This was a fascinating deep dive into nostalgia accounts! And I had no idea there was a dark side to some. But it makes sense, especially when they take the angle of "it was so much better back in my day."
I think about this quite a bit. Writing a Star Wars newsletter, it's impossible not to. So much of Star Wars is selling nostalgia, trying to get the same high of seeing it in 77 and watching the Star Destroyer go overhead. A lot of the 80's meme accounts have always struck me as being MAGA-lite. They're not specifically conservative talking points, but the idea that things were better in the 80's or 50's or whenever people are pining for America that never existed. There's a very vocal segment of Star Wars fandom (although they seem to hate Star Wars) that doesn't seem to be interested in any new stories.
Maga-lite is a great way to put it. (Also I love that you have an entire Star Wars nl! I remember seeing Empire in theaters. Also kicking myself I didn’t keep my collection of Star Wars cards). I think indulging in nostalgia is healthy until it isn’t.
Love the article, Cheryl! It was great chatting with you! Thanks for including me! With so much to choose from, I try to have a wide variety of content and constantly trying new things. I always say Nostalgia is the fountain of youth!
I follow several 80s accounts on Instagram, and have noticed a lot of repeating memes, but I guess there's only so many original thoughts, lol. I've never done anything but 'like' so I didn't know they were actually trying to sell me anything.
A lot of them aren’t selling anything except nostalgia. Or they don’t push too hard if they are. But I started noticing things in their stories and even grid feeds, which interested me
I really enjoyed this article, Cheryl - Very insightful... and I appreciate our conversation and including me in your research for the article. From one Gen X kid to another, Stay Rad! 😎🙌
John, thanks again for being so transparent and willing to talk about so many aspects of what it’s like to be a creator in this space. It was incredibly helpful!
I SAW that Trump post! (And unsubscribed.) I know this is weird, but seeing it low-key convinced me that the election was going to go for Trump. It just felt so blatant. (I'd also been seeing a lot of pro-Trump stuff in the comments of a lot of Instagram accounts where it felt unusual so the tide already kinda felt like it was tilting?) - J
It was completely jarring to me when it came through my feed! And doing this story reminded me of that old faithful internet rule: don’t read the comments (but yes they really are a little slice of the population’s psyche!)
I mean, some stuff is to be expected and of course not everyone on Instagram is real, but I saw -- for example -- a LOT of pro-Trump women on accounts where I definitely expected the readership to lean more liberal. It just felt like something was up??
Wow great journalism here; liked and subscribed
Thank you for reading and subscribing!!
Thank you so much!
I’m humming Pet Shop Boys, thanks a bunch: “I’ve got the brains, you’ve got the looks, let’s make lots of money.”
Excellent article, thank you!💕
I love that song!
It’s embarrassing how many times a week I think about that song. A classic
This was a fascinating deep dive into nostalgia accounts! And I had no idea there was a dark side to some. But it makes sense, especially when they take the angle of "it was so much better back in my day."
💯
I think about this quite a bit. Writing a Star Wars newsletter, it's impossible not to. So much of Star Wars is selling nostalgia, trying to get the same high of seeing it in 77 and watching the Star Destroyer go overhead. A lot of the 80's meme accounts have always struck me as being MAGA-lite. They're not specifically conservative talking points, but the idea that things were better in the 80's or 50's or whenever people are pining for America that never existed. There's a very vocal segment of Star Wars fandom (although they seem to hate Star Wars) that doesn't seem to be interested in any new stories.
Maga-lite is a great way to put it. (Also I love that you have an entire Star Wars nl! I remember seeing Empire in theaters. Also kicking myself I didn’t keep my collection of Star Wars cards). I think indulging in nostalgia is healthy until it isn’t.
Love the article, Cheryl! It was great chatting with you! Thanks for including me! With so much to choose from, I try to have a wide variety of content and constantly trying new things. I always say Nostalgia is the fountain of youth!
Cindy! I so appreciate you talking to me. Your content is so unique and fun. And yeah — I think nostalgia can be really therapeutic
I follow several 80s accounts on Instagram, and have noticed a lot of repeating memes, but I guess there's only so many original thoughts, lol. I've never done anything but 'like' so I didn't know they were actually trying to sell me anything.
A lot of them aren’t selling anything except nostalgia. Or they don’t push too hard if they are. But I started noticing things in their stories and even grid feeds, which interested me
I really enjoyed this!
Thanks for reading!!
I had the Menudo album!!
Had the album and went to their concert at Radio City Music Hall in 1984.
That’s awesome!
I really enjoyed this article, Cheryl - Very insightful... and I appreciate our conversation and including me in your research for the article. From one Gen X kid to another, Stay Rad! 😎🙌
John, thanks again for being so transparent and willing to talk about so many aspects of what it’s like to be a creator in this space. It was incredibly helpful!
I SAW that Trump post! (And unsubscribed.) I know this is weird, but seeing it low-key convinced me that the election was going to go for Trump. It just felt so blatant. (I'd also been seeing a lot of pro-Trump stuff in the comments of a lot of Instagram accounts where it felt unusual so the tide already kinda felt like it was tilting?) - J
It was completely jarring to me when it came through my feed! And doing this story reminded me of that old faithful internet rule: don’t read the comments (but yes they really are a little slice of the population’s psyche!)
That is so chilling but yeah makes sense that comments in popular meme accounts are a reflection of public sentiment.
I mean, some stuff is to be expected and of course not everyone on Instagram is real, but I saw -- for example -- a LOT of pro-Trump women on accounts where I definitely expected the readership to lean more liberal. It just felt like something was up??