ed217454.tif.pdf

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 217 454

CS 206 983-

AUTHOR

Moriarty, Sandra Ernst

TITLE

A Retrospective Analysis of Nostalgia.

PUB DATE

28 Jul 82

NOTE

30p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the

Association for Education in Journalism (65th,

Athens, OH, July 25-28, 1982).

EDRS PRICE

MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.

DESCRIPTORS

*Advertising; Commercial Art; Editorials; *Fashion

Industry; *Graphic Arts; Layout (Publications); Media

Research; *Motifs; *Periodicalsf *Trend Analysis

IDENTIFIERS

*Nostalgia

ABSTRACT

Prompted by an awareness of nostalgic trends during

the 1960s and 1970s in movies, television programing, fashion,

interior design, and architecture, a study compared such trends in

graphic design in both magazine articles and magazine advertisements.

Specifically, it noted the frequency of occurrence of nostalgia in

the two graphic design areas of artwork and display typography and

compared them with the use of nostalgic motifs in headlines. The

study included 12 magazines representing fashion and design-oriented

publications--both general interest and design trade-

magazines--published from 1959 through'1979, and focused

on a total

of 11,816 advertisements and 2,511 articles. Findings showed that

nostalgic motifs seemed to be used more in designer publications than

in consumer publications and that nostalgic themes

were used more

often in articles than in advertisements. In terms of

use in

headlines, art, or type, graphic design was more likely to display

nostalgic motifs than were the headlines of the articleor

advertisement. More specifically, type was more likely to be the

indicator of nostalgia'than was art. The most favored style for

nostalgic treatment was the Victorian period. The level of nostalgia

also seemed to vary with historical events and periods

as evidenced

by a visible increase in nostalgia during and following periods of

economic recession, as well as following periods of social and civil

unrest. (HOD)

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Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that

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from the original document.

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V&sual CommunUaapn

U S DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATION

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION

CENTER IERIC)

141

his document has been

reproduced as

received 'tons the petson

or organizahon

Orromatmg

M no changes have been made

to mprove

reproduchon qualay

Poh,s of vress or opinions

staled .n this dOcu

men! do not necessarily represent

official NIE

besMon or r.OhCV

A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF

NOSTALGIA

Sandra Ernst Moriarty

Department of Advertising

Michigan State University

PERMISSION TO SEPRODUCE

THIS

MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY'

Sandra Ernst Moriarty

TO THE EDUCATIONAL

RESOURCES

INFORMATION CENTER iERIC)

Presented to the Visual Communication

Division, Association for Education in

Journalism, 1982 Conference, Ohio

University, Athens Ohio, July 28, 1982

A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF NOSTALGIA

During the 1960's and 1970's nostalgic trends have been noted in movies,

television programming, fashion, interior design, and architecture.

Ob-

servers of the graphic design scene also have noted that in the 1960's there

seems to have been an increased use of nostalgia as a major creative stra-

tegy.

(1, 7, 25).

This study compares nostalgic trends in graphic design in both magazine

articles and in magazine advertisements.

Specifically it notes the frequency

of occurrence of nostalgia in the two graphic design areas of artwork and dis-

play typography and compares them with the use of nostalgic motifs in headlines.

Research Questions and Hypotheses

A number of research questions guided the design of this study.

Is there

any-difference in the incidence of nostalgia between designer-oriented pub-

lications and consumer publications?

Where is nostalgia most visible--in the

art, the type or the headline?

Is there any difference in the incidence of

nostalgic themes between advertisements and the editorial side of a magazine.

And finally, in terms of a trend analysis, are there significant dates where

nostalgia will predictably increase?

The following are the working hypotheses that were developed for this

study:

Conventional wisdom suggests design-oriented publications would be more

inclined to follow fads and fashions, and therefore a nostalgic trend

would probably show up first and highest in design-oriented publications.

-2

Likewise it is thought that advertising is,more responsive to

changes in fashion and therefore advertising would use nostalgia

themes first and more often than the editorial side of

magazine.

Frankly it was difficult to predict which dimension would be used

as a marker for nostalgia.

It could just as easily be art, type,

or the headline.

