Nostalgia

A significant portion of mainstream culture appeared to be driven by nostalgia, that warm, nostalgic attachment we have to things from the past. It's also quite profitable, whether it's just an era or particular things like movies and music. Just take a look at how Stranger Things and other television shows cram their narratives full of it. Retro gaming consoles also make a major splash. People enjoy liking what they formerly loved.

In the 17th century, nostalgia was defined as a mental illness marked by uprooting, having shattered contacts, and experiencing loneliness, resentment, and estrangement. Which seems lonely when spoken in so many words.

The name is derived from the Greek words meaning agony (nostos) and return home (algos). Patients were said to be manic with longing. Anyone who was away from home and yearned to return was affected, whether they were soldiers, kids who had been sent to the country, or practically anyone. Even some people faked it in an effort to get out and go home.

The symptoms ranged from depression to inflammation of the brain. It was once believed that a nostalgic bone was to blame. Treatment options could include weaning the patient off of their sentimental favorite to the much less kindly sounding enticement of "pain and horror" and later, shame.