Nostalgia and the beauty of aging
Part of why I collect things I was familiar with in childhood is nostalgia. I recently purchased some My Little Pony McDonald's Happy Meal toys that I had when I was little. While I don't "play" with them as I used to, just seeing them on my shelf takes me back to a special time. One without the realities of adulthood. One where I spent hours playing with my little sister and dreaming up worlds and drama that only a kid could.
This type of nostalgia is a tool. It can be used by companies to create cash grabs like rebooted toys with poorer quality and live action movies based on beloved movies from our childhood (cough cough Disney cough cough). On the other hand, people can use nostalgia to fuel all kinds of art, making new things inspired by the old.
Sometimes a thing can be both art and "nostalgia bait". I saw the new Superman movie a couple weeks ago, and I feel like it was not only an entertaining film with a great message, but also most definitely an attempt to squeeze more dollars out of people who grew up with the titular character.
Don't get me wrong. I am not condemning anyone for enjoying media that targets them. I just find nostalgia and the way it's used interesting. All of this being said, it's strange living in a world that places such an emphasis on people, particularly women, to look and act young, while at the same time loving and romanticizing things of the past.
Practically from birth until death, women are taught that their worth is anything but inherent. That to be loved and desired, their purpose is to be what someone else wants them to be. A huge portion of the beauty industry is anti-aging, from botox to breast augmentation to makeup to laser treatments and chemical peels. While I will not judge a woman for her choice concerning her body, I will judge a society that looks down on someone for aging the same way everyone does, and at the same time producing and consuming soulless media and products just because it has that character you liked when you were ten.
At the end of the day, corporate greed and capitalism make victims of us all. They make up a problem, just to turn around and sell us a solution. I know I'm not saying anything new, but I want to say this: Time passing is what makes the things we love all the better or worse. You don't always learn to appreciate things while you have them until they're out of reach. When I'm old, I will love my wrinkles, etched from years of smiling and laughing and enduring.
Appreciate the things from your past. Let yourself age, and appreciate that version of yourself too.