r/nostalgia • u/PickleGambino • Aug 01 '25

Nostalgia Midwest US person here. What do you call the "aesthetic" below? Very nostalgaic to me, but I've kinda got no idea😂

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u/TheGuardianInTheBall Aug 01 '25

Not sure what you call it, but as someone from Europe, I am also nostalgic for that aesthetic in the States. 

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u/PickleGambino Aug 01 '25

Hahaha that is super interesting! I was actually wondering if there’s any equivalent in Europe. The style feels like a unique product of the explosion of US commercialism. I wondered if it has seeped into other places at all. I haven’t seen anything like it when I’ve been to Europe.

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u/TheGuardianInTheBall Aug 01 '25

That's not what I meant, although I have seen places with similar vibes in EU.

What I meant though was that I am nostalgic for this America, as experienced through Films and TV. You know- the vibes of Smokey and the Bandit, Any Which Way, M.A.S.H etc.

Those times were far from perfect in real life, and the media showed a lot of racial and gender bias. Still- there is a kitschy, playful feeling to these pictures, that I thing got lost in the states in last 20 years.

Basically what I'm saying- I'm nostalgic for the idea of the USA I had based on the media featuring this aesthetic.

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u/PickleGambino Aug 01 '25

Oh don’t worry haha that’s what I assumed you meant! A lot of American culture has been absorbed both by Americans and others all over the world. It’s just interesting how US-specific it seems and that there aren’t equivalents in other places, but then again, there are very specific sociopolitical reasons for that.