History Main / YeGoodeOldeDays

* PBS ran a series of reality-based programs (the names varied from series to series but were generally ''[Decade] House'' (1900 House, 1940's House) or ''[Setting] House'' (Frontier House, Manor House, Colonial House)) in the early 2000s, where modern families with an interest in, but no great knowledge of, another era were asked to live in an expertly-crafted recreation of that time for several months.

* ''[[Film/BillAndTed Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure]]'': Our heroes travel to -- and pick up hitchhikers -- from ancient Greece, ancient Mongolia, and medieval Europe (among other eras), without needing to bother with unpleasant hygienic issues.

Ye Goode Olde Days comes into play when a historical or quasi-historical work makes things much nicer than they would really have been. Usually it stems from only partly Doing the Research: they might get the big stuff right -- authentic plate armour, the right kind of architecture, all that -- but the details of life in the past can be lost. So the farm village has nicely kept gravel paths, and everyone in the medieval village lives in a lovely half-timbered house with two bedrooms and a stone fireplace. The Renaissance maiden never gets mudstains on the train of her beautiful gowns, the Roman Senator has magnificent pearly white teeth, there's no infant mortality unless the plot requires it, no one ever needs to empty a chamberpot, and horses never take a dump in the street. It falls somewhere between subtle nostalgia and outright hilarity when dealing with ages closer to modernity, like the RoaringTwenties being an age of wild parties and shiny classic cars for ''everyone'' and not just the upper classes, or the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Stalinist Soviet Union]] being a nice place where people happily work, [[VodkaDrunkenski drink]], have fun and never have to worry. In short, it's {{Disneyfication}} of history.

Many champions of preindustrial living are not stupid: they are well aware of the more unsavory aspects of those past eras. Their stance is that those problems weren't extremely bad or were suffered by only a minority of people, or even that those who indulged in degrading practices were [[NoTrueScotsman not]] ''[[NoTrueScotsman true]]'' [[NoTrueScotsman exemplars of those societies]] and were ruining the social standards for everyone else. Others will simply argue that their problems were a better trade-off compared with ours.

* The glories of AncientGrome (and other pre-medieval societies) continue to hold in thrall the imaginations of a loose coalition of many ivory-tower types (tending to be the same ones who bemoan the discontinuation of Latin courses in secondary schools and even in colleges and decry [[LowestCommonDenominator the "dumbing-down" of modern culture]]), anti-Christians, and [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe sentimental nostalgists]] disgusted by such modern phenomena as obnoxiously beeping technology everywhere, multiculturalism[[note]]The Roman Empire was nothing if not incredibly diverse. It contained a higher percentage of people that spoke no Latin than the US today contains people that speak no English and Roman York had a higher percentage of black people than York does today[[/note]] and PoliticalCorrectnessIsEvil. To hear these people talk, you'd think the Roman Empire was an ideal time for [[GoldenMeanFallacy "normal, civilized"]] people like the American middle class likes to think itself to be, with law and order courtesy of a huge standing army defending the populace from [[{{Demonization}} those murderous barbarians]], [[SceneryPorn beautiful architecture]], peaceful villas and orchards, fun-filled festivals, everyone bathing regularly unlike those [[TheDungAges filthy medieval bumpkins]] (or, for that matter, [[NewAgeRetroHippie New Age Retro Hippies]] and [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels redneck bikers]] today), folks being polite and knowing their place, and an erudite citizenry debating everything from politics to art in elevated language while wearing sexy togas, without any [[MoralGuardians cretinous Christian morality]] stifling anyone's creativity or spoiling their fun. OriginalPositionFallacy aside, there is a lot wrong with this view. It certainly doesn't help that countless plays, movies, and television shows have [[TheThemeParkVersion idealized the ancient Romans]] and other civilizations, leaving out most of the bad stuff like (in the case of the Roman Empire) widespread socioeconomic inequality (for one thing, a shockingly large number of people were on welfare, and ''not'' the "glamorous" nanny-state welfare we imagine today), an unstable parliamentary monarchical system with [[TheCaligula frequently psychopathic emperors]], an arrogant imperialist mindset that left Romans both bigoted and fatally complacent -- and the fact that [[WickedCultured while Romans were civilized, they were also cruel]], indulging in unusually cruel public humiliations and executions (reaching their nadir in crucifixion, of course, although the "triumph" parades were likewise degrading spectacles), and sadistic entertainments (gladiator fights to the death, slaughtering of wild animals) that made today's "Ultimate Fighting" look tame. Also, that technology ''has'' extended lifespans and made basic existence more comfortable, despite its annoyances and erosion of traditional ways. Even worse, there is the fact that these were ''slave'' societies -- in some cases, slaves made up the majority.

