--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...normally I consider nostalgia to be a…" description: "\"“...normally I consider nostalgia to be a toxic impulse. It is the twinned, yearning delusion that (a) the past was better (it wasn´t) and (b) it can b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/john-hodgman-1811_art_normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-to_1808468.jpg" --- # ...normally I consider nostalgia to be a toxic impulse. It… ![“...normally I consider nostalgia to be a toxic impulse. It is the twinned, yearning delusion that (a) the past was better (it wasn´t) and (b) it can be recaptured (it can´t) that leads at best to bad art, movie versions of old TV shows, and sad dads watching Fox news. At worst it leads to…” quote by John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/john-hodgman-1811_art_normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-to_1808468.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/john-hodgman-1811_art_normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-to_1808468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/john-hodgman-1811_art_normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-to_1808468.jpg) > ““...normally I consider nostalgia to be a toxic impulse. It is the twinned, yearning delusion that (a) the past was better (it wasn´t) and (b) it can be recaptured (it can´t) that leads at best to bad art, movie versions of old TV shows, and sad dads watching Fox news. At worst it leads to revisionist, extremist politics, fundamentalist terrorism, and the victory-in Appalachia in particular-of a narcissist Manhattan cartoon maybe-millionaire and cramped-up city creep who, if he ever did go up to Rocky Top in real life, would never come down again.”” [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nostalgia distorts reality, leading to harmful nostalgia and dangerous ideologies; recognizing its bias prevents regression. **In simple terms:** Nostalgia can mislead and harm. Key Takeaway Question nostalgic narratives. Themes nostalgia media criticism political risk culture Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical cautionary When to use this quote - political analysis - media literacy - creative critique Key Concepts Cognitive bias historical revisionism media influence Questions to Reflect On - How does nostalgia shape your identity? - Can we learn from the past without idealizing it? A Different Perspective Some nostalgia can inspire positive reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Consider Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consider-nostalgia-2093667/) [Delusion Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delusion-past-1405601/) [Fox news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fox-news/) [Leads Revisionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leads-revisionist-2093668/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) [Nostalgia Toxic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia-toxic-2093666/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Revisionist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revisionist/) [Tv shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tv-shows/) ## Related quotes > [I think that I feel that I have no choice but to operate under the illusion, which may be a delusion, that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathon-keats/i-think-that-i-feel-that-i-have-no-choice-but-to-operate-under-the/) [Jonathon Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathon-keats/) > [There's a lot of revisionist history that goes on these days about Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/there-s-a-lot-of-revisionist-history-that-goes-on-these-days-about/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“But there was a catalyst, an event, a moment which changed everything and not just for us. 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And they are working - there's evidence they're working to interfere not just in our electoral process, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-fried/russia-is-an-aggressive-revisionist-power-and-they-are-working-there/) [Daniel Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-fried/) > [It is a long revisionist road up from the bottom for George W. Bush. He is ranked toward the bottom rung of presidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-brinkley/it-is-a-long-revisionist-road-up-from-the-bottom-for-george-w-bush-he/) [Douglas Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-brinkley/) > [We can be revisionist, and that's a good thing to be at times, but we shouldn't airbrush our history, so we can only make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-adams/we-can-be-revisionist-and-that-s-a-good-thing-to-be-at-times-but-we/) [Gerry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-adams/) > [“SAINT, n. A dead sinner revised and edited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/saint-n-a-dead-sinner-revised-and-edited/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Catholicism ... tries to grab all the poker chips on the table, kick everybody out of the game, and then pretend they were never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-price/catholicism-tries-to-grab-all-the-poker-chips-on-the-table-kick/) [Robert M. Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-price/) > [We take from the art of the past what we need. The variable posthumous reputations of even the greatest artists and the unpredictable revivals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/we-take-from-the-art-of-the-past-what-we-need-the-variable-posthumous/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [I don't think the revisionist historians are accurate. I think their agendas are clouded by selfishness and anger and rage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-don-t-think-the-revisionist-historians-are-accurate-i-think-their/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [That is what we have in revisionist historians. It starts with their own atheism, their own unbelief, and then they go back and attempt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-james-kennedy/that-is-what-we-have-in-revisionist-historians-it-starts-with-their/) [D. James Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-james-kennedy/) > [“He doesn't have anything like wisdom of age or hindsight. He's a biased historian of self, an emotional revisionist. We all are, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/he-doesn-t-have-anything-like-wisdom-of-age-or-hindsight-he-s-a/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [Over the past 40 years, the tradition of Southern progressivism has been somewhat successfully erased by right-wing revisionist historians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/over-the-past-40-years-the-tradition-of-southern-progressivism-has/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) ## More by John Hodgman > [Life may be miraculous in its unlikelihood in the universe, but it would be a fallacy to suggest that its rareness makes it inextinguishable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/life-may-be-miraculous-in-its-unlikelihood-in-the-universe-but-it/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [I navigated the world as a hedge maze of constant fear and worry in which I might take the wrong turn and jeopardize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/i-navigated-the-world-as-a-hedge-maze-of-constant-fear-and-worry-in/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) > [“There are transitions in life whether we want them or not. 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I mean, it is, but it's a slow one. It creeps in like the tide, and without your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/maine-is-not-a-death-cult-i-mean-it-is-but-it-s-a-slow-one-it-creeps/) [John Hodgman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) [Explore all 207 John Hodgman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hodgman/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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It is the twinned, yearning delusion that (a) the past was better (it wasn´t) and (b) it can be recaptured (it can´t) that leads at best to bad art, movie versions of old TV shows, and sad dads watching Fox news. At worst it leads to revisionist, extremist politics, fundamentalist terrorism, and the victory-in Appalachia in particular-of a narcissist Manhattan cartoon maybe-millionaire and cramped-up city creep who, if he ever did go up to Rocky Top in real life, would never come down again.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Hodgman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-toxic-impulse-it-is-the-twinned/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hodgman/normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-toxic-impulse-it-is-the-twinned/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/john-hodgman-1811_art_normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-to_1808468.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/john-hodgman-1811_art_normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-to_1808468.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/john-hodgman-1811_art_normally-i-consider-nostalgia-to-be-a-to_1808468.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...normally I consider nostalgia to be a toxic impulse. 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