There was this schizophrenic guy I used to care for once. One of this delusions, so to speak, one of his lingering worries, was that people were going back in time to steal his past. To mess with it. At the time I thought that was silly. But as I get older I see the resonance of this as a metaphor.
See, I remember the 90’s from the first time around. And so this ongoing 90’s revival we see today has a strange, ominous, funfair hall of mirrors energy to me. It is as if my own dimly remembered lived experience has been tampered with and mistranslated to the present…
Some of the surface details of this neo-90’s are similar- high waisted acid wash jeans, band t-shirts, questionable haircuts- but the core is different.
Back then, as you may recall, there was little to no awareness of the idea that you as an individual are a ‘brand’ or the concept that you project, and thus can manage, a self image (because cameras were not ubiquitous and social media did not exist).
And there was a genuine anti-consumerist, anti-materialist streak that ran through culture (versus the current lip-service to minimalism, though it is largely a different mode of consumption).
The Left™️ were for Localism (I.e. The Battle of Seattle) and the Right™️ were for Globalism, at least in the way that the narrative was presented. And politics was begrudgingly tolerated if not largely ignored. It was only the spectator sport of a small cadre of nerds. Most people had more sense.
And so I think the nostalgia for this period that Gen Z play with is emblematic of something. And as you’ve been kind enough to stop by here I think we should look into it.
All Nostalgia is Nostalgia for Past Optimism
‘I miss the future’
~ Jaron Lanier.
My feeling (because let’s be frank, in this newsletter we deal in intuitions more than we deal in data) is that Gen Z 90’s nostalgia is an attempt by media-saturated youth to build a foundation for a better tomorrow. They sense that there is something in the MTV/ video game/ boom bap/ indie rock decade that is worth learning from.
And of course people who have been trained from birth to deal with only the visual and the surface are going to adopt a distorted and ‘wrong’ version of the fashion labels, colour palettes and haircuts way before they burrow through the sediment to reach the morality and the mentality. Such as it was.
This is only natural.
But you can sense the longing. Or at least I can. Look at some of the comments on YouTube mixtapes of vaporwave or 90’s influenced sample flips. It’s palpable. I read the same sentiment again and again like a refrain:
‘This makes me nostalgic for a time I didn’t experience.’
This is key. A Nirvana-shirted 20 year old never actually saw Kurt and the gang on Unplugged or at Reading or on tour with Tad. A teenager with an eBay MPC2000 never actually wore out their copy of the Purple Tape through constant school bus rotation.
It’s all secondhand and so is more akin to daydreaming in reverse. Which is what happens when the near future is uncertain and threatening.
Your relationship to nostalgia is a bellweather of your sense of optimism. The more you pine for yesterday the more you conversely dread tomorrow. And that’s no way to live.
I’m not talking here about taking influence and studying the history of your medium. That’s healthy. I’m not talking about favouring analogue out of tactile pleasure and aesthetic preference. That’s understandable. I’m talking about that actual felt desire to not be in the now and to not be moving forward through history.
Simply put: there are no do-overs in this life. And what can never be should not be dwelled on. It robs you of precious energy.
Escaping The Siren Song
When everything is in flux people want something in stasis
~ Kairon, Nostalgia and Future Narratives.
Nostalgia is a temptation. It offers comfort and respite. But it is no place to live.
The protective shell of nostalgia will soon stifle you and slow you down. Eventually it will suffocate you. I purchased this particular lesson from the expensive school of experience.
So, the question then is this: how does our hypothetical Zoomer deal with, reconcile and, more to the point, use this nostalgia for a time they have never tasted?
Firstly, they need to focus on this catacomb age and see it for the opportunity it is. I know I am virtually alone in saying this but I believe that certain patches of the coming decentralised culture-scape will thrive and blossom as this decade progresses. Opportunities abound for those willing to take them. They just won’t be in the form of the tired model of taking crumbs of fame from the gatekeeper-guarded table of monoculture.
With this new frame of mind nostalgia cannot metastasise and turn toxic.
Second, study the past through biography and overview. Ignore the magpie urge to settle for mere shiny trinkets and signifiers, the simple reappropriation of past fashions and fads. The key is to parse and play with the philosophy of the time, the weltanschauung
In our 90’s example that would be the localist, DIY, spirit of indie music and film. How could that manifest in 2021 and beyond? What would those people do if they were blessed enough to have the online distribution systems that we have today?
Third, and this is more individualised- what fear is keeping you stuck in ‘back in the day’? Because it is a fear response. Fear of flux, fear of success (and its cousin, fear of trying your best when failure is a possibility), fear of death?
Perform the deep introspection needed to move beyond this.
Because when you do, the past will become a source of inspiration rather than stagnation. It will offer you tones and motifs and wisdom that you can filter through your lived experience, personal vision and sense of the collective consciousness and in doing so you will make something new.
Something that the youth of the future will look back on with a wistful sigh.
And so the cycle continues. And so the world keeps turning.
Until next time,
Live Well,
Tom.
The Meaning of Nostalgia
This was really great. I love your writing style.
Another great article on nostalgia you might enjoy (if you haven't read it already!) :
https://aeon.co/essays/nostalgia-doesnt-need-real-memories-an-imagined-past-works-as-well
This post reminded me of a meme that went something like "Liking music from the 90's is not a personality trait."
It seems to tie in well with "And of course people who have been trained from birth to deal with only the visual and the surface are going to adopt a distorted and ‘wrong’ version of the fashion labels, colour palettes and haircuts way before they burrow through the sediment to reach the morality and the mentality", which is an important sentiment that you've touched on in the past, and I'm certain you're going to delve into in the future - the lack of depth.
Not only depth of learning, but even depth of preferences. It's just adopting a label as identity, with no real meaning behind it. It's unfortunate really, but it's been something I've seen happening with my friends right in front of my eyes, and I think it's only reading articles like yours and books (Postman for example), that have even made me aware of this in the first place.
Most worryingly, I'm at the stage in my mid-20's where most of my close friends have moved into corporate jobs, talk about nothing but sports, video-games, Netflix and they're all playing golf.
In spite of what every internet guru has advised me to do, I still love them to death, and I'm still friends with them. The seeming impossibility of being able to remain friends with "normies" has always been weird to me, I mean you can always just say no when they ask you to play golf?
The world getting more basic aside, "All Nostalgia is Nostalgia for Past Optimism" is brilliant. like you pointed out, Gen Z is absolutely obsessed with the 90's but I feel like there's been a healthy dose of 80's nostalgia going around too, especially on twitter - synthwave, bodybuilding and nationalism. I would be lying if I didn't find the simplicity of it all appealing.
Loved the 3 steps at the end as well (gumroad course incoming?), embracing decentralization and betting on yourself has never been more important. It definitely feels like that DIY spirit is being embraced, and localism seems to be making a return as well. I think it was Taleb who first introduced me to that term, but I'm starting to see it pop up everywhere.
One good example is Brunello Cuccinelli, the founder of Cuccinelli a luxury men's fashion line. If you haven't heard of him I strongly recommend you to look him up. I imagine you'll find something of a kindred spirit in him. He's published his writings on his website, which has "Beauty is the symbol of the morally good"- I.Kant emblazoned on it's lander, and articles with titles such as "The Decline of Consumerism in Favour of the Fair Use of Things" and "My Idea of Humanistic Capitalism".
Anyway, loved the article as always Tom, they seem to be resonating strongly with people which is great to see.