* Some have gone even further back, idolizing pre-civilization and thus crossing into NobleSavage territory with their view of hunter-gatherer peoples (or foragers, as anthropologists now call them). While it's true some foraging peoples were peaceful, this was mostly the ones largely isolated who thus didn't have enemies to fight (with, obviously, tragic consequences if hostile forces ''did'' find them). Many were extremely violent, with some anthropologists estimating their men on average as having a homicide rate as high as ''40-60 %'' due to endemic warfare. This may stem largely from guilt over how foraging peoples were and are treated, but it does not make such idealized conceptions of them any more correct than the opposite.

* {{Justified|Trope}} in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', as the family has a tradition of putting somewhat more effort into getting and staying clean than their neighbors. [[spoiler: This is mainly because Jerin's grandfather was a prince and used to more cleanliness.]]

* The glories of AncientGrome (and other pre-medieval societies) continue to hold in thrall the imaginations of a loose coalition of many ivory-tower types (tending to be the same ones who bemoan the discontinuation of Latin courses in secondary schools and even in colleges and decry [[LowestCommonDenominator the "dumbing-down" of modern culture]]), anti-Christians, and [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe sentimental nostalgists]] disgusted by such modern phenomena as obnoxiously beeping technology everywhere, multiculturalism[[note]]The Roman Empire was nothing if not incredibly diverse. It contained a higher percentage of people that spoke no Latin than the US today contains people that speak no English and Roman York had a higher percentage of black people than York does today[[/note]] and PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad. To hear these people talk, you'd think the Roman Empire was an ideal time for [[GoldenMeanFallacy "normal, civilized"]] people like the American middle class likes to think itself to be, with law and order courtesy of a huge standing army defending the populace from [[{{Demonization}} those murderous barbarians]], [[SceneryPorn beautiful architecture]], peaceful villas and orchards, fun-filled festivals, everyone bathing regularly unlike those [[TheDungAges filthy medieval bumpkins]] (or, for that matter, [[NewAgeRetroHippie New Age Retro Hippies]] and [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels redneck bikers]] today), folks being polite and knowing their place, and an erudite citizenry debating everything from politics to art in elevated language while wearing sexy togas, without any [[MoralGuardians cretinous Christian morality]] stifling anyone's creativity or spoiling their fun. OriginalPositionFallacy aside, there is a lot wrong with this view. It certainly doesn't help that countless plays, movies, and television shows have [[TheThemeParkVersion idealized the ancient Romans]] and other civilizations, leaving out most of the bad stuff like (in the case of the Roman Empire) widespread socioeconomic inequality (for one thing, a shockingly large number of people were on welfare, and ''not'' the "glamorous" nanny-state welfare we imagine today), an unstable parliamentary monarchical system with [[TheCaligula frequently psychopathic emperors]], an arrogant imperialist mindset that left Romans both bigoted and fatally complacent -- and the fact that [[WickedCultured while Romans were civilized, they were also cruel]], indulging in unusually cruel public humiliations and executions (reaching their nadir in crucifixion, of course, although the "triumph" parades were likewise degrading spectacles), and sadistic entertainments (gladiator fights to the death, slaughtering of wild animals) that made today's "Ultimate Fighting" look tame. Also, that technology ''has'' extended lifespans and made basic existence more comfortable, despite its annoyances and erosion of traditional ways. Even worse, there is the fact that these were ''slave'' societies -- in some cases, slaves made up the majority.

* ''Literature/IndustrialSocietyAndItsFuture'': Kaczynski thinks life really was better before the Industrial Revolution, and is opposed to all technology beyond the things an artisan could create (e.g. a water wheel). Given that claim however, he admits those times also had their problems, but feels they we're far less than now, asserting that as humans evolved in pre-industrial times were maladapted to the modern industrial society, which deeply harms us along with the whole environment, while also threatening our future freedom as in his view most technology increasingly enslaves us.

* ''Literature/IndustrialSocietyAndItsFuture'': Kaczynski thinks life really was better before the Industrial Revolution, and is opposed to all technology beyond the things an artisan could create (e.g. a water wheel). Given that claim however, he admits those times also had their problems, but feels they were far less than now, asserting that as humans evolved in pre-industrial times were maladapted to the modern industrial society, which deeply harms us along with the whole environment, while also threatening our future freedom as in his view most technology increasingly enslaves us.

Ye Goode Olde Days comes into play when a historical or quasi-historical work makes things much nicer than they would really have been. Usually it stems from only partly Doing The Research: they might get the big stuff right -- authentic plate armour, the right kind of architecture, all that -- but the details of life in the past can be lost. So the farm village has nicely kept gravel paths, and everyone in the medieval village lives in a lovely half-timbered house with two bedrooms and a stone fireplace. The Renaissance maiden never gets mudstains on the train of her beautiful gowns, the Roman Senator has magnificent pearly white teeth, there's no infant mortality unless the plot requires it, no one ever needs to empty a chamberpot, and horses never take a dump in the street. It falls somewhere between subtle nostalgia and outright hilarity when dealing with ages closer to modernity, like the RoaringTwenties being an age of wild parties and shiny classic cars for ''everyone'' and not just the upper classes, or the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Stalinist Soviet Union]] being a nice place where people happily work, [[VodkaDrunkenski drink]], have fun and never have to worry. In short, it's {{Disneyfication}} of history.

