Audiovisual Afterlives: The Soundtrack of Liberal Nostalgia

<p>Following the 2016 American Presidential election, celebrity endorsements proved to be a more narrow gauge of public opinion than ever. The symbolic alignment with popular musicians, which had long abetted the Democratic Party’s standing with youth and particular identity groups, seemed only to reaffirm the party’s establishment status, drawing disavowal in a wave of anti-establishment sentiment on both the left and right. ‘Retromania,’ a term first coined by Simon Reynolds in 2010, can be tracked conceptually from the nostalgic inclinations of twenty-first century popular culture to the ideological sphere, where nostalgic, essentialized constructions of community, identity, and progress have coalesced into a political platform. Through the Democratic Party’s strategic relationships with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Stevie Wonder, the party’s identification with class, gender, and race, has emerged on a cultural stage circumscribed by nostalgic notions. Tracing the audiovisual afterlives of these artists through contemporary television soundtracks, which have preserved the legacy of twentieth century musicians, we can glean moments where a soundtrack of liberal nostalgia begins to form. Drawing on sound studies, gender and race theory, and postmodern media critique, “Audiovisual Afterlives: The Soundtrack of Liberal Nostalgia” illustrates how this twentieth century soundtrack has become ingrained in a collective memory that has confused yesterday’s ambitions for today’s visions of progress.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Liberal Studies

Grantor

The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Kaplan, Max W.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David Humphries

• Aesthetics
• American Film Studies
• American Popular Culture
• Other Music
• Politics and Social Change
• Television
• Nostalgia
• Soundtracks
• Collective Memory
• Music and Politics
• Television Music
• American Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5046

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-6100