Blog Entry #9 Did Nostalgia Make It Better?

To the left, the image you see is one of the first google results for 90's kid. Why did I bring up this image? One reason. Have you ever said, "Man, cartoons were so much better in my day. Kids these days watch such crap." All ages have said this, regardless of what generation they are from? Why? Because of a thing called nostalgia goggles. Urban Dictionary defines Nostalgia Goggles as

Someone's tunnel vision when it comes to objects from their past, such as cartoons, video games, even books.

"The new Transformers movie sucks! The original cartoon was the best!" 
In this case the commenter is wearing Nostalgia Goggles, as the new movies/cartoons may be geared towards a new audience, instead of the old one

But why is this relevant? Because we're all guilty of this. As we grow up, it's easy for us to imagine things were better than they actually were. For example, do you remember how great your cartoons were? They were all so amazing, right?

Any of these ringing a bell? If not, there's a good reason. They were awful. 

But it sure is easy to say that modern cartoons are awful. Those shows we loved like Spongebob are no different than modern shows like Uncle Grandpa.

In a way, these will be the shows our children will be the shows our children will remember and say "Man, modern shows are so horrible. I remember the shows we used to watch, they were awesome!" Perhaps it's being a kid that makes everything look better, or maybe it's when you're an adult and no longer understand what children like. After all, there are plenty of amazing shows that are airing right now.

These are all quality shows that adults enjoy and have large fanbases despite airing on children's channels. In fact, children's shows may be at a higher quality than ever, with many focusing on rights, high quality art/animation, deep stories, and accurate voice acting (no white people voicing black characters). Quality is higher than ever for children's cartoons. Take a look at this gif from Steven Universe. Now imagine a whole episode looking this gorgeous, with beautiful lighting and fluid movement. 

Take a look at online series Bee and Puppycat

Cartoons are just as glorious as we remember them. We just need to take a break and stop trying to relive our glory. As adults, we often forget this, and social media website are often filled to the brim with "like if 90's cartoons are better" or "Like if you watched good cartoons and not the stupid crap kids watch now" images. Nostalgia makes us believe so many things are better, when in reality, it was what made us happy when we were young, just as modern cartoons do for kids now. We should relax and let children have their fun. We are not superior for liking an older show. Sit back and enjoy some cartoons. You'll come out feeling a much more relaxed person.