Richard Linklater’s film Boyhood
has been one of the most positively reviewed films of 2014. The film
chronicles the life of a boy named Mason from age six until the beginning of
his freshman year of college. Although it may not have had the marketing that
major blockbusters had to make them financially successful, Boyhood still managed to captivate the
audiences who saw it. What marketing the film did have reflected the nostalgia
of the years represented. Herein lies an important factor, which made the film
so relatable to audiences: Boyhood’s
success reflects our generation’s already existing obsession with nostalgia and
the pop culture of our childhood. This obsession leads millennials and even
those born in previous decades to fall in love with a film like Boyhood, which makes a point of bringing
to remembrance images from the past.
The
interests shown in social media by young people reflect these attitudes and
longing for the glory days of youth. One of the most popular social media sites
to recently emerge is Buzzfeed, which frequently features lists meant to relate
to certain niches of Internet culture. Some of the most popular articles are those
that relate to the childhood of the readers. These articles feature toys,
films, and technology of past decades to evoke sentiment within the reader,
probably associated with various memories of childhood. In fact, an entire
section of the website, called “Rewind” is dedicated to 90s nostalgia. Titles
of articles include “The 11 Most Essential Mid ‘90s Back-To-School Teen Girls
Fashions”, “31 Little Victories That Made Every ‘90s Kid Feel Invincible”, and
“15 Things from the ‘90s That You’ll Never Experience Again”. Each of these are
shared and re-shared and appear across several other social media outlets, including
Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Other
trends appear on Facebook, which reflect the Internet’s hunger for all things
nostalgic. One popular practice is to participate in “Throwback Thursday”,
usually featuring a photo taken in the past. These can be as recent as a week
before, or as old as a picture taken at birth. At any rate, the desire to want
to be brought back to older times seems to be a popular yearning. Pop culture
continues to resurface from the 80s and 90s as a steady demand for merchandise
from that era is on the rise.
Filmmakers increasingly produce
reboots and remakes of old television series and films. Some of the most
financially successful films have been adaptations of 80s television shows such
as Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Another
franchise soon to be rebooted is Power
Rangers, which continues to run on television, despite being created two
decades ago. These franchises have had previous films in decades past, but
producers can rely on these brands to continue to grow and be successful. This
is largely in part to the young adult audience, who grew up with the same
characters. One of the most popular franchises, continuing to rely upon the
success of the original is Star Wars.
This is particularly referenced in Boyhood,
as the main character finds common ground with his father in the discussion of
the films, despite their initially rocky relationship and the normal problems
of adolescence.
Another strategy
the film uses is to consciously feature technology of the day, such as the
Gameboy Advance, which Mason plays as he ignores an irritating conversation
between his grandmother and sister. Mason’s intentional aloofness helps him
avoid the painful reality of his sister’s self-absorption and lack of empathy for
him. It also provides the audience with something of which they can relate.
Mason consistently releases emotion through entertainment throughout the film.
During his tween years, Mason’s stepfather’s alcoholism pushes the family to
the limit. Locked in a bedroom, the only thing that Mason can do to release the
tension is to watch a viral video of the time: Will Ferrell’s The Landlord. The fact that this video
is Mason’s coping mechanism only elevates the nostalgic admiration that the
audience will feel towards this popular video. However, the film uses the video
even further to undercut the comic relief with awful reality. They specifically
use the portion of the video in which Will Ferrell calls his landlady an
alcoholic, reminding us of the villainous stepfather.
While it’s
true that much of Boyhood’s success
is largely due to the fact that its storytelling is dynamic and the characters
are well represented through fantastic acting and realistic dialog, the film
was nostalgic by its very nature. In and of itself the film was founded upon
the premise that it would follow the course of a boy’s journey to adulthood,
with the production taking as long as the plot within the film. The very tool
that the film utilized to such stunning beauty was the presentation and
reflection of the past, present, and future. The entire film was centered on
the perception of time, and experiencing life in the moment. The moments in
life build up one’s identity, but the film treats each individual moment as
something sacred. The items of nostalgia in these scenes, whether they are a
videogame console, TV show, or even iPhone, are the symbols that represent
those important moments.
The current
fad of being obsessed with the past may not last forever, but is certainly
prevalent in our society. True, reflection of the past has always been part of
human nature, but perhaps never before have so many young people started
feeling “old” at such an age. Perhaps never before the pervasive culture of the
internet have these young people found grounds to feel like they have authority
over others who may be just a few years younger than them. But Boyhood is aware of these tendencies and
uses them cleverly to help increase appreciation for the story. On the film’s
Facebook page, fans are encouraged to recreate childhood photos. One contest on
the page featured the giveaway of a Viewmaster autographed by the director. One
website for the film removes all doubt of the role nostalgia plays in the
film’s success in its very title: boyhoodnostaglia.com. It may be the case that
obsession with nostalgia is shallow, but Boyhood
was able to use it to bring people to enjoy the film while turning those
moments into so much more. The film’s genius lies in it being at once
relatable, but deep and touching. The sincerity builds upon the past, and
encourages the audience to live to the fullest in the present and future.
Sources:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rewind
Way to have the guts and be the first to volunteer and read it in class man!
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