For the purpose of this study, it seems likely

that nostalgia will occur first and more frequently in the art since

illustration typically functions to establish mood.

The hypotheses guiding the trend analysis evolve from the question of

whether nostalgia motifs are used more often in periods of crisis

and disenchantment.

These periods could be recessionary times and

periods of public resistance or concern over such issues as

war or

civil rights.

Particular events may incite nostalgia such as the

distribution of major trend setting movies like Bonnie and Clyde and

the preparation for the Bicentennial.

The hypotheses relating to these

benchmark events are as follows:

Nostalgia will increase during and following the officially

identified recessionary periods in 1960, 1970 and 1974 (as

defined by the National Bureau of Economic; Research). (23)

Nostalgic incidences will increase during the period of the

Civil Rights Movement particularly during 1963 and 1964 with

the highly visible sit ins, marches, and voter registration

drives and during the urban riots of 1967 and 1968. (1,3,4,25)

Nostalgia will follow the appearance of a trend setting event

such as the Bonnie and Clyde movie in 1967. (7)

Nostalgia will build during the Vietnam resistance periods and

will be particularly strong during such major crises as the

Kent State protest and shootings in May, 1970.

(1,3,4,25)

Nostalgia will build to a peak preceeding a-planned public

celebraLion such .1s the Bicentennial.

(26)

-3-

Table 1 summarizes the chronology of these major nostalgia*ielated

events.

Table 1 goes near here

THE STUDY

The study included 12 magazines representing fashion and design-oriented

publicationsboth general interest and design trade magazines.

The magazines

analyzed were:

General interest:

New York Times Magazine, Esquire, McCalls, New

Yorker, Holiday, Vogue.

Designer:

Advertising Age, Communication Arts, American Home,

Architectural Record, Art Direction, Print.

The fashion-oriented publications were chosen because it was assumed

they would be leaders in creative trends in graphic design.

The design-

oriented publications included those serving the graphic arts and adver-

tising fields as well as several oriented toward architects and interior

designers.

Once again it was assumed that these publications would be

trendsetters professionally.

The 21-year frame extended from 1959 through 1979.

The study included

a total of 11,816 advertisements, and 2,511 articles.

The year 1959 was used

as rt departure point for several reasons.

First, the 21-y2ar ttme frame is

long enough to allow trend analysis.

Another reason is because, esthetically,

1959 represents the culmination of the acquisitive, materialistic,

technolgic

period identified as the Fifties.(])

It seems to be the end of

a period in more

ways than just the coincidental ending of a decade and, as such, it provides

a benchmark.

Variables

The dependent variable for this study was frequency of occurrence coded

on three dimensions: Content or theme as expressed in the headline, artaork

or illustration, and display typography.

A pretest found that traces of

nostalgia can show up in any one of the three dimensions without appearing

in the others.

In coding content, there are fairly specific cues and they are usually

expressed in the headline.

Such expressions as "remember when," "it used

to be," "the good old days," "the golden age," and "old fashioned" suggest

that a nostalgic theme may be developing. (21,22,25,26,27)

In art and type

the cues are stylistic.

The art and/or the type may be contemporary creations,

but the way they are used creates a mood or feeling reminiscent of times past.

When coding was completed the frequency of occurrence was converted

a percentage using the total number of advertisements or articles in that

particular year as the base.

The total number per year was noted separately

for both general and trade publications.

The percentage represents an index

by year across publication category.

Styles

The occurrence was also coded in terms of the style

or period represented.

Some 16 possib1,1 -ategories were identified by studying

articles in nostalgia

and histories of dasign.(1,4,6,8,9,14,18,28)

The results of the pretest

indicated that seven major categories were represented

by nostalgic traces.

As a result of the pretest analysis, some of the categories

were combined in

those cases where tney were originally broken

out of a major category.

Others

were dropped from the study if the occurrence was so infrequent (a

minimum

level of .01) as to be imperceptible in analysis.

-5-

The following are the seven general categories of style

used in this study:

Renaissance (European from 14th to 16th Century),

Colonial, Victorian, Art

Nouveau, Art Deco, International (Including Bauhaus,

Mondrian, Swiss), and

miscellaneous "Old Fashioned", (indeterminate period).

FINDINGS

Period.

