When you’re like me, you go to sleep binge-watching the identical seasons of The Workplace (solely seasons 1-6) nearly each evening, can quote The Princess Bride from reminiscence, get into durations the place you hearken to the identical music on a vicious loop for hours at a time till you may’t hearken to it anymore, and have learn The Da Vinci Code at least six billion occasions (tough estimate).
However why, when there’s a lot new (and good!) content material being produced frequently, can we maintain going again to the identical films, exhibits, books, and songs again and again?
A giant proponent of that is the nostalgia factor of those cultural experiences. Once I watch The Princess Bride for the eleventh time, I really feel like I’m in center college once more and watching it for the primary time. There’s a sure high quality to revisiting stuff you fell in love with that helps us keep in mind the previous — in a approach that may actually put us relaxed.
What makes it really feel good to us is that this: nostalgia, significantly autobiographical nostalgia — which suggests you’re remembering a time in your life particularly, somewhat than historic nostalgia, which is only a normal sense of eager for the previous — can actually be utilized as a sort of remedy. There may be completely a relaxing impact to re-watching one thing you’ve already seen.
The driving drive behind feeling good about revisiting previous films and TV exhibits is that you simply aren’t shocked. Perhaps you decide up some minor particulars you by no means seen earlier than, however for essentially the most half, you’re genuinely comforted by the truth that what’s going to occur earlier than it occurs. You may not even understand because of this you’ve watched the primary three seasons of Arrested Growth 4 occasions or why you employ The West Wing as background noise when you doing one thing else — however there’s this data that what we’re watching is just not going to disappoint us or be a waste of our time. We all know what’s going to occur. It’s an enormous emotional payoff for us.
There may be additionally a small existential factor to doing this. When you hearken to a music you haven’t heard because you have been 10 or if you happen to watch a film you noticed with a good friend in faculty and forgot about till now, it typically feels such as you’re going again in time. You start to revisit your experiences and reminiscences, with out even making an attempt to. And typically these previous reminiscences are intertwined with the current, offering you with new perception and perspective into no matter you’re revisiting. It’s extremely therapeutic and good for you, significantly if you happen to’re feeling anxious.
So the subsequent time you are feeling confused as a result of Netflix has simply launched a bunch of latest content material and you are feeling considerably obliged to strive one thing completely different, keep in mind that science says it’s okay to look at Harry Potter for the billionth time, although you might most likely recite it from reminiscence. It’s good for you.
