A Circular Discussion

When trying to push for the community, one must " How can we push towards the future and what is the best way to do so?". This is what my class “Econ: Risk Value” tried to understand. For the second unit of the class, we focused on circular economies, equations based on economic models, ways that people could be better with the environment. We also went to Rheaply and read Donnut Economics for a better understanding.

For this Action Project, we were told to make a symbol for our own economic principle and then explain it. I choose nostalgia as I believe it could be a powerful tool for a large number of people. The problems I had on this project juggling it with other different projects at the time. I also had trouble finding ways to shorten my words for everyone to understand. However, I did enjoy studying the subject.

Images are the force for economic thinking, as stated through Donut economics. "The most powerful stories throughout history have been the ones told with pictures” (Raworth,17). However, in a world where it is hard to pinpoint the exact trend or symbol of the public before the trend itself died, economists must find ways to connections of people who are hesitant to new ideas. A solution could be the nostalgia of popular art styles, animations, gameplay, or specific eras. The use of nostalgia correctly could be a powerful tool for an economist.

JN "Nostalgia" thenounproject.com, Nov 17, 2019

During the 20th century, parts of pop culture were capitalized by companies. However, the video “Nothing Defines the 2010s” describes how this method is obsolete in the digital age. A solution companies found is the nostalgia of certain trends. A 21st-century economist could do the same in promoting circular economies and also bring the reflection for the public.

Linsdey Ellis, a video essayist, describes the three types of nostalgia in films: reflective, deconstructive, and reconstructive. Economists could demonstrate harmful economies by showing unaffected/affected communities. Film and images are the best media for demonstrations as Donut Economics states. “Images, on the other hand, go directly into long-term memory where they are indelibly etched”. The American Psychological Association transcribed a study on nostalgia with “1,675 features listed and then sorted ...into groups(60) ...34 groups of synonymous (to) desirable features” and concluded, “nostalgia may be uniquely positioned to offer integrative insights across several important facets of human functioning..”. Nostalgia has the ability for reflection of a person, so to use nostalgia towards a harmful system wouldn’t be a stretch.

During a meeting in Rheaply headquarters, an employee lectured of the goal of the company: “hopefully gravitating towards a culture..better utilize our resources will overcome the pettiness of a rival like that”. I believe a person, whether a common worker or CEO, could be affected through nostalgia and let their guard down cooperate. Though nostalgia, we can create a strong future.

I feel like this AP is a wake up call for me. I could have work the whole day on this but instead I was focused on other things. This was a fairly simple AP, yet I did this at the last minute and I suffered the consequences of it. So from now on I'll try to save space for my school work and prioritize it from other work.

Clay Routledge "Nostalgia: Content, Triggers, Functions"American Psychological Association, 2006, Nov 16, 2019

Ellis L "Stranger Things, IT and the Upside Down of Nostalgia" youtube.com, Youtube, Dec 4, 2017, Nov 16, 2019

"Nothing Defines the 2010's" youtube.com, Youtube, Dec 9, 2018,  Nov 16, 2019

Raworth K "Donnut Economics" Penguin Random House, 2017, Nov 16, 2019

Tierney J "What Is Nostalgia Good For? Quite a Bit, Research Shows" nytimes.com New York Times July 8, 2013, Nov 16, 2019