Sweat and Nostalgia

 Reading and watching Sweat, something that stood out to me strongly was the characters frequent reminiscence of the past. The nostalgia of "how things used to be", when jobs were reliable and secure, and town was thriving. The so-called American Dream is just a false image and no longer guarantees the stability that citizens want. It's also not just about their jobs and the stable pay, it's about their identity of who they were during that time. 

It made me think of today's world, and how so many people still romanticize the past, even if conditions were worse. 90s music, 2000s fashion, the amazing memories from 2016, and countless posts saying how "life was better before social media". I found that most people find comfort in the past and their memories, and how big nostalgia no matter how good or bad our current reality is. I think this is because with the future comes uncertainty, and thinking back provides more security than ahead. 

Especially with how fast technology is progressing and AI becoming more and more intelligent by each day, it creates a stronger sense of nostalgia in our society from how unpredictable the future is. People with entry white collar jobs, customer service, etc, are starting to wonder if they will be replaced. Because of this, it creates a stronger sense of nostalgia in our society from how unpredictable the future will be, thinking back to a time where it was all simpler. Similar to Sweat, the characters find peace in nostalgia and reminiscing about better times. Today, many do the same. Perhaps nostalgia is more than just focusing on the past, but a way to cope with the unexpected events that come in the future.

Comments

  1. JustinNovember 9, 2025 at 8:07 PM

    I really love how you tie this into it being relevant now. You mention AI and how that will equal job loss. Also just bringing up tech changes in society and how it can mirror whats happening at olsteads.

    ReplyDelete

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