Analyzing the data first by style, it is obvious that the

Victorian Period is the most preferred.

Table 2 summarizes all the data

in terms of period for both consumer and designer magazine categories as

well as for advertisements and articles.

In all four categories the leader

in nostalgic influences is the Victorian period.

Table 2 Goes

Near Here

It isalso possible from this same summary taLle to

estimate a frequency

of occurrence of nostalgia in advertisements and articles in both types

magazines.

The totals at the bottom of each column represent the

number of

incidents of nostalgic traces but remember that this figure is totaled,across

the three dimensions of art, type and content.

Those totals are given below

with an adjusted percentage:

Index

Consumer Ads:

694

9.98

3.33

Designer Ads:

628 12.66

4.22

Total Ads:

1322 22.63

7.54

Consumer Articles:

176 11.73 3.91

Designer Articles:

234 22.98

7.66

Total Articles:

410

34.62 11.54

-6

The index is an adjusted percentage computed by dividing by three to

average the occurrences across the three dimensions.

The resulting index

is a more accurate estimate of the amount of nostalgic influences in adver

tisements and articles.

It's obvious that the designer publications

are

more inclined to use nostalgic motifs with an index of 4.2 for advertisements

(compared to 3.3 for consumer ads) and 7.7 for articles (compared to 3.9 for

consumer articles) thus supporting the first hypothesis.

In general, adver

tising with an index of 7.5 was lower in level of nostalgia than the editorial

side with its index of 11.5, which is contrary to the second hypothesis.

Dimension.

In addition to nostalgic period, the data-can also be

summarized in terms of its usage in either headline, art, or type.

Table 3

summarizes this data for both types of magazines.

In advertisements the

leading nostalgic indicator was type with an index of 3.84 for consumer

magazines and 6.21 for designer magazines.

This compares to 3.61 for art in

Table 3 Goes

Near Here

consumer magazines and 5.33 for art in designer magazines.

For both types

of publications, the frequency of occurrence in the headlines was considerably

lower.

The use of nostalgic motifs in art and type in the articles was much

closer with art slightly ahead in frequency.

In consumer articles art had

an index of 4.81 (compared to 4.74 for type) and in designer publications art

was 9.72 (compared to 0.13 for type).

Overall, however, when the frequencies are totaled across magazine

category, the -total index is higher for type than it is for art, the dimension

hypothesized to be highest.

Adding the articles and advertisements together,

the consumer magazines have an index for type of 8.58 (compared to 8.42 for

art) and the designer magazines have an index for type of 15.35 (compared to

15.05) for art. Overall type has a grand total index of 23.93 compared to

23.47 for art and 10.24 for headlines.

Trend Analysis

Table 4 represents the indices of nostalgic motifs throughout the 20-

year period from 1959 to 1979.

The two advertising and editorial columns

are summations_of the indices noted in

those two categories in both consumer

and designer oriented magazines.

(see Tables 5 and 6)

Note:

the index was

computed by figuring the percentage of the total number of ads or articles

observed and then dividing that number by three, since each ad was coded

separately for art, type, and headline.

Cnce the data are summarized beyond

the level of the art, type and headline dimensions, then the frequency is more

accurately described as an index than an incidence.

Table 4 goes near here

Figure 1 depicts the data represented in Table 4.

First the indices

for advertising and editorial use of nostalgia in both consumer and designai:

magazines were plotted, then a solid line was added which represents the

summation of the two categories.

The solid line might be thought of as the

overall nostalgia index for the 20-year period.

An analysis of Figure 1

shows clearly that there is proportionately more nostalgic motifs in editorial

than in advertising.

Figure 1 goes near here

Looking at the solid line it is possible to compare the level of nos-

talgia with the benchmark dates iaentified in the hypotheses.

In all cases

of 1960, 1970, and 1974 the recessionary periods are followed by an increase

in the use of nostalgic themes.

The date of 1967 which is both the distribu-

tion of Bonnie and Clyde and a period of urban riot is clearly marked by a

-8

subsequent increase in the level of nostalgia.

Fin /lly the two years pre-

ceeding the Bicentennial are periods of increased use of nostalgic themes

followed by a parked decrease in the level of nostalgia after 1976.

