The medical community during that time considered it a psychopathological disorder that was a form of depression and melancholia. But then in the 19th century, germs were discovered-a discovery that catapulted the practice and potential of the entire medical profession. It wasn’t until the 19th century that medical science shifted to categorizing nostalgia as an affliction of the psyche.
At one point, some doctors thought a “pathological bone” in the body was the cause of nostalgia, though it was-of course-never located. Nostalgia was viewed as a neurological affliction for the remainder of the 17th and 18th centuries. Swiss military physicians later suggested that nostalgia was instead caused by the unrelenting clanging of cowbells in the Alps, which damaged the soldiers’ brain cells and eardrums in ways that triggered the perilous symptoms. He believed that an obsession with the homes the mercenaries left behind allowed animal spirits to enter their brains and inflict damage. Hofer studied the effects of nostalgia on Swiss mercenaries and concluded that it was a “ cerebral disease of essentially demonic cause.” He described symptoms of nostalgia including an obsessive longing for home, loss of appetite, palpitations, insomnia, and anxiety. Various people attempted to medically describe the specific feeling of longing and heartache starting in the 1600s, including one medical diagnosis that appeared toward the end of Central Europe’s Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) that dubbed the phenomenon el mal de corazon, which translates to “the evil of the heart.” But it was Swiss medical student Johannes Hofer who actually coined the term “nostalgia” in his 1688 dissertation by combining two Greek words: nostos(“homecoming”) and algos (“pain”). Once considered a disease, with odd and potentially harmful treatment options, science shifted its views on nostalgia in the latter part of the 20th century, and studies over the past several decades have revealed both its good and bad psychological effects. The modern definition of nostalgia is “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.” But its history is far less pleasant and much more complex.
“Generally, people find comfort in nostalgia during times of loss, anxiety, isolation, or uncertainty,” she says. Krystine Batcho, a psychology professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, sees the resurgence of nostalgia during COVID-19 as a natural response. Increasingly, we are weaving nostalgia into our games, our fashion, and even our dreams during the pandemic. Online, virtual cast reunions for shows such as Taxi, Twin Peaks, and Melrose Place offer a return to beloved characters from the past. In one recent study tracking the effects of COVID-19 on entertainment choices, more than half of consumers reported finding comfort in revisiting both television and music they enjoyed in their youth. “I believe many are turning to nostalgia, even if they do not consciously realize it, as a stabilizing force and a way to keep in mind what they cherish most,” says Clay Routledge, a psychology professor at North Dakota State University and author of Nostalgia: A Psychological Resource. But the rise of drive-ins is just one way we've embraced nostalgia during the pandemic.
For many parents and grandparents, these places let them share one of their childhood joys.
#Nostalgia meaning movie#
“There was something incredibly comforting about telling my kids stories about how I'd done something exactly the same when I was their age.”Īs movie theaters and other family entertainment options have closed up shop due to the coronavirus, drive-ins have enjoyed a resurgence, with makeshift versions popping up all over the country in diner and mall parking lots. “The first time I went to a drive-in, I was nine years old, exactly the age of my oldest now,” Widdicks says. A long-time movie buff, Widdicks appreciated the break from cabin fever, as well as the venue’s 1950s vibe, complete with retro intermission breaks featuring a dancing hot dog. So in late May, Widdicks loaded the kids into her car and headed to the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, in Gibson City, Illinois. After months of homeschooling while also working from home, she felt the days blending into each other. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, single mom Mary Widdicks has been cooped up at home with her three small children, three dogs, and three cats.
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