tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post3370037860107314909..comments2023-08-15T05:06:03.233-06:00Comments on The Writing Sisterhood: A Crazy Little Thing Called NostalgiaThe Sisterhoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09889577041903181315noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-4494335052300071712013-06-08T07:19:00.958-06:002013-06-08T07:19:00.958-06:00"There are movies I will adore forever becaus..."There are movies I will adore forever because when watching them they bring me back to a happy time in my life. Equally there are those that do not stand the test of time."<br /><br />As a writer, this is disconcerting, don't you think? Not only do we have to worry about someone liking our work *now*, but also whether or not it will stand the test of time. And what makes a piece feel outdated in the eyes of the reader? What was it about Harriet the Spy that you didn't like anymore?<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by, Grace. I really like the concept of your blog (and I will stop by to learn new words!)Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-57532205107177319902013-06-07T06:00:57.945-06:002013-06-07T06:00:57.945-06:00You're right - nostalgia changes our perceptio...You're right - nostalgia changes our perception of much loved (or loathed) films and books. There are movies I will adore forever because when watching them they bring me back to a happy time in my life. Equally there are those that do not stand the test of time. I'm currently reading a number of my favourite childhood books to my children and finding that some are still wonderful (Railway Children, The Secret Garden) but others had paled (Harriet the Spy) and in some cases I understand them better now as an adult. Perspective is everything - reading a book as a teen vs the same story as a mother, or grandmother, is a different experience because of your own accumulated life experiences and the changing world around us. That's a good thing, I think.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-30088548403592943072013-05-29T08:54:42.224-06:002013-05-29T08:54:42.224-06:00First off, "Planet of the Apes" -- Blech...First off, "Planet of the Apes" -- Blech! I just had to get that out of my system!<br /><br />I agree 100% that nostalgia plays a big part in how we view a film or read a book. I'm one of those who never reads a book twice and hates seeing a film a second time around unless it's been at least ten years. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that once I've read or seen the plot of one story, there's nothing left there to surprise me. And, no, I'm not one of those who believes that if I watch it again and again I'm going to pick out new little things. It's not the little things I care about, but the big picture. I've always been this way, so it has nothing to do with being a writer now. It's the "Been There, Done That" syndrome for me.<br /><br />Can nostalgia work in different ways? I absolutely refuse to watch the original "Psycho" (and any remakes for that matter) because it was the first scary movie I saw as a little girl and to this day it scares the hell out of me. Whenever someone mentions it, it makes me shudder. Like right now. As I'm typing this...<br /><br />Ah, but I do have some great memories of eighties movies like "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club". Even when I watch those today I still think they're great!Mary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-23787490754662411692013-05-29T08:33:34.524-06:002013-05-29T08:33:34.524-06:00I've seen "Before Sunrise" and "...I've seen "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" and I like the nontraditional take on a love story. Now I'm gonna have to see "Before Midnight"!Mary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-64222281905450297122013-05-29T08:32:21.296-06:002013-05-29T08:32:21.296-06:00I'm not a fan of Jay-Z, but I actually enjoyed...I'm not a fan of Jay-Z, but I actually enjoyed how the soundtrack accompanies the film. You might like it too. If anything, it adds to the atmosphere of the crazy twenties!Mary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-11178848228986089252013-05-28T10:28:04.634-06:002013-05-28T10:28:04.634-06:00I have never thought about nostalgia in those term...I have never thought about nostalgia in those terms, but it's true. It can be very painful (especially if you focus too much in the past, which I do!) Your comment has opened my eyes.<br /><br />I'm not going to have any nostalgia-problems with "The Great Gatsby" because I've never seen or read the novel! Let me know what you think of it when you watch it.Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-74497442576356070982013-05-28T10:21:24.031-06:002013-05-28T10:21:24.031-06:00Guess what? I just found out they made a third par...Guess what? I just found out they made a third part: "Before Midnight"! It takes place 9 years after the second (Before Sunset) which is also 9 years after the first one. These movies are an interesting phenomenon. The actors have grown with the characters and are so immersed in their story they helped write the scripts. I wish you would have seen it because it doesn't follow the formula of romantic comedies (especially the second part). I'm thinking about writing a post about them. :-)Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-64587201635257114662013-05-27T08:35:25.553-06:002013-05-27T08:35:25.553-06:00It's in the air! I was just telling my husband...It's in the air! I was just telling my husband yesterday that "nostalgia" is a curse. A little bit of it can impart a pleasant bittersweet feeling, but mostly it's painful: it's a desire to return to a past (largely rose-tinted) that is beyond reach, and wanting something you can't have is pretty much the definition of suffering. People who indulge too often in nostalgia risk becoming curmudgeonly ("why, in my day ..."), but it's not something we have a whole lot of control over.<br /><br />But to your specific questions: I try to judge remakes on their own merits, on not compare them to whatever fuzzy-warm feeling the original invoked in me, which may or may not have had a lot to do with the film/book itself. I may have felt fuzzy and warm because I saw it on a romantic date, or read it on the beach. I'm sure I hate some books only because I'm reading them when I'm hormonal. There are so many variables, as you said, to judging a piece of art; your opinion on the same thing may change month to month, how can you possibly judge an entirely different work, created maybe decades earlier, against its "original?"<br /><br />I will try to keep that in mind as I go to see "The Great Gatsby" this month. =:0 I hear Jay-Z arranged the soundtrack. That's going to rub a lot of purists the wrong way ...Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-78780039939565537882013-05-27T05:36:14.122-06:002013-05-27T05:36:14.122-06:00I know how much 'Before Sunrise' means to ...I know how much 'Before Sunrise' means to you. :)Suzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07908805179119217608noreply@blogger.com