In terms

of the use of nostalgia by the creative teams developing the advertising and

editorial material in magazines, the level and direction of nostalgia tends

to support the hypotheses.

21fildALlhalysIsLI/Dimensioa and Category. The data in Table 4 and de-

picted in Figure 1 was developed by totaling all of the dimensions individ-

ually in this study.

Tables 5 and 6 present the data broken down by category

and dimension,

Table 5 summarizes the editorial use of nostalgia in both the designer

and consumer categories and includes the breakdowns by dimensions of headline,

art and type.

Table 6 presents the same information for the

use of nostalgia

in advertising.

Tables 5 and 6 go near here

The index values (computed by dividing the total of copy, art, and

type

responses by three) for editorial and advertising nostalgia in both consumer

and designer magazines are depicted in Figures 2 and 3.

Figures 2 and 3 go near here

Editorial nostalgia is the focus of Figure 2 and it is clear from this

illustration that d-signer magazines tend to be higher in their level of

use

of nostalgia and more extreme in their pattern.

It also appears that designer

magazines tend to preceed consumer magazines in the use of nostalgia

as an

editorial strategy.

-9-

Figure 3 looks at advertising and its use of nostalgia.

Essentially the

same pattern appears with the designer magazines using more nostalgia and

dis-

playing more variation in the pattern of use.

Advertising, in contrast to

the editorial side, tends to see more agreement in

use of nostalgia between the

consumer and designer pUblications.

Also the level of nostalgia is lower

over-

all proportionately for advertising then it

was for editorial.

Trend Analysis by Styles.

The data in Table 7 trace the nostalgic

trends

across the 20-year period in terms of dominant styles.

Of the seven design

periods identified in this study, the four highest in frequency

of occurrence

are Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Victorian and Colonial.

Those four periods are

depicted in the Figure 4.

This Figure clearly shows the dominance of the Victorian

period.

is also obvious that, while the level

may vary, the overall pattern of highs

and lows, tends to be similar for all four periods.

There are some minor

differences, of course, but the parallels are surprising.

Generally there is a steady increase in the level of nostalgia

from 1959

through 1977-78 with a major decline in frequency in 1979.

After the Bonnie and Clyde movie, Art Deco increases

as would be ex-

pected, but so do the other three period; which suggests nostalgia

is an over-

riding theme rather than just a fascination with

a certain period.

The same

pattern occurs before the Bicentennial in 1976.

Colonial increases but so do

Victoria and Art Nouveau.

Only Art Deco fails to show

any major increase pre-

ceeding the Bicentennial.

-10--

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, nostalgic motifs seem to be used more in desioer publications

than in consumer publications, nostalgia themes are used more often in articles

than in advertisements.

Graphic design is more likely to use nostalgic motifs

than is the headline of the article or

advertisement.

More specifically, type

is more likely to be the indica:or of nostalgia then art.

The most favored

style to be chosen for a nostalgic treatment is the Victc

ian Period.

The level of nostalgia does seem to vary with historical events

and periods.

In fact, there seems to be a visible increase

in nostalgia during and following

periods of economic recession as well as following periods

of social and civil

unrest.

The Bonnie and Clyde movie, which occurred at the same time as a

period

of major civil rights agitation, marked a period of major

increase in the level

of nostalgia.

The same pattern can be observed prior to the Bicentennial.

Americans have traditionally been optimistic, forward

looking, and futur-

istic.

Sir.ce Colonial days this society has been supremely

confident that,

given American inventiveness, the future

will be bright.

If there is an

observable nostalgic trend in mass communication,

does that mean there might

also be a subtle shift in American

attitudes re.ulting in a population that

now tends to find more

of its inspiration in the past rather than in the future?

Mass communication is only a

mirroring medium and this study doesn't attempt

to evaluate public response,

but there might be reason to believe such creative

strategies are both reflecting and reinforcing

this type of attitude change.

If so, and that needs tc be the subject

of additional research, this study has

identified a rather major change in the orientation

of the designers of mass

communication and, one might theorize, the

receivers of the communication as

well.

REFERENCES

1. Brandt, Anthony.

"A Short Natural History of Nostalgia."

Atlantic Monthly.

