This was one of my favorite weeks of Children's Media so far, because I realized that most of my very favorite movies deal with the idea of nostalgia, and returning to childhood, or to days of relative ease, in order to deal with the present. 

We watched the film Hook (1991) which I feel is a good example of returning to the past and being able to benefit from it. Peter Banning is a grumpy workaholic who doesn't spend time with his wife and kids, and is letting life pass by him. When his children are kidnapped by Captain Hook, he is forced to confront his past life. The Lost Boys teach him to embrace his childhood identity as Peter Pan so he can face Hook and rescue his children. Through this process of becoming like a child again, Peter realizes why he left Neverland in the first place. He wanted to be a husband and father. After this realization, he becomes the man his family deserves, and he is happy in his adult life. This is a great example of being nostalgic and returning to childhood as a way of facilitating growth and maturation.

For me, watching Hook is a nostalgic experience in itself. This was one of my very favorite movies as a child. Just like the clip from Radio Days we watched in class, media is strongly tied to our memories. What we bring to our participation with media, like our past experiences or circumstances, can have a huge impact on how we feel about that certain piece of media. Rewatching Hook took me back to all the different stages of my life when I watched this film, and are mostly fond memories. I always was fascinated by the imagery and loved the jokes. This time, unlike earlier viewings, I was able to more fully process the need for Peter to revisit his childhood in order to make amends in his adult life.

Though being nostalgic has its benefits, it can also damage the individual. Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite is obsessed with his "glory days" in 1982, and is in a state of stunted development because he is so obsessed with returning to the past. He even tries to buy a time machine in order to take him back. At the end of the film, when he finally accepts that he can't relive his past, he is able to continue on with his life, and can progress.

Midnight in Paris (2011) fits in well with our discussion of nostalgia. Gil is struggling with his waking life, and is only happy when he is in an alternate universe, rubbing shoulders with famous writers, thinkers, and artists from 1920s Paris. When he meets a woman from the 20s who thinks that 1920s Paris actually isn't the best time, but 1800s Paris is, Gil is able to come to terms with his thought process, and realize that living in the past won't help anyone. He says, "Adriana, if you stay here though, and this becomes your present then pretty soon you'll start imagining another time was really your... You know, was really the golden time. Yeah, that's what the present is. It's a little unsatisfying because life's a little unsatisfying." This is a really poignant thought in the context of our discussion. We can't live in the past, but we can use it as a tool to help us cope with our present.



I think nostalgic films are my favorite because I have really fond memories of my childhood. I also love the media that is tied to certain memories of mine. Additionally, I have always been a big history nerd, and I love the idea of studying the past. We study history in order to learn, so we can then experience a more successful present and future.