Nostalgia

Image: Now Showing The Empire Strikes Back

Photo by Mike Beales (CC BY ND 2.0)

Jurassic World, The Jungle Book, Independence Day: Resurgence, Finding Dory… what all of these films have in common is that they are reviving or continuing a story I loved in childhood or adolescence – a story that has a good deal of nostalgia attached to it. And I seem to be encountering more and more of these lately. This is undoubtedly because the industry is making more reboots and sequels, but to be honest, it’s also because I’m getting older (noooooo…) and I remember more originals. Continue reading →

Image: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 1998 Adult Edition Cover

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone 1998 Adult Edition Cover. Photo by Nicola Alter (CC BY SA 4.0)

When I was 12 years old, my godfather gifted me a book. It looked terribly uninteresting. The title – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – evoked memories of Oliver Twist, a story I had never much liked. The cover – a black and white photo of a steam train – looked even drearier. I imagined it would be an autobiography of a poor English boy living near train tracks, or on a train. Boring.

Despite my godfather’s assurances it was “becoming quite popular in Europe” and that his children had liked it, I resolved not to read it. Continue reading →