Clayton George Wickham - final thesis

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codes. Nostalgia, however, I will use to denote a sensation of memory for a specific
period, or even a specific film, indicating stylistic similarities between texts
separated in time and contemporary styles. Combined, I will be using the phrase
“Nostalgia Aesthetics” to indicate a stylistic design that differs from contemporary
standards in some manner, and replaces them with stylistic conventions from a
different period, or even, a different film with the ultimate aim of creating a
sensation of said period or film to interact with the modern text. I will therefore
adapt Dika’s analysis for my specific purposes, to discuss how elements of the form
and structure of past film texts are appropriated for use in later films to create an
experiential tension through their juxtaposition by simultaneously reminding a
viewer of a period or film while developing other elements according to
contemporary standards.
Friday the 13 th (2009), initiates an aesthetic game, swinging between subtle
flecks of early 1980s form and a fiercely modern form. As an example, the shot
following the establishment of present day Crystal Lake, a group of teenagers are
shown hiking through the woods. While the events of the previous sequence could
have occurred in the early 1980s, validating the clothes the girl was wearing, this
group of present day teens, in some cases wear similar clothes. The character of
Richie, for example, is wearing a t-shirt with a similar fit to the girl from the
introductory sequence, and tighter fitting blue jeans than his contemporaries. Richie
and Mike have longer hairstyles than most of the male characters in Freddy vs. Jason
or even some of Friday the 13 th (2009)’s closer contemporaries. 10
The same could be
said of Clay and Nolan from the next group of teenagers. These hairstyles, however,
10 See next chapter for consideration of these contemporaries.