In Defense of Nostalgia

It's gotten a bum rap, but it's worth revisiting our collective history—and resisting the market's obsession with novelty.

By Michael Atkinson

We're suddenly living in Mad Men World. Even if you don't watch the show, you still know who Don Draper is and have seen the weeds of re-imagined retro-fashion crop up all around you. Brooks Brothers has a "Mad Men Edition" suit, while Banana Republic [RETURN TO ARTICLE]

  • Reader Comments

    You say “since the ’70s, which for some reason harbored a hyper-nostalgic fixation on the Depression”. I don’t remember it that way at all. In my 1970s, there was a brief memory of the Depression after the movie “The Sting” was popular, but from 1973 on there was much more nostalgia for the 1950s, with schools doing musicals such as Bye Bye Birdie as a musical, and shows such as Happy Days on top for TV.

    Posted by berick on Nov 1, 2011 at 3:27 AM

    I love Mad Men, it really evokes a visceral response as a viewer and it is excellently written.  I never lived in this past, but my mom swears this is exactly how it was.  I think that it is human nature to glamorize the past, but this show provides a pretty fair portrayal.  It is not all glitz and glamor for Don Draper - he is an alcoholic with severe trust issues.  Some of the life quotes he says are so spot on regardless of the time.

    Posted by Jenny Blake on Feb 24, 2012 at 2:35 PM