The concept of nostalgia in relation to empire is usually analyzed as a longing for former imperial and colonial glory, thus eliding the full spectrum of hegemonic practices that are associated with empire. Focusing on the postindependence narratives and practices of France and Britain, this article distinguishes between imperial nostalgia and colonial nostalgia, arguing that the former is associated with the loss of empire—that is, the decline of national grandeur and the international power politics connected to economic and political hegemony—and the latter with the loss of sociocultural standing or, more precisely, the colonial lifestyle.
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Imperial Nostalgia; Colonial Nostalgia
Differences of Theory, Similarities of Practice?
Patricia M. E. Lorcin
In Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques
- Published (Print):
- 01 Dec 2013
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 97–111 (15 total)
Ambiguous Attachments and Industrious Nostalgias
Heritage Narratives of Russian Old Believers in Romania
Cristina Clopot
section. Nostalgia and Belonging Many researchers agree today that ‘heritage is a value-laden concept’ ( Kuutma 2013: 21 ), it is highly selective ( Deacon et al. 2003 ) and subject to continuous reinterpretation ( Bendix 1999 ; Nic Craith 2013
In Anthropological Journal of European Cultures
- Published (Print):
- 01 Sep 2017
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 31–51 (21 total)
René, Ginette, Louise et les autres
nostalgie et authenticité dans la chanson néo-réaliste
Barbara Lebrun
France's retro rock music (chanson néo-réaliste) of the 1990s and 2000s favors acoustic music and "old-fashioned" instruments such as the accordion in order to reject today's fascination with novelty and consumerism. In doing so, this music genre looks back to pre-war France and rehabilitates an all-white national culture that is problematically nostalgic, in a similar fashion to the film Amélie. This article explores the ways in which chanson néo-réaliste still manages to forge a sense of protest identity in contemporary France, while engaging in apparently reactionary tactics. The specificities of this music genre are explored through an analysis of the lyrics, music, iconography and performance of, primarily, the group Têtes Raides, while contrasting their nostalgia of "protest" with that of the more commercially successful genre of variétés.
In French Politics, Culture & Society
- Published (Print):
- 01 Jun 2009
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 47–62 (16 total)
Transition, Crisis and Nostalgia
Youth Masculinity and Postfeminism in Contemporary Hollywood, an Analysis of Superbad
Victoria Cann and Erica Horton
This article explores the representation of youth masculinity in contemporary Hollywood comedy. By focusing on the intersection of gender and generation, it emphasizes the importance of relationality in a consideration of representations of boyhood. Using Superbad as a case study, this article reveals the nuanced ways in which the crisis of masculinity is represented in popular culture in a postfeminist context. Foregrounding issues of homosociality in coming-of-age narratives, it emphasizes the tensions between generational expectations and performances of gender. Themes of loss and nostalgia are explored through analysis of the juxtaposition of adult and adolescent male characters in Superbad, providing insight into and understanding of the complexities of boyhood. Superbad is contextualized in relation to teen comedy more broadly, highlighting the important cultural space that contemporary Hollywood comedies play in (re)constructing discourses of masculinity.
Daniel O'Shiel
Sartrean conceptions of the Ego, emotions, language, and the imaginary provide a comprehensive account of "magic" that could ultimately give rise to a new philosophical psychology. By focusing upon only one of these here—the imaginary—we see that through its irrealizing capabilities consciousness contaminates the world and bewitches itself in a manner that defies simple deterministic explication. We highlight this with an explication of what Sartre means by "nihilation" and the "analogon," and introduce a concrete example of nostalgia, hoping to lay the scene for a detailed study into the dynamic between our ontological freedom and its constitution and experience of phenomena as enchanting and bewitching. "Magical being" must therefore involve a deep, Sartrean analysis that explicates ontological freedom as becoming concretely engaged in both the real and irreal alike, whereby the imaginary as magic can lead to the most insane, as well as the most artistic, incantations.
In Sartre Studies International
- Published (Print):
- 01 Dec 2011
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 28–41 (14 total)
The Rumble of Nostalgia
Francis Ford Coppola’s Vision of Boyhood
Molly Lewis
analysis of the book” (1986: 513), which is precisely my point in this article; I offer a closer analysis of the film in light of an analysis of the book from which it is adapted. The driving force behind the story of Rumble Fish is that of nostalgia
Robert Zaretsky
Algeria is never far from the center of Albert Camus's life and work—no further, in effect, than Ithaka is from the center of Odysseus's thoughts. In fact, Camus tended to see his native country through his readings of ancient Greek myth and tragedy. This article traces the ways in which Camus, with materials provided by ancient Greece, not only represented his native land, but also elaborated a “Mediterranean” school of thought—la pensée du Midi—that emphasizes the role of moderation or “measure.” There is an undeniable aspect of nostalgia to Camus's rendering of his country and its past, but this does not undermine its validity. By making use of Svetlana Boym's fruitful distinction between reflective and restorative forms of nostalgia, I suggest that the combination of the two categories lies at the heart of Camus's “philosophy of limits.”
In Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques
- Published (Print):
- 01 Dec 2013
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 55–69 (15 total)
Robert R. Clewis
How should a film's appearing dated affect critical evaluation of it? This article distinguishes enjoyment of a film from evaluation and describes how films undergo positive, negative, and comic dating. The affective responses of nostalgia, boredom, and humorous amusement, respectively, are associated with each of these kinds of dating. Insofar as these affective responses are unintended and thus beyond the control of the filmmakers, they have little influence on the film's artistic value, which is understood in terms of the filmmakers' achievement. Conversely, these states do affect levels of enjoyment. By recognizing this, evaluators can rationally resolve disagreements that are grounded on these unintended affective responses to dated films. Several films and film reviews are examined, yet no attempt is made to give close readings or analyses of the films discussed.
Patrick H. Hutton
Scholarly interest in the topic of nostalgia has come late to discussions of the workings of memory, a popular topic in contemporary historiography, but its moment may at last have arrived, bringing with it perspectives unappreciated a generation ago. As an emotional response to time’s passage, nostalgia has long been viewed with suspicion. From the dawn of the modern age, critics have explained that it plays into life’s illusions, drifting into sentimental idealization of a past on the fast track to obsolescence. From the earliest critical commentaries on its nature in the late seventeenth century, nostalgia has been equated with homesickness, futile longing for lost places, lost times, and lost causes. For the most part, it was diagnosed as a psychological disorder that immobilized individuals susceptible to the tug of its emotions. It was in this guise that discussion of its nature entered the lexicon of medical discourse during the nineteenth century. The impairments of those who suffered from its sadness were real. The remedy was to awaken them to life’s present realities, and so to teach them to adapt with vigor to their own times.
In Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques
- Published (Print):
- 01 Dec 2013
- Article Type:
- Introduction
- Pages:
- 1–9 (9 total)
Natalia Starostina
In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, many Russian writers including Ivan Bunin (1870–1953) and Nadezhda Teffi (1872–1952) immigrated to France. Their works were imbued with longing for the bygone epoch and for their lost motherland. In Russian émigré literature, this nostalgic outlook produced the mythology of the Belle Époque as the period of prosperity and social harmony. This romanticized view of the past became integrated in the political and intellectual discourses of two influential French writers, Romain Gary (1914–1980) and Elsa Triolet (1896–1970). The article addresses how Russian nostalgia for a pre-1917 period paved the way for the rise of the myth of the Belle Époque, a myth that became increasingly influential in twentieth-century French history.
In Historical Reflections/Réflexions Historiques
- Published (Print):
- 01 Dec 2013
- Article Type:
- Research Article
- Pages:
- 26–40 (15 total)