* The Series/BBCHistoricalFarmSeries loves to avert this trope, but at the same time likes to call out misconceptions that exaggerate TheDungAges reputation of past societies. ''Series/TheDailyShow'' once had John Oliver try to track down when "The Good Ol' Days" ''were'', after hearing the likes of Radio/GlennBeck, SeanHannity, and Creator/BillOReilly lament their passing. He proceeded to interview people who'd grown up in each preceding decade (starting at the '70s), all of whom disproved the notion by [[LongList listing the things that were screwy]] during that period, culminating in a woman who'd lived in the '30s describing TheGreatDepression. He concluded they [[NostalgiaFilter all felt the good old days were when they'd been children]], since everything usually seems better at that point, largely because parents will go to great lengths to protect their children form poor circumstances.

* The [[UsefulNotes/SocietyForCreativeAnachronism (SCA) effectively "splits the difference" between historical accuracy and modern convenience; the unofficial slogan of the SCA is "the Middle Ages as we'd ''like'' them to have been". In cases where historical records are "fuzzy" on a particular topic, or recreating a historically documented practice would be impractical or unsafe, it's usually acceptable to create a reasonable approximation using existing historical data.

* An Al Hartley-era ''Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}}'' [[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics210.html comic]] has the gang transported to an idyllic 1890's small town with none of the ills of today's world...and none of the ills of the 1890's either. The result is a ridiculously naive reactionary fantasy land that any perusal of a credible history book on the era, or Upton Sinclair's classic novel written in that time, ''Literature/TheJungle'', could puncture.

* Otto Bettmann's (non-fiction) book ''The Good Old Days -- They Were Terrible!'' is dedicated to debunking this trope in regards to American society in the Gilded Age (c. 1870s-1900). Child labor sweatshops, streets filled with manure and trash, malnutrition among frontiersmen, etc. are shown.
* Creator/MarkTwain wrote ''Literature/ThePrinceAndThePauper'' and ''Literature/AConnecticutYankeeInKingArthursCourt'' specifically to avert this trope. It was a TakeThat against Creator/WalterScott's book ''{{Literature/Ivanhoe}}'', which he blamed for helping to cause the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar, because the antebellum South clung to their culture in the face of change.

* ''Household Gods'' by Judith Tarr and Creator/HarryTurtledove plays with this trope. The protagonist, a female lawyer who lives in modern LA (c. the late 90s when the book came out) wishes for something else than her difficult life juggling a career and family, praying to a statue of two Roman gods she bought, thinking it was better in the era they came from. When her prayer is granted, and she's woken up in the body of a female Roman tavern owner in the 2nd century AD, it turns out to be quite unpleasant in many ways. She's disgusted by the lack of hygiene, slavery and the Romans' attitudes toward many issues. Then things become worse. Ultimately it boils down to finding appreciation for what she has in her own time.
* Professor Welch in ''Literature/LuckyJim'' a Medievalist who loves Medieval arts and culture, sees the Middle Ages through a very rosy light. Welch has Jim give a talk on "Merrie Old England", making his view on the subject clear. To butter him up, Jim plans to end his lecture with an extended digression on how much better those times were than now, and how the Medieval man would be shocked by modern society.

* An Al Hartley-era ''Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}}'' [[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics210.html comic]] has the gang transported to an idyllic 1890's small town with none of the ills of today's world...and none of the ills of the 1890's either. The result is a ridiculously naive reactionary fantasy land that any perusal of a credible history book on the era, or Creator/UptonSinclair's classic novel written in that time, ''Literature/TheJungle'', could puncture.

[[folder:Arts]]
* The Gothic Revival style had been pushed far in some German restored castles, and peaked when King UsefulNotes/LudwigIIOfBavaria commissioned the building of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle Neuschwanstein Castle]] replacing an earlier ruin. It was [[AwesomeButImpractical practically unusable as a political center]] because all efforts being directed into making it as Medieval as possible. Despite this, it had little connection to anything the Middle Ages might have been and was instead more of a fairy tale setting with modern amenities such as electricity, running warm water or central heating. To round off the trope, Ludwig's design was used as the basis for the original Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland.
[[/folder]]

* An Al Hartley-era ''Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}}'' [[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics210.html comic]] has the gang transported to an idyllic 1890's small town with none of the ills of today's world...and none of the ills of the 1890's either. The result is a ridiculously naive reactionary fantasy land that any perusal of a credible history book on the era could puncture.

* An Al Hartley-era ''Franchise/{{Archie|Comics}}'' [[http://www.misterkitty.org/extras/stupidcovers/stupidcomics210.html comic]] has the gang transported to an idyllic 1890's small town with none of the ills of today's world...and none of the ills of the 1890's either.