“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
Who knew that Solomon was talking about pop culture in the year 2019 when he penned that scripture in Ecclesiastes.
It seems like this year more than ever this verse is true.
When you look everywhere in pop culture, you see nostalgia stuff coming back. Aladdin, a live action movie based on the animated feature from the 1990s, was just released. Several other Disney updates of old animated films are coming back to the screen.
All because Gen-Xers to Millennials are feeling a bit of nostalgia of their childhood. Most of them either remember when they came out or watched the films as a child.
On television this summer, you’re seeing a major revival of game shows. That’s one bit of nostalgia I can get behind. I spent way too many hours of my vacations watching the USA Network block of old game shows, many of which are being brought back this summer. Some of the old shows from Game Show Network or Buzzr are also coming back, including my all-time favorite Press Your Luck.
Yep, that’s the game show with the sinister yet lovable Whammy who may blow up your money with dynamite, carry it off like Paul Revere’s ride, moonwalk with it like Michael Jackson or maybe even Tammy Whammette sings about having your money back again.
I guess I fall into the trap that Solomon talks about so famously. While we all say we want to see new things, the truth is we all like things that are familiar. We want the artists we like to come out with new music, but it can’t be too different than all the stuff we already like.
Change is nice, but it’s also nice to have familiarity. That’s probably the reason why the more things change, the more things stay the same, pardon the cliché.
Brent can be reached at bmaze@newtoncountyappeal.com.
