D&D (2024) Understanding "nostalgia"

[Scribe]

OK but how does this reconcile the fact that society peaked in the 90s?

 

[Oofta]

I'm a little uncertain about the findings. Movies now are much better, on average, that they were in the early 90s when I was a teen. Are there some stand outs? Of course, but Willow I'd nothing compared to Lord of the Rings, etc...

As to D&D: I think we have nostalgia for the things other than the system, like having time enough to play for hours on end and dig deep into books and experience honest to goodness wonder.

You think movies were bad when you were a kid? At least you didn't have the 79 version of Captain America

 

[payn]

The nation used to be the best, ever. America (USA?) and Australia have some special conditions going for them.


Is this why I have to suffer through horrible renditions of '90s songs whenever I watch a new movie trailer?

 

[Yaarel]

The original post focuses on the music. The Australians (who were studying American tastes in music) have the better, more neutral, scientific approach. And, the music roughly approximates the tv shows and movies. I figure these best correlate with tastes in D&D.

However, from the political survey, the nostalgia factor has some wiggle, depending on the subject matter. For example, the "most morale society" and the "happiest families" look like they crystalize slightly sooner when one is roughly 8 years old. Food and sports peak in the 20s. The curves speak for themselves, in terms of accuracy, even if not in precision.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The original post focuses on the music. The Australians (who were studying American tastes in music) have the better, more neutral, scientific approach. And, the music roughly approximates the tv shows and movies. I figure these best correlate with tastes in D&D.

However, from the political survey, the nostalgia factor has some wiggle, depending on the subject matter. For example, the "most morale society" and the "happiest families" look like they crystalize slightly sooner when one is around 9 years old. The curves speak for themselves, in terms of accuracy, even if not in precision.

You can't trust that survey.

The best surveys were done in the '90s.

 

[Yaarel]

Nostalgia is certainly a powerful feeling, and it drives a lot of decisions. I think it is inarguable that the majority of people form their musical tastes early, and as they age no longer are able to keep up with the changing landscape (not everyone, but most people).

On the other hand, there is also a comfort in traditions and ritual that gets overlooked;

Heh. Overall this post comes across as an apologetic on behalf of nostalgia.

for example, many of the things that people thought of as stupid or corny as teens they return to later- the same teen that might roll their eyes at a family holiday tradition will begin recreating it themselves, not because of nostalgia, but because those traditions and rituals have meaning and comfort to them.

In my experience, the people who have said something like this tend to be baby-boomers. For example, they were less religious as teens but "became religious" when they themselves had kids and wanted some kind of structured environment for the kids. But this approach might be generational. I am less sure parents of other generations feel the same way.

When it comes to brands and products, its always a careful balance between pivoting to the new and retaining the old. There is no single right answer. But it needs to be remembered that if you have an established brand, part of that brand is that continuity of the brand, because that is the power. Break the continuity, or call it into question, and the brand itself is called into question.

Fortunately, D&D 5e is a huge big tent, and tends to have at least something to offer from across editions and from every decade.

When looking at the Australian music study, I notice people have slightly more tolerance for the stuff before they were born than for the stuff after they turn 35.

In other words, the music that their parents liked that they were forced to listen to growing up, is still negative overall, even if they are slightly more used to it.

So even tho parents have influence, the tastes form from the peers and what is going on in the world, beyond the parental control.

Given the inherent fickleness of teens, it is usually a fool's errand for brands to exclusively cater to that market long-term. What works for a period of time will quickly be seen as uncool or dated, and if you are constantly changing, then you lose the continuity that the brand would need.

Put another way, if D&D were re-formulated to exclusively appeal to teens today, it would look incredibly dated not just to people in a while, but to those teens themselves in a few years.

D&D can, does, and should offer something for every age group.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

D&D can, does, and should offer something for every age group.

We are in complete agreement!

The only thing I would add is that D&D is a brand, and part of the brand's strength is that it is in a continual dialogue with its past; that doesn't mean it should be beholden to the past, but that it derives strength from those decades that is built into the strength of the current product.

 

[Mind of tempest]

I can't remember a point in my life when it was not miserable
you guys must all be old if you remember times when everything was not totally bleak.

 

[Mercurius]

Nostalgia has a lot to do with imprinting, although the two are not synonymous. In D&D terms, it relates to the idea of "what D&D is to me." That is usually formed in one's halcyon years of playing, and each individual varies in terms of how that evolves or changes over time.

While nostalgia is a real thing, one problem with this study is that it doesn't seem to take into account actual societal changes, and/or assumes that everything either remains static or improves, whether on a micro or macro scale. Myth of Progress stuff.

For instance, if a person had a nice job and stress-free lifestyle in the 90s and is struggling to make ends meet and stressed out in the 2010s, are they simply being "nostalgic" if they say that life was better for them in the 90s?

 

[Mercurius]

I'm a little uncertain about the findings. Movies now are much better, on average, that they were in the early 90s when I was a teen. Are there some stand outs? Of course, but Willow I'd nothing compared to Lord of the Rings, etc...

As to D&D: I think we have nostalgia for the things other than the system, like having time enough to play for hours on end and dig deep into books and experience honest to goodness wonder.

Gonna have to disagree with you there, at least as a general statement. I mean, special effects and big budget geek movies, sure. But movies as a whole? I suppose that depends on what movies you're talking about. Some film buffs feel that movie-making peaked in the 70s.

And of course comparing Willow to the LotR is just one tiny example. You'd have to compare a much wider range of films, and I think ultimately would be left with the conclusion that, well, it is hard to make any conclusions. Certain technical elements of film-making have improved, but has storytelling and acting? I'm not so sure. If anything, I think technical elements have made film-makers lazier and/or less creative in terms of story-telling.