In exploring our pasts, memories aren’t made real until they’re articulated out loud. This critical essay offers a meditation on meaning-finding activities of the twentieth century. I offer a definition of the word wholesome, as it exists as both an aesthetic, and as a way to find personal connection with others. As an Illustrator and Storyteller, I carry a responsibility for depicting a way that the world may be remembered. When our stories paint only a picture of a triumphant and moral people we do not only a disservice to the struggles of those same people, but also to the people we are, and hope to be. Nostalgia is looking back through a fog of variations on the same story told over and over again until we feel it instead of saying it. Unexamined nostalgia –unarticulated memories– leave us vulerable to stories that we don’t realize we’re telling ourselves.
","abstract_html":"<p>In exploring our pasts, memories aren’t made real until they’re articulated out loud. This critical essay offers a meditation on meaning-finding activities of the twentieth century. I offer a definition of the word wholesome, as it exists as both an aesthetic, and as a way to find personal connection with others. As an Illustrator and Storyteller, I carry a responsibility for depicting a way that the world may be remembered. When our stories paint only a picture of a triumphant and moral people we do not only a disservice to the struggles of those same people, but also to the people we are, and hope to be. Nostalgia is looking back through a fog of variations on the same story told over and over again until we feel it instead of saying it. Unexamined nostalgia –unarticulated memories– leave us vulerable to stories that we don’t realize we’re telling ourselves.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Johnson, Jeffrey"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Graduate School of Art","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-05-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-05-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:12:17Z","subjects":["Wholesome","nostalgia","single story","visual culture","illustration","narrative","Art and Design"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/28","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Johnson, Jeffrey"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-05-08T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Graduate School of Art"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Illustration & Visual Culture"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Wholesome","nostalgia","single story","visual culture","illustration","narrative","Art and Design"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mfa_illustration/28"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In exploring our pasts, memories aren’t made real until they’re articulated out loud. This critical essay offers a meditation on meaning-finding activities of the twentieth century. I offer a definition of the word wholesome, as it exists as both an aesthetic, and as a way to find personal connection with others. As an Illustrator and Storyteller, I carry a responsibility for depicting a way that the world may be remembered. When our stories paint only a picture of a triumphant and moral people we do not only a disservice to the struggles of those same people, but also to the people we are, and hope to be. Nostalgia is looking back through a fog of variations on the same story told over and over again until we feel it instead of saying it. Unexamined nostalgia –unarticulated memories– leave us vulerable to stories that we don’t realize we’re telling ourselves.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Nostalgic Neighbors: Engaging the Single-Story of Wholesomeness"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Johnson, Jeffrey"],"dc:date.available":["2024-05-08T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In exploring our pasts, memories aren’t made real until they’re articulated out loud. This critical essay offers a meditation on meaning-finding activities of the twentieth century. I offer a definition of the word wholesome, as it exists as both an aesthetic, and as a way to find personal connection with others. As an Illustrator and Storyteller, I carry a responsibility for depicting a way that the world may be remembered. When our stories paint only a picture of a triumphant and moral people we do not only a disservice to the struggles of those same people, but also to the people we are, and hope to be. Nostalgia is looking back through a fog of variations on the same story told over and over again until we feel it instead of saying it. Unexamined nostalgia –unarticulated memories– leave us vulerable to stories that we don’t realize we’re telling ourselves.
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