Rose-Tinted Nostalgia
Words by Callum Kenny
Nostalgia. What is it, really? Is it that deja vu feeling when you experience something again for the first time in a while? Or is it more of a comforting and safe feeling you get when you revisit that thing after a long time? The definition Google gives is “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past”. But why do we reach for that nostalgic feeling? Is it for comfort? Is it because it is easier to go towards something that is familiar? Or is it because we do not wish to go beyond what we already know is, or at least was at one point, comforting? That’s the thing about something that was once a comfort and is now just familiar, a memory of comfort - we often remember it through a lens of comfort and familiarity, rather than remembering the full thing. We view those moments through rose-tinted glasses, also referred to as “rosy retrospection”. But those moments aren’t always better than what we have now; we forget that with those comforting moments, often there is some negative.
If we take something that is quite debated at the moment in regards to this - the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. For many, like myself, we grew up with the series. From when I was about aged ten to about twelve, I can remember reading the books over and over again. As the films came out over the years, I would do the same. I found comfort in the series for a time, as did many others. As I got older, I moved on and found comfort and enjoyment in other things - I’ve never felt any attachment since. However, I have found myself at times feeling a tad nostalgic for the series over the years and would revisit it by watching a movie or two and by doing this I realised that the nostalgia I was feeling was more surrounded by the time rather than a book series from my childhood.
With recent controversy surrounding the author for her books and her vicious transphobia online, it does make one pause. Is there ever a time when nostalgia goes too far? Many people are finding themselves caught between that comforting nostalgic feeling and facing what Rowling has taken to posting online - which begs another question, can one separate art from an artist? These are all questions that each individual likely has to assess for themselves at one point or another. For myself, even though I haven’t engaged in media produced by Rowling in a long time, I would find it quite difficult, as a trans person, to do so. Her words and actions have ripped away the rose-tinted glasses and left bare art that cannot be separated by the artist in this case, as one is informed by the other.
Sometimes, nostalgia is just nostalgia - you don’t love the thing anymore, just the idea or the memory surrounding it. You remember the good times surrounding it and associate those with that object of nostalgia. But sometimes it's okay, this writer thinks, to let go of nostalgia; or at least recognise that your vision may be clouded and rose-tinted by memories that bring feelings of comfort and safety. Nostalgia is okay, in small doses. If one gets caught up in it, you’ll often miss out on the chance to find new interests and create new memories. I would much rather let go of that rose-tint and get to make new memories than have nostalgia forcibly ripped away without warning and have nothing to show for it - but that may just be my perspective.
Callum is a trans man and used he/they pronouns. He is a recent graduate of DCU St. Patrick’s Campus where he studied English Literature and History. When not writing, they can be found wandering the streets of Dublin, buying books faster than he can read them and drinking far too much caffeine. He can be found on most social media, where he overshares far too much and attempts to be funny.
