depictions of bucolic and wistful landscapes respectively. This was likely in response to a widespread sense of nostalgia for life before the Industrial Revolution. Yet, nostalgia has a particular grip on cinema and photography. The word itself derives from the Ancient Greek nostos (homecoming) and algos (physical or mental pain). Literally, homesickness. Figuratively, that bittersweet feeling of recalling a time, place, or state that felt like home; times, places, and states now lost to us. No wonder, then, that film and photography are artforms that offer an antidote to the irretrievably lost: they are means of preserving or recreating the past, to be visited and revisited at anyone’s leisure.
Borrowdale, with Longthwaite Bridge and Castle Crag, c. 1799-1802, by J.M.W. Turner R.A.
And the materials matter: celluloid film, a 35mm disposable camera, or even a vintage-style filter can make any picture or video look like it came from days gone by. The qualities of these images have an effect on how we view them. Laura U. Marks, in her book Touch (2002), suggests that the grainy, indistinct qualities of such materials evoke a “haptic look, or a look that uses the eye like an organ of touch.” She continues, “A tactile look does not rely on a separation between looker and object as a more optical or cognitive look does. Because it does not rely on the recognition of figures, haptic looking permits identification with (among other things) loss, in the decay and partialness of the image.”
When words like “loss”, “decay” and “pain” enter the nostalgic vocabulary, it can be difficult to understand why we revisit nostalgia again and again in our cultural pursuits. Why pause before a Turner in a gallery if it hurts? How can we revel in the 4:3 aspect ratio of Saltburn when the subject matter is all about death, depravity and decay? What’s the benefit of whipping out the disposable camera when we lose out on the quality and detail we can achieve with a smartphone camera? And yet, we do. And in doing so, we seek out these haptic encounters with nostalgia regularly.
Landscape with Cottages, 1809, by John Constable
A number of studies suggest that, perhaps counter-intuitively, nostalgia is actually good for us. It goes deeper than just a bittersweet feeling. Psychologist and long-time nostalgia researcher Dr. Krystine Batcho posits that - in the face of circumstances out of our control - nostalgia can help shore up a sense of control over our personal identity and lead us to seek out social connection. In a 2023 study, Dr. Erica G Hepper and Amelia Dennis have reported that subjects who recalled a nostalgic video game memory (compared to a recent one) “increased vitality, social connectedness and optimism.” Similarly, when subjects experienced nostalgia playing Pokemon Go, it caused an increased “eudaimonic entertainment experience”. That is, the experience was more thought provoking, left a lasting impression, and imparted a greater sense of artistic value.
In another 2023 article, Kristin Layous and Dr. Jaime Kurtz proposed that nostalgia had a number of positive side effects, of varying duration, on subjects. It encouraged optimistic perspectives on personal life and future prospects, enhancing the sense of meaning in individuals' lives. Additionally, among patients with mild to moderate dementia, reminiscing about nostalgic experiences resulted in superior memory recall compared to reflecting on a mundane event. Crucially, Kurtz and Layous posited that, in order to enjoy such benefits long-term, subjects ought to re-engage with nostalgic activity regularly. Good news for film buffs and Pokemon Go fans, everywhere, then. If you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch Saltburn a few more times.
Interested in reading more articles? Check out all our other pieces, and subscribe to our Substack for a weekly blog!
Sources:
Touch, Laura U Marks: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Touch/WUHfQ_K59XQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover