'Nostalgia' is a Marketing Grift

"Nostalgia" is an interesting word. To feel nostalgia is to experience a bittersweet yearning for the past. Bittersweet because it’s the past and those good times are over; you move on. Now, the intriguing part is that companies and corporations use our nostalgia to sell products. Memberberries is a common term now, referencing things of the past to pull on our nostalgic heartstrings in hopes of getting us to spend money.

Look at Deadpool & Wolverine from 2024. This film was not very good and aged like milk almost immediately in everyone’s mind. It would go on to make a billion dollars, not on the merits of being a good film, but because it was the supposed swan song of a 20-year-old franchise filled with nostalgia bait, cameos, and dirty language.

But we talk about entertainment here in all forms. Television, movies, and games—and quite often I see people say, myself included, that things used to be better decades ago. During the Xbox 360 era there were banger after banger after banger games every single week. The television shows, geez, even Spongebob Squarepants had a wittiness to it that modern Western TV couldn’t possibly fathom. The films were more engaging, not necessarily because they were good, but because they had some bite. Comedy was allowed to have an edge. Men were allowed to be masculine. Women were allowed to be feminine. Heroes were allowed to be heroes without some overdone, morally gray hack writing.

And so, yes, people consider themselves to be nostalgic for the entertainment of the past; rightfully so. But as we look around at the state of everything. I’m a guy that dresses up like a wizard to make YouTubes about Nintendo ripping you off; my barometer for corporate avarice and less than satisfying stories is very tiny. I think that modern-day entertainment is a joke—an insult, really. But does everyone else feel the same way I feel? Are movies and television really that bad today? We got Expedition 33 earlier this year. Is one outlier enough to say that gaming is good enough today?

These questions and more have brought me to Nostalgiacon in Houston, Texas, a seemingly fitting place, where I’ll be asking… Was entertainment better decades ago?
• • •
Try the Wizard's Brew: Organic Matcha
https://rwgolden.com
Use code WIZARD at checkout to save 10%
• • •
Looking to play NEW games?
Visit https://FakePortal.com
To discover all-new games from indie and small-team developers for FREE.
• • •
Get Connected:
⤿ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reallifefakewizard
⤿ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/reallifefakewiz
⤿ Join the Discord: http://WizardSanctuary.com/
⤿ See More from Fake Wiz: https://www.FakeWizard.com

FAN MAIL:
Real Life Fake Wizard
1003 Mulford Ct.
P.O. Box 1602
Knightdale, NC 27545

#VideoGames #Netflix #RealLifeFakeWizard