The Business of Nostalgia.docVIP

The Business of Nostalgia 　　NOSTALGIA usually refers toa bitter-sweet mood in whichone remembers the way wewere. Older people are proneto it, but recently, ersatz nostalgia hasbecome a trend with the younger generations born in the 1960s, the 1970s, oreven the 1980s. Each age group has itsown past to be wistful about. Retro elements are in fashion, in entertainment,in film and television, and in literature. Ithas become the critical yeast in the breadof commercial promotion. 　　Psychological studies point to a connection between a reminiscent moodand dissatisfaction, frustration, or fearof the real world. When it is difficult tofind comfort in the present, people turnto the past. China has been in a periodof rapid social transition and development for sometime, and sooner or laterthe time had to come to pay for thepursuit of material pleasures and highend lifestyles. The bill usually arrives inthe form of physical and psychologicalfatigue. So viewing nostalgia in a morepositive light, by indulging an impetusto remember the past, one can adjustattitudes, release stress, deepen self-understanding, and cultivate confidence.Chinese people, especially the youth,are nostalgic, comments Chen Huizhong, an associate professor of sociology at Huazhong University of Scienceand Technology. This is evidence of therapid changes in Chinese society. Newthings substitute for many older thingsuntil their total assimilation is effected.Nostalgia is a reconstruction of the past,and a foundation of the fnture. 　　 　　Eat, Drink, Remember 　　 　　As the class bell rings, young men andwomen walk into Beijing No.8 School,bare but for a podium, a blackboard, andsome desks. On the blackboard is writtenA New Term Begins. A teacher settlesthe students down and hands out testpapers. Then with the utmost seriousness class begins writing answers to theirtest. Looking through the window on thisscene, you might think it is a real schoolbut you’d be mistaken. Beijing No. 8School is actually a re