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The past was not that cute

(juliawise.net)
430 points mhb | 2 comments | 06 Dec 25 21:53 UTC | HN request time: 0.556s | source
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techblueberry ◴[06 Dec 25 22:58 UTC] No.46177361[source]▶
I will pre-empt this by saying I most certainly look to the past with rose colored glasses, and some of this is for sure childhood nostalgia, but one thing I appreciate about the aesthetics of the past is they felt more… Honest; for lack of a better term. Things made out of wood and metal were actually made out of hardwood and metal. Not so many composites that fall apart instead of wear ala wabi-sabi. So I think there’s something to the fact that the past was kind of “cute”, just not in all storybook way.

Theres a lake I visit in the summer that I’ve been visiting since the 80’s, and the houses used to all be wood cottages with no fences, now they’re all mansions, many walled off. Sure the houses weren’t insulated, and you would be crammed in there together, but it felt way more…. Human? Communal?

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samdoesnothing ◴[06 Dec 25 23:03 UTC] No.46177398[source]▶
I wonder why it is that the past seems more real and the present dishonest and fake? Is it simply that it is?
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1. SpicyLemonZest ◴[07 Dec 25 02:18 UTC] No.46178610[source]▶
People forget the ways in which the past was fake. Fake butter, for example, was more common than real butter from the 1950s up until the early 2000s. But most people don't eat margarine anymore and so most people don't remember it.
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2. ocschwar ◴[07 Dec 25 13:48 UTC] No.46181664[source]▶
My childhood was dominated by the smell of licorice in some places because chocolate was too expensive.