The Power of Manchester Nostalgia

Having existed in some form for around 2,000 years, it's of little surprise that what we now call Manchester has such a strong historical pull. A constant stage for historically based media, Manchester as a setting seems to only be growing more popular. Much of this popularity appears to be manifesting in the modern age because of the seemingly explosive growth of media with a strong nostalgic component.

So where exactly has Manchester seen the greatest examples of nostalgic reliance, which other forms of nostalgia have seen booms recently, and what it is that makes nostalgia such a reliable source of interest today?

Manchester in Film and Television

In terms of film and television, the primary strength of Manchester lies in how well it encapsulates a certain point within our collective history. Traditionally, when we think of the way the older building and districts of Manchester look, we turn to the age of the early 1900s.

Much like crime drama Peaky Blinders, has been a strong example of this ever since the show started in September 2013. Set in the age of gangsters, and primarily taking place in Birmingham, Manchester nonetheless played an important part.

Taking place not long after the end of the First World War, Peaky Blinders required a strong historical setting for a sense of realism. As it stands, Manchester is one of the best examples of this which still applies over a large modern scale.

Similar choices were made for the superhero film Captain America: The First Avenger, which was set primarily during the Second World War. Again, Manchester was leaned on as a primary location due to large parts of the city only requiring minimal changes to effectively reflect the way the world existed all those decades ago.

Nostalgia Rising

As the popularity of media set within older Manchester continues to this day, we have to wonder if this illustrates an increased reliance on nostalgia, and what other forms this could take. As it so happens, our research showed that no matter where you turn, historical-based media is just as strong now as it has even been, perhaps even more so.

This even occurs with more technological aspects of our culture, so developed has our world become.

For example, we could look at the YouTube channel Nostalgia Nerd. While the name might be a little on the nose, you can’t fault the writer Peter Leigh’s commitment to tech nostalgia. Turning to older video games and computer hardware, this channel sees enormous interest for viewers looking to turn back the clock to what they enjoyed in their youth.

On a similarly diversified front are online casino slot games. These cover a wide range of themes, and while many of them try to be as modern as possible, there are still a significant proportion of games from websites like VegasSlotsOnline that are based on nostalgic topics such as Bruce Lee, The Wizard of OZ, and Western Belles.

This is the case for traditional video games as well, with the World Wars being an especially popular choice for multiplayer shooters such as the Battlefield series. While the diversity available from the wars might play a big part in making it such a popular setting, there is also some contribution made from a form of self-perpetuating nostalgic media.

Why the Interest?

Taking a surface look at a lot of nostalgic media, our connection to the world of old might seem tenuous on a direct level. After all, few of us were around for the time of the World Wars, and many of us have no context of something like a western belle.

This raises an interesting connection to nostalgia in that while it can be direct, indirect nostalgia is also extremely popular. When we're nostalgic for something today it's not just because the examples we see were things we experienced directly. Instead, it's increasingly often because nostalgic media reminds us of other media representations of older topics we saw when we were younger.

In effect, this can create a sort of nostalgic feedback-loop. On the other hand, when we do have something to physically connect nostalgia to, such as with the older buildings and streets and Manchester, it makes the feelings we experience all the stronger. It's an interesting idea, and it leaves us thinking; how often is our nostalgia tied to the ways things really were, and when is it based on a fictional old world which never truly existed in the first place?