D&D General Is D&D nostalgia the best nostalgia of them all?

[el-remmen]

Don't get me wrong. I think critical examination of the past especially those things we tend to feel nostalgic about is crucial. But nostalgia is defined by longing - and longing for past anything is not healthy.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Don't get me wrong. I think critical examination of the past especially those things we tend to feel nostalgic about is crucial. But nostalgia is defined by longing - and longing for past anything is not healthy.

No, it isn't. And longing for anything from the past is...pretty neutral. Longing for it simply because it's in the past would be unhealthy, but there are things that have changed in the world where the old way was genuinely better.

But nostalgia is just strongly fond memories of some aspect of the past, that polishes the stains and wounds of your life's experience, and makes it easier for you to think about the past without getting caught up in the brambles. It's a valuable part of our psyche.

 

[Garthanos]

Careful on that edge.

Nostalgia is primarily a healing method that allows us to remember what is useful about the past and retain strong connections, without reliving the trauma that actually came with it.

By not remembering those bad parts we very much have people regressing laws and other things who want to push everything back to what they thought they had in yesteryear (this is combined with the ignorance over why change happened) can make nostalgic reverence dangerous.

Not a disease but prone to creating problems.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

By not remembering those bad parts we very much have people regressing laws and other things who want to push everything back to what they thought they had in yesteryear (this is combined with the ignorance over why change happened) can make nostalgic reverence dangerous.

Not a disease but prone to creating problems.

I think blaming that on nostalgia is a gigantic stretch. There is a huge difference between being able to think about the past and maintain emotional ties to things you associate with the past (which is part of how most people keep strong bonds to community and family) without being re-traumatized by the worst parts of the past, and being incapable of seeing the bad parts.

I'm an anti-traditionalist. I don't like the influence of nostalgia on our culture. But trying to blame the world's ills on it is just reductive nonsense.

 

[Garthanos]

I think blaming that on nostalgia is a gigantic stretch.

I think blaming that on nostalgia is a gigantic stretch. There is a huge difference between being able to think about the past and maintain emotional ties to things you associate with the past (which is part of how most people keep strong bonds to community and family) without being re-traumatized by the worst parts of the past, and being incapable of seeing the bad parts.

You brought the word trauma in? Yes it is possible to like the good bits and remember those fondly but it is specifically about not remembering or repressing the bad ones or even just never knowing why things changed, those are the roots of mottos like -> make "my country" great again <-- and why it is such a strong ummm calling card of the regressive.

Yea who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

I'm an anti-traditionalist. I don't like the influence of nostalgia on our culture. But trying to blame the world's ills on it is just reductive nonsense.

Not all the ills, I called it dangerous ...you just reduced what I said so you could assert it was nonsense.

 

[Shiroiken]

I find nostalgia a tricky thing. I look back fondly on my Army days, but do not think about the cold, tired, hungry days sleeping in a swamp and only think about the fun times with the men I served with.

Nostalgia is forgetting how crappy something really was. I look back on my 1E days with fondness... until I remember the rules arguments, childish characters and adventures, and convoluted rulebooks.

 

[Hussar]

Nostalgia is forgetting how crappy something really was. I look back on my 1E days with fondness... until I remember the rules arguments, childish characters and adventures, and convoluted rulebooks.

I gotta admit, I'm in this camp. Most of the people I gamed with were dicks. I was a dick. Might still be one to this day, but, I hope not. Sure, there are some fond memories, and sure, I had fun at the time, but, would I want to do it again? Not a chance. I'm glad that people who are coming after me into the hobby are coming into mature games that actually function.

 

[MGibster]

Nostalgia is forgetting how crappy something really was. I look back on my 1E days with fondness... until I remember the rules arguments, childish characters and adventures, and convoluted rulebooks.

Where did anyone get that idea that nostalgia means forgetting the bad? While I have some very fond memories of playing 1st edition, the last time someone seriously asked me if I was interested in playing some AD&D I told them I'd rather use a cheese grater on my eyes. Nostalgia is not the same as being in denial or having rose colored glasses.

 

[Hussar]

Where did anyone get that idea that nostalgia means forgetting the bad? While I have some very fond memories of playing 1st edition, the last time someone seriously asked me if I was interested in playing some AD&D I told them I'd rather use a cheese grater on my eyes. Nostalgia is not the same as being in denial or having rose colored glasses.

Maybe not. But, quite often it slides into that territory.

 

[GuyBoy]

I agree that nostalgia can be a tool exploited by certain ideologies and used for negative reasons with poisonous consequences: the “Again” part of MAGA being a case in point, Hitler’s use of Wagnerian pseudo-history and, on a much smaller (but still unpleasant) scale, the recent escapades of TSR mark 3 to place a non-inclusive spin on the hobby.

The reason for this thread was partly to reclaim the actual nostalgia of the good bits of the early hobby (at least to me) and just enjoy them for positivity and well-being. In part, because standing on the sidelines of the rugby pitch, I could also see the windows of the classroom where our D&D club used to meet, and it just felt “nice.”
That’s definitely not to say it was all rose-tinted; some campaigns were pretty crap and some people I’ve met through gaming were.......dubious.