Nickelodeon Nation

I never really thought that I would see so many Invader Zim items in one place at one time. Recently, I have been going into Hot Topic to purely check out what newest vintage cartoon a la Nickelodeon has stamped onto a coffee mug or steering wheel cover. Rocko's Modern Life, Ren and Stimpy, Angry Beavers, Rugrats, Invader Zim, Doug, Aaahhh Real Monsters, and Are You Afraid of the Dark? are all dotting various items across the store. What is it about our culture that so easily revive these lost television shows?

As popular culture bashes and smashes its way into every level of the media, some huge collections of information have really embraced the past. To be specific, Netflix and Hulu are both offering television shows from the glory days of Nickelodeon to watch to the newest episode of The Office. Literally all the selections I mentioned above are available for your viewing pleasure on these databases. They are getting updated randomly and effectively as time progresses. You literally have an endless selection of your favorite current television shows and the ones from your faraway past.

Popular culture elitism is nearly fated, a piece of media's popularity is determined sometimes before it's even released. Content is hyped up so that it will be a pop-culture hit. Before Snakes on a Plane was even released in theaters, rumors about it on the Internet made it into a predetermined pop-culture hit. Media pop-culture is evolving into an elaborate form of future sight, an avenue for Hollywood to expose itself and create ratings even before a product is released to the public. So where do a bunch of old Nickelodeon cartoons fit into this pop equation? The answer is in the past strangely.

As popular culture moves forward, a severe nostalgia for the past is being created and re-injected into the modern era. Nickelodeon paraphernalia is a symptom of this resurgence. It symbolizes how retro is once again part of the modern and how the term "timeless" can really be achieved through overwhelming media saturation. Being knowledgeable and reminiscing about past cartoons and fads has become so popular that material goods and media has picked up on this human tendency and mass produced it.

Therefore I can't help but be intrigued with the pop-culture fad that is the rebirth of Nickelodeon cartoons. Sure, I am happy for these lost jewels of my childhood being reinvigorated by the media saturation, but what does this symbolize about our culture? I believe these relics of our past that are now being reanimated for modern audiences are a symptom of a mass depression that is hitting the United States and overall our modern existence. All of a sudden, the past is more pleasurable and charming than the future. Our nostalgia towards past cartoons, games, or figments of our childhood show how truly horrified we are of the present. Is the modern existence this terrible?

Granted there are multiple reasons for why we might be so interested in watching old television shows from Nickelodeon, this theory about it being a symptom of a depressed society might be my own personal reason. Why this severe attraction to the past when we should be focusing on the future? Sure it's okay to be nostalgic, but the obsession with the elements of your past to the point that it can be marketed is a little unsettling to me. I understand the whole statement "we must understand the past to predict the future" and I agree with that, it's just this new obsession seems like a slight deviance of popular culture.

My only suggestion when engaging in reviving the love of your favorite cartoon is to actually watch some of these shows in your adulthood. You will be surprised about how "in the moment" these favorite cartoons are. For example, take Ren and Stimpy. The lack of story-lines, obscene humor, horrible close-ups of the characters faces compiled with blemishes, scars, and sweat. Overall, a disgusting show in nearly every shape and form being appealing to children, but not to adults.

Just remember that when you whip out your Ren and Stimpy wallet.