Everyone’s felt nostalgia before. It’s a natural human feeling that we can’t control, and why would you? What’s wrong with feeling nostalgic over a beloved event from the past? Nothing really, but what if we’re not actually nostalgic? What if it’s just being forced on through subtle messaging and branding?

There’s no reason to act like this is a strange possibility, it’s an objective truth that nostalgia is being used to advertise products. The problem is it’s being used so often that it loops around to just being exhausting. There are so many beloved series and franchises that have been remade over and over so many times that fans fear when their favorite will be done next.

The most recent and egregious example would be the live-action Disney remake movies. Regardless of how well done these live action movies are, they’re inherently inferior as they lack the magic and fun the originals have. It’s fairly obvious that these are greedy attempts to cash in on the beloved status the original animated movies have.

The problem isn’t even that these movies are live action, but that they lack the same vibe as the stories they’re remaking. They’re only being made to cash in on an existing property as Disney, much like the rest of the entertainment industry, is too afraid to produce original content. 

As previously mentioned, this isn’t all on Disney. Just a few years ago, American Psycho had a huge resurgence (a very complicated and controversial one at that). Not long after it returned to the public spotlight, there have been talks of a remake. Why? Why a remake for a widely beloved movie? 

Especially since based on previous experience, it won’t be any good? This isn’t really a criticism towards Disney specifically, and more toward modern advertising as a whole. There’s nothing wrong with using nostalgia in advertising, it’s as natural as advertising towards any other emotion.

The crux of the issue, however, comes from the forced nature of it. Oftentimes it feels like these companies’ ad campaigns are quite unsubtly saying “Look at us! We have something you like from, like, five years ago! Isn’t that so cool?!” Not only is it fake, but it’s also way too hasty.

Quite a few of the products advertised in recent memory are using nostalgia when they’re not even that old yet. It’s hard to be nostalgic for something when it hasn’t even been that long since you had it.

There’s a deeper issue at the heart of this though. Companies use aggressive marketing of one particular trend for a reason, and that’s because it’s popular. Nostalgia and Gen Z audiences go hand in hand, and it’s no wonder why.

With a historic rise in fascism, the alt-right pipeline working over time, and basic human rights being stolen left and right, the past is looking nice right now. Perhaps these fond memories of times before are simply a crutch, a coping mechanism to combat these cruel and cold times of now. Understandable, all of us are struggling. However, there comes a point when it’s unhealthy.

With companies hammering in these “nostalgia bait” ads and even Gen Alpha and the youngest of Gen Z being nostalgic for events that aren’t even a year old yet, this fixation for the “past” is bordering on the extreme. Regardless of whether there are better ways of coping with dark times, using the methods as a crutch only makes the reality worse.

Using coping mechanisms is fine, everyone has at least one after all. There does need to be limits otherwise they only backfire, like Disney’s live action remake kick. The obsession with nostalgia needs to stop, otherwise it’ll be all we see.