Papers by Brad Mindich
Rastafarians. The word evokes images of dreadlocks, reggae music, colorful red, gold, green, and ... more Rastafarians. The word evokes images of dreadlocks, reggae music, colorful red, gold, green, and black clothing, Jamaica, and marijuana, among other identifiers. Although all typically associated with the Rastafarian movement, focusing on these characteristics alone presumes a superficial understanding generally expressed by people outside this culture as to what they believe makes up the totality of this culture. Rastafarians cannot simply be categorized as a religion, culture, sociopolitical party, or as just the creators of a type of popular music. They are, rather, an international movement whose beliefs, style, appropriative actions, charismatic leaders, ability to influence those outside their culture, and their collective identity have led to the development of a complex, multi-dimensional, and sustainable community that has continued to expand and thrive for nearly one hundred years. Making the statement that Rastafarians are a sustainable community is interesting to some degree as an academic observation, but when we apply what we might term a " diaspora filter " on this community, the significance of the Rastafarian movement becomes far more apparent and relevant to advancing our overall understanding of diasporic cultures.
This paper explores biker subculture and questions why it is sustainable versus other subcultures... more This paper explores biker subculture and questions why it is sustainable versus other subcultures. This analysis led me to consider the idea that there should be a new subculture category, which I define as a "super-subculture," and by examining the characteristics of super-subcultures we can, subsequently, understand why bikers have a sustainable subculture model.
Thesis Chapters by Brad Mindich
Pre-nostalgia exists at the intersection of identity, memory, and temporality. The core differenc... more Pre-nostalgia exists at the intersection of identity, memory, and temporality. The core difference between what is understood to be a nostalgic feeling versus a pre-nostalgic feeling comes from the individual’s motivation to act due to an instantaneous awareness of, or concern with, missing something at the exact moment of loss and prior to the creation of a recallable memory. The degree, scope, and nature of the motivation and the thing being missed are specific to the individual at that moment in time, and the catalyst for this awareness and its subsequent behavior is primarily due to an engagement with a cultural object. The types of cultural objects in question are almost infinite – music, film, cars, art, or another individual, among many others. This immediate connection with the object triggers a response from the individual that causes what I have described as a conscious or subconscious temporal compression and a newfound awareness of the perceived distance and proportion between this experience/awareness and the individual’s past, present, and future, and their understanding of their sense of self.
This thesis seeks to explore and demonstrate the existence of this virtually undocumented phenomenon via two analytical and interrelated processes. First, I draw on psychoanalysis, philosophy, and nostalgia theory as foundational disciplines to document an academic structure of pre-nostalgia. Second, using the medium of film as a cultural object, I apply my research to identified characters, scenes, and soundtracks from several films from the 1980s to objectively demonstrate the manifestation of this phenomenon. The purpose of this dual analytical approach is to provide both spectators and evaluators of this theory an environment in which to objectively observe and understand what I believe is an intrinsic phenomenon, and my overarching goal is to advance the academic and practical discussion of memory and nostalgia theories.
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Papers by Brad Mindich
Thesis Chapters by Brad Mindich
This thesis seeks to explore and demonstrate the existence of this virtually undocumented phenomenon via two analytical and interrelated processes. First, I draw on psychoanalysis, philosophy, and nostalgia theory as foundational disciplines to document an academic structure of pre-nostalgia. Second, using the medium of film as a cultural object, I apply my research to identified characters, scenes, and soundtracks from several films from the 1980s to objectively demonstrate the manifestation of this phenomenon. The purpose of this dual analytical approach is to provide both spectators and evaluators of this theory an environment in which to objectively observe and understand what I believe is an intrinsic phenomenon, and my overarching goal is to advance the academic and practical discussion of memory and nostalgia theories.
This thesis seeks to explore and demonstrate the existence of this virtually undocumented phenomenon via two analytical and interrelated processes. First, I draw on psychoanalysis, philosophy, and nostalgia theory as foundational disciplines to document an academic structure of pre-nostalgia. Second, using the medium of film as a cultural object, I apply my research to identified characters, scenes, and soundtracks from several films from the 1980s to objectively demonstrate the manifestation of this phenomenon. The purpose of this dual analytical approach is to provide both spectators and evaluators of this theory an environment in which to objectively observe and understand what I believe is an intrinsic phenomenon, and my overarching goal is to advance the academic and practical discussion of memory and nostalgia theories.