When you hear the theme music from Jaws, do you feel your muscles tense up? Does the smell of pine and peppermint bring you tidings of comfort and joy? How does that Temptations tune instinctively make you move and groove? Do you laugh out loud at Young Frankenstein and Saturday Night Live? Has your imagination ever transported you back in time to invented versions of the past?
Nostalgia. It is everywhere in our everyday lives. According to sociologist Yiannis Gabriel, nostalgia is “the latest opiate of the people.” It’s in our sports coverage, news, pop culture, tik tok. The political landscape uses and abuses it. Artists bank on it in movies, books, music and plays. Most experts believe it is a near-universally positive emotion and provides people with many benefits—social connectedness, self-esteem, improved mental health, stress relief and a memory boost.
