From the revivals of Y2K fashion to the never-ending stream of live-action Disney remakes, the idea that history seems to repeat itself holds true even within pop culture. However, is our society’s obsession with the past just fun, or is it a sign of something deeper? Let’s delve into this question by examining how these recurring appeals to nostalgia can be understood as a collective mechanism to garner comfort in a socially, politically, and economically turbulent time.

What Exactly is Nostalgia?

Merriam-Webster defines nostalgia as “a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition.” That is to say, nostalgia is us remembering aspects of our past through a reimagined likeness, oftentimes leading to the romanticization of the past, which makes us long to experience it again. You may feel nostalgic about school, remembering all the fun times you’ve had with friends, but not the stress you felt from all the homework or, if you’re anything like me, the exhaustion from constantly running on four or less hours of sleep. 

While nostalgia is laced with undertones of solemn feelings, it often appears during times of change or uncertainty, acting as a personal coping mechanism by providing an emotional anchor to times we remember being safe and secure. Some people even describe feeling nostalgia for times they never actually experienced, a sensation informally coined as “anemoia,” and reasoned as the result of historical propaganda (think of someone claiming that they were “born in the wrong era,” wishing to be born into an aestheticized version of the 1950s all while effectively ignoring the copious amounts of human rights violations going on during that time). Due to the comforting nature of nostalgia, it is no surprise that when we see a rise in both pop culture and political media appealing to nostalgia, we also see the signs of the insecure and stressed society it seeks to comfort. 

How Have We Seen Nostalgia Used Lately?

Of course, we have to mention the sea of live-action Disney remakes in this past decade, as well as the fairly recent prevalence of other reproductions and/or sequels, examples being DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon (2025), Nickelodeon’s reboot of iCarly (2021), Warner Bros. Studios’ Fuller House (2016), and more. While these pieces of media have many areas that can be critiqued, especially in terms of capitalistic gain or originality, it stands to reason that these film studios are exploiting the strong current appeal of nostalgia to make a profit. This is evidenced by the high performance of these remakes, which drives studios like Disney to keep pumping them out. Even the popularity of shows like Bridgerton (2020) or Stranger Things (2016), being the most streamed show in 2022, is evidence of the nostalgia (or perhaps anemoia) that is felt towards an aestheticized portrayal of the early 1800s in England or the 1980s in the United States, respectively. 

Other ways nostalgia has crept into the media and entertainment avenues we consume are observed in popular trends: Y2K fashion, retro digital cameras, the resurgence of Pokémon cards, remakes of old video games, and an obsession with anything vintage, to name a few. In fact, the appeal to nostalgia is such a strong societal force that it has even been utilized in propaganda and political movements — the most notable being Donald Trump’s campaign to “Make America Great Again,” which is quite literally a desire to “return to or of some past period.” So, since nostalgia is such a driving force in media, entertainment, and even politics, how can it be used as a tool to reflect on the general state of our society

Why Does This All Even Matter?

The appeal to nostalgia popularized in the past decade is a clear response to the current social, economic, and political conditions of the United States. In particular, many of these films and trends target an audience in their teens to mid-thirties. For those in that age range, navigating early adulthood is already strenuous enough, but with the increasing difficulty to secure certain goals (renting an apartment, buying a house, getting a job, or even starting a family, to name a few), and the current political regime, it is no wonder that many of us have felt an increase in social anxieties and worries for our future. So, when it comes to coping, what’s better than the appeal to a romanticized period of the past, whether childhood or otherwise, when times felt, or at least seemed, simpler?

Now, nostalgia is often debated as being either a beneficial or a harmful form of coping, depending on how it is handled. Some claim that personal introspection into nostalgia, such as acknowledging when it is used, and the romanticization often behind it, will help us to understand ourselves and how we fit into the world. On this level, nostalgia builds communities and eases loneliness, examples being the social revival of Pokémon or the strong fanbase surrounding Stranger Things. However, nostalgia has also been criticized as being exclusionary to certain communities and holding society back from healthy social and political change. Hearing this, it is not surprising that fascist regimes often used nostalgia as a propagandistic force throughout history, with both Nazi Germany and Mussolini referring to the strength and revelry of the Roman Empire, promising equal “greatness.” Comparable is Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign, leaving many of us to wonder exactly what version of America he is referring to, and exactly all the groups that will be overlooked from this “great” America (hint: think anyone who is not white, straight, and male). 

Nostalgia as a Tool

While nostalgia has many juxtaposed avenues — being both personal and collective, inclusive and exclusionary, or comforting and dangerous — the fact that it runs so rampant in our media and even political diet shows its appealing nature, for better or for worse. As such, while it is not the magic formula for all of society, it should be used as one of the many tools we can use to observe current societal conditions by gauging personal and social stressors in times of uncertainty. Whether present in children’s sequels or fascist propaganda, it is safe to say that when nostalgia becomes a trend, changes need to be made regardless.