What is it about nostalgia?
I think it really is about our own mortality.
PIANO
By D.H. Lawrence
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.1918
I am intrigued by phenomena like these two Facebook pages, both of them very active and very popular.
nos·tal·gia: noun
1. a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days.
2. something that elicits or displays nostalgia.
1770, “severe homesickness” (considered as a disease), Mod.L.(cf. Fr. nostalgie, 1802), coined 1668 by Johannes Hofer as a rendering of Ger. heimweh, from Gk. nostos “homecoming” + algos “pain, grief, distress” …
And yes, I do indulge and am a regular on both Facebook pages. However, while in both cases many items of genuine human or historical interest emerge, I have reservations about nostalgia. The word history and definition above captures these rather well. We need to ask why we indulge, and whether we therefore do tend rather to be unappreciative of the present. Come to think of it, being nostalgic ON FACEBOOK is really delightfully ironic…
A truly lost Sydney. This was recently posted on the Lost Sydney page. very few of the buildings seen in that photo survive.
But then, neither does this:
And while much that is heart-warming, funny or fascinating surfaces on Lost Gay Sydney, so does much that was truly tragic and not worth the bother thirty years ago, let alone in resurrected form. Funny world, isn’t it?
Yesterday I became quite nostalgic – some of it I think for good reason – about the cows of yesteryear as I trained through Albion Park and Dunmore/Shellharbour. But the past really is another country.
remnant of a dairy farm
Shellharbour urban sprawl
Mao’s Last Dancer (2009)–wonderful
Caught up with this at last, thanks to Wollongong Library.
As readers of Li Cunxin’s very popular book will know, MAO’S LAST DANCER is the inspirational story of a boy born in poverty in a village in China’s Shandong province who grows up to become an internationally famous ballet star before defecting to the West.
Flashbacks show Li at the age of 11 in 1972 living with his family and parents (Joan Chen and Wang Shuangbao). Talent scouts select him to be trained to dance in the Beijing Dance Academy, where he experiences the impact of the Cultural Revolution.
Later he takes part in an exchange programme to dance with the Houston Ballet company, where he falls for Elizabeth, AMANDA SCHULL – when he’s ordered back to China and refuses to go, there’s an international incident.
Li is played at different stages of his life by three actors, eventually by CHI CAO, and his story, as scripted by Jan Sardi and directed by Bruce Beresford, is unquestionably an enthralling one. It’s a pity that the clichés inherent in the material haven’t been completely eliminated. Basically, it’s a typical rags to riches story, with some captivating dance sequences, and some rather obvious suspense, thrown in.
Performances are generally good, but Bruce Greenwood, as Houston’s artistic director, rather overplays his part. Poor Elizabeth is given short shrift given that she’s the reason for Li’s defection.
These quibbles aside, there’s a lot to enjoy in the film; it’s very efficiently made, and though never totally inspiring, it’s eminently watchable.
Margaret “cried buckets” – and so did I. My experience over 20+ years with M and those I knew through him, as well as many of my own adult and school-age students from 1990 onwards, convince me of the authenticity of this movie. The ballet scenes, by the way, were choreographed by Graeme Murphy.
The latest on Li Cunxin:
August 1st 2012
Li has been appointed the new Artistic Director of Queensland Ballet (QB). Li is the 5th Artistic Director in Queensland Ballet’s 52-year history. QB is one of only three ballet companies in Australia.
Queensland Ballet Chair, Adjunct Professor Joan Sheldon AM, said, “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Li on behalf of the Company, its friends and supporters. This is an exciting new direction for our Company, our audiences, and Queensland.
“Li’s passion for dance and devotion to artistic excellence and quality complements our vision as a leading classical ballet company with a distinctive spirit and vitality that is proudly reflective of Queensland and Australia. Li’s extraordinary career, international reputation, networks and commercial experience will provide the Company with invaluable opportunities to build upon the achievements of our 52 year history. The Company can only benefit with Li leading us into the next chapter of our journey of renewal, growth and pursuit of creative excellence.”…
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