Stop. Being. Nostalgic

This video was supposed to be a defense for the recent Pixar original films like Luca, Turning Red, and Elemental. But after seeing a fair amount of discourse against recent shows like Amphibia, and seeing all of the sequels and remakes being announced, I realized that most of the problems I have with media discourse boils down to nostalgia; and I find that extremely infuriating.

Credit to @Kalamity_Music for the background music:

[edwardvincentbriones]

I like this quote:
“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift. That is why its called present.”

[TooningIn]

“Amphibia is for white people”
…Anne is literally Thai and a lot of that culture is present throughout the show, so IDK what the person who wrote that was smoking

[Robbie-pcdl]

"Change can be difficult, but it's how we grow. It can be the hardest thing to realize you can't hold on to something forever. Sometimes, you have to let it go. But of the things you let go, you'd be surprised what makes its way... back to you." - Anne Boonchuy from the episode "The Hardest Thing"


I believe this quote fits very well in terms of nostalgia. IT IS the hardest thing to let go of something, so we desperately try to hold it on for as long as possible, even at the insult of new things.

[djstarkidmashups]

There's nothing wrong with nostalgia, or being nostalgic, but if these corporations are being nostalgic just to make a profit, then that's a problem.

[LucyLoud_Fan]

I heavily agree with you on this. And especially when TV shows from the 80’s and 90’s constantly rely on Nostalgia and past references to carry the most recent episodes. It’s just so annoying. Original ideas need to happen or else it’ll just get repetitive real fast

[olleselin]

You said it, pal! Nostalgia bait is basically what ruins media in general. People are just bitching about how things were easier in the past. Those people might as well be Dinosaurs

[FoggyMemoryProductions]

That Amphibia situation on twitter was so dumb and I regret making a video about it. But to the point, nostalgia itself is never a bad thing. It's how it gets used or how we try to justify is when it becomes a problem. I'm 31 years old, I have shows I grew up with that I know are different from today's programming for a multitude of reasons. But I still want to give new shows a try if they appeal to me in some fashion. If it's a good show and I don't vibe with it, the most I can do is not watch it. Let others enjoy their shows. A lot of shows and movies want to tell different stories that are based upon our individual experiences of the world, and I think that's great. Let's encourage more of that. Let more voices be heard. Let's just... have fun.

[jonbilgutay]

I have a theory that society has a thirty year nostalgia gap. Back in the 90's the 60's were popular, because it was considered nostalgic. Now were in the 2020's and the 90's are nostalgic.

[oliver_editzz]

I miss the old versions of a lot of things, but I don’t complain and go “old bad new good cause I’m sigma”

[UnidentifiedFlyingSquirrel]

I think that a good way to perceive nostalgia is to treat it as the world you want. Work to make things be like the way you nostalgically see them, if something was genuinely better in the past, work to make it that way again. If you remember a creation to be better than it is, work to create something similar but in the way that you perceived it to be. Nostalgia is my driving force, I am shaping the things I make by basically inverting nostalgia bias, it’s great, y’all’s should try it

[Starwarsfanboy]

I have to agree, while it is nice to look back at the films we grow up with, we should look to the future and appreciate the effort put into newer films.

[Fatih_M]

I don't have a lot of Nostalgia for things, so when i look at modern movies and media, i feel a little mixed, There's still a bunch of great modern movies, but i still prefer older media just cause it's cooler for me, but that's fine.

when ya don't like something, just don't watch it, that is, don't watch it if you can't criticize it properly, but it's worth giving it try from times, doesn't work out, that's fine!

[Purplegalaxystarlight]

Thank you. It's so damn annoying to see this. An exemple I would like to mention is the Total Drama Reboot. The casual fans (not the fandom itself, but the "oh yeah, I liked it as a kid" people) are so blinded by nostalgia that they became incredibly annoying genwunners. When the newest cast was revealed, these people obviously complained, saying that they still wanted Gen 1, which has already been run into the ground, especially in season 5. It's like they forgot about that. In the end tho, the new cast became the second most beloved cast after the first one, with some saying that it's even better than the first one. Also, honestly, these nostalgic people make me worry that Fairly Oddparents A New Wish will get cancelled because it's more niche than the original and I'm worried that not many people outside of the fandom would give it a chance because of nostalgia bias

[sammyhorace]

That's the problem with nostalgia it just blinds people from reality from the past.

[wizardoferror]

I needed to hear this badly. I hate when Pixar stans glorify the classic films stating that their films were hardly schmaltzy when in reality they’ve mostly been schmaltzy in its lessons and moments. Even The Incredibles did. EmpLemon’s video on Pixar was revolting to me.

[OdogRuby]

This discussion reminds me of Anton Ego's Review from Ratatouille:

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over others in which they offer up their work and their selves to our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the important thing we critics must face is--in the grand scheme of things--the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the 'new.' The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The 'new' needs friends. Last night I had experienced something new: an extraordinary meal, from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core..."

[mustachetwirler]

You have valid reasons there.
The main reasons I was never truly interested in some of Pixar’s more recent films like Luca and Turning Red is primarily because of their use of very tired tropes I mostly could not stand even back in “the good old days” (bullies). Yet that’s just a personal pet peeve I have and I respect the films as such that are worth watching for others. I was skeptical about Elemental but I watched it and had a decent experience, as I can relate to it a bit in a way, as I’m an American immigrant turned citizen in France.
Also I find Amphibia to be quite cool.👍

[avvti]

Honestly I LOVED Elementa, Luca and Soul just because they were good, like even if a film doesnt have a "vibe" it can still be a very good film

[olleselin]

Believe it or not, i used to be like these idiots who's stuck in the past. I few years back i was holding onto My Little Pony G4 in an unhealthy way, refusing to embrace G5 as the next one. It was during the whole promotion of the Netflix film, "My Little Pony: A New Generation" Eventually i had to overcome this obsession of G4 and just move

[jonathanwade]

Fr. Like as much as i miss how times were, I also don't miss wondering what my future will be. Now that that future is the present, im very happy to not look back at the past.