December, 1978,

pp. 58-63.

Carlinsky, Dan.

"Nostalgia: Who Says its Only for Over-30's?"

Seventeen.

July 1971,

pp. 114-115, 152.

3 Clarke, Gerald.

"The Meaning of Nostalgia:

A Time Essay."

Time. May, 1971,

p. 77.

4. Davis, Fred. Yearning for Yesterday:

A Sociology of Nostalgia.

New York:

The Free Press, 1979.

5- Denman, Frank.

The Shaping of Our Alphabet.

New York:

Alfred A. Knopf,

1955.

6. deVried, Leonard.

Victorian Advertisements_

New York:

J.P. Lippincott,

1968.

7. Ernst, Sandra B. "Advertising Design in the 70's:"

Sharing for Understanding

(Conference Proceedings).

American Academy of, Advertising Annual

Conference. Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1977.

8. Ferebee, Ann.

A History of Design from the Victorian Era to the Present.

New York:

Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1970.

9. Fox, Martin.

"Look Out!

Here Come the Forties."

Print.

March/April, 1971,

pp. 23-26.

10. Gloag, John.

Victorian Taste.

London:

Adam and Charles Black, 1962.

11. Gray, Nicolette. Nineteenth Century Ornamented Types and Title pages.

London:

Faber & Faber Ltd., 1975.

12. Gress, Edmund G.

Fashions in American Typography 1780-1930.

New York:

Harpers and Brothers, 1931.

13. Hamil, A.D.F. A History of 0 nament:

Renaissance and Modern.

Vol. II,

New York: The Century Co., 1923.

14, Hayes, Harold T.P.

"The Push Pin Conspiracy."

The New York Times Magazine.

March 6, 1977, pp. 19-22.

15: Kelly, Rob Boy.

American Woodape 1828-1900.

New York:

Van Nostrand

Reinhold Co., 1969.

16. Lawson, Alexander.

Printing Types: An Introduction.

Boston:

Beacon Press,

1971.

17. Merriman, Frank.

ATA Tyke Comparison Book.

New York:

American Typographycal

Association, 1965.

REFERENCES, CONT'D.

18.

Miller, Douglas T. and Marion Nowak.

The Fifties:

The Way We Really

Were. New York:

Doubleday and Co.

1977.

19. Morrison, Stanley.

Type Designs of the Past and Present.

London:

The

Fleuron Ltd., 1926.

20. McMullen, Roy.

"That Rose-Colored Rearview Mirror."

Saturday Review.

October 2, 1976, pp. 22-23.

21.

Newsweek. "Nostalgia."

December 28, 1970, pp 34-38.

22.

Perry, Ann.

Renaissance Revival Victorian Furniture.

Grand Rapids, MI:

Grand Rapids Art Museum, 1976.

23. University of Michigan Survey Research Center.

"Measure of National

Economic Activity."

Economic Outlook USA.

Summer, 1981.

24.

Updike, Daniel Berkeley. Printing Types:

Their History? Forms and Use.

Vol. II, 2nd ed. Cambridge:

Harvard University Press, 1951.

25.

U.S. News and World Report.

"Why the Craze for the 'Good Old Days.'"

Nov. 12, 1973, pp. 72-76.

26.

U.S. News and World Report.

"There's Gold in That Nostalgia."

Oct.11, 1976,

pp. 49-50.

27.

U.S. News and World Report. "The 'Good Old Days'--or Were They?"

Feb. 10,

1975, pp. 28-31.

28.

Warren, Geoffrey.

Art Nouveau. London:

Octopus Books Ltd., 1972.

29. Zapf, Hermann.

About Alphabets:

Some Marginal Notes on Type Design.

Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1970.

-1

TABLE 1

NOSTALGIA BENCHMARKS

Recession:

last 3 quarters

641

Civil Rights:

Sit ins, Marches, Voter Registration

Bonnie and Clyde

Civil Rights: Urban Riots

70] Recession:

Last quarter of 69, first 3 quarters of 70

74 Recession:

Last quarter of 73, all of 74 and into the first

quarter of 75

76]

[77

Bicentennial

TABLE 2

NOSTALGIC MOTIFS BY PERIOD

PERIOD