I for one am a bit cynical about the new Smurfs film, judging by previews on IMDB, so it could be another film that just uses nostalgia as a launch point and says "Hey, it's a Smurf/Fraggle/whatever film! We're reviving an 80's franchise with an edge! Aren't we awesome? We'll add all sorts of pop culture jokes that wouldn't fly in the source material, not to mention a plot that has no business being associated with the source material!"
I'll combine it with this quote:
I guess I see nostalgia as something different. To me, it's not so much the love of something that has died that you remember as it is something alive as long as you remember it and still love it as much as you ever to did. Basically, to me it is just another word for love and a warm feeling and maybe caring too much *lol*
Really, as far as the t-shirts go, I see nothing wrong with getting them and wearing them if you grew up with whatever it is and it is a part of you, the same with buying and collecting old toys...
I mean unless their feelings for a series are 'I grew up with this, wasn't it stupid? Let's poke it with a stick!', then well I don't see why they would want to be a fan at all :\.
I think what is feeding the bad things labeled as loving nostalgia that are really just stand ins for making un-funny jokes is the fact that so little older series are ever been shown on tv anymore, and so everything is made and marketed to long ago dusty memories or totally rewriting them into mocking memories if the viewer was old enough but can't remember more than the characters
Here's my thoughts. To me, nostalgia is code for shows you grew out of that you strangely feel compelled to like again because of fond memories. For people who had all the Transformers and TMNT and then burned them to the ground when you got into your Beavis and Butthead phase in Jr. High. Or sold... or something. I just came to the realisation that I'm unable to become nostalgic for any show because I was always attached to them. I never grew out of TMNT, I never ever ever grew out of Darkwing Duck, and when Animaniacs first came out I was wearing the shirts, and I was almost in high school. I
always wear cartoon t-shirts, and never stopped. I spend a small fortune getting a full set of anything at Kohls... and had I the money, I'd buy the Hot Topic stuff of new shows and old. When people say "remember X series" chances are I saw it sometime that week! I buy anything with a cartoon character I like past or present on it, and I always will.
The Muppets? That's very important to me. I was looking as forward to MFS as I was Star Wars episode one. The Muppets are much much more than "oh, I remember that." It's a way of life... it's a philosophy. Jim Henson is one of the people I admire most...scratch that... is the person I admire most. And I'm sure a lot of us all feel the same way. I agree with what he wanted... the show going on. And that's exactly the mindset this movie needs. it's not a Fraggle Rock remake, it's the FR movie we never were able to get. Same thing about the Muppet movie. it isn't, "oh I remember seeing such and such when I was five." I saw it last week. I see it as a glorious return to the big screen.
I hope this doesn't come off anyother way than the way I intend. But we all have to think, what shows shaped us? What gave us our dreams? What shows are part of us, and what shows did we actually grow out of? And what shows do we watch now shape us even as we get older? Half the stuff I'm getting into now is still shaping what I see in myself. there is a difference between "oh, I had every Ninja Turtle there was" and "the show got me to like the comics, which got me to appreciate the movies better, which got me into other comics. And they're a major influence in my work." To sum it up Inspector Gadget (my favorite cartoon, especially when I was a small child), Kinnikuman (something I got into during college) and even Phineas and Ferb (something I just got into last week) are all different levels of important to me. Buying toys and t-shirts is something I do naturally, as a kid and as an adult. Nothing really changed in that area.