History Main / ThatNostalgiaShow

Furthermore, as a rule of thumb, the series' main creators should have been alive when the series is being set (more or less; it's possible to be nostalgic for your parents' era as well). It can't be too recent; anything set in the 21st century was a no-go until the late 2010s and early 2020s. On the other hand, if it's too old, it becomes less nostalgic and more of a period piece. For example, something set in [[TheRoaringTwenties the 1920s]] today is now considered a period piece. A good rule of thumb is anything set less than [[TwoDecadesBehind twenty]] or more than fifty years ago does not qualify, unless it is going out of its way to fixate on the most nostalgic elements of the period or homage other works that ''were'' straightforwardly nostalgic for it. As of 2010, [[TheFifties the 1950s]] had fully slipped into period piece territory, [[TheSixties the 1960s]] had started to go the same way, and [[TheNineties the 1990s]] started to enter nostalgia territory. In 2020, [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]] will start becoming nostalgic while [[TheSeventies the 1970s]] will start to become the domain of period pieces.

* ''Film/{{Avalon}}'', released in 1990 and set over a period of decades from 1914 to the early 1960s -- thus both nostalgia and a PeriodPiece -- is the third of the "Baltimore Films" by Barry Levinson.

Furthermore, as a rule of thumb, the series' main creators should have been alive when the series is being set (More or less; it's possible to be nostalgic for your parents' era as well). It can't be too recent; anything set in the 21st century was a no-go until the late 2010s and early 2020s. On the other hand, if it's too old, it becomes less nostalgic and more of a period piece; for example, something set in [[TheRoaringTwenties the 1920s]] today is now considered a period piece. A good rule of thumb is anything set less than [[TwoDecadesBehind 20]] or more than 50 years ago does not qualify. As of 2010, [[TheFifties the 1950s]] had fully slipped into period piece territory, [[TheSixties the 1960s]] had started to go the same way, and [[TheNineties the 1990s]] started to enter nostalgia territory. In 2020, [[TurnOfTheMillennium the 2000s]] will start becoming nostalgic while [[TheSeventies the 1970s]] will start to become the domain of period pieces.

* ''Film/SchoolTies'' is set in the 50s, most obviously evidenced by the tame rock 'n' roll that plays in the film, which is treated as rowdy and wild.

* The 1980s ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' movies were set before UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. The [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull fourth one]], however, moves into PeriodPiece territory.

* ''Film/Hairspray1988'', Creator/JohnWaters first PG film, is a surprisingly affectionate 1988 look back at Baltimore of 1962.

* Although it doesn't ''technically'' count (being based on a book written in 1971), the film version of ''Film/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas'' was made in 1998, at the height of 70s nostalgia.

* ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' is a 2004 film, set in the 70's mostly to get away with sexist jokes that wouldn't be politically correct today.
* ''Film/Anchorman2TheLegendContinues'' is set in the late 70s-early 80s, following suit.
* The ComingOfAgeStory ''Film/MyGirl'' is set in the mid 1970s and lets you know it - mood rings, Volkswagen vans, 70sHair, period-appropriate music etc.

* The 2006 British film, ''Film/StarterForTen'', is set in the '85-'86, a fact that it makes glorious use of for the soundtrack.

* The 2014 Liam Neeson film, ''Film/AWalkAmongTheTombstones'', is explicitly set in 1999, which doesn't change the plot too much, besides allowing the main character to be unfamiliar with computers and the "World Wide Web" (which he insists is a fad), and a lot of Y2K jokes.
* ''Film/Mid90s'' is set in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Palms in 1996. It even uses 16mm film to make it look like an actual 90’s film.
* The trailers for Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse's ''Film/WonderWoman1984'' really hit the highlights of the era.

* Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights Orlando has the Vamp series of scarezones, each of them set in a nostalgic setting that's been infested by vampires, with classic hits from that time period serving as the soundtrack playing over the speakers in the area. Vamp '55 in 2016 was based on a homecoming parade in TheFifties and had vampire [[PomPomGirl Pom-Pom Girls]] and GreaserDelinquents terrorizing the homecoming court. Vamp '85: New Year's Eve in 2018 was set in Times Square on [[TheEighties December 31, 1984]] and had {{yuppie}}s getting terrorized by vampire [[TheQuincyPunk punks]], with various '80s celebrities having [[CelebrityCasualty also been turned]]. Finally, Vamp '69: Summer of Blood in 2023 is based on a WritingAroundTrademarks version of UsefulNotes/{{Woodstock}} getting attacked by vampires summoned by that year's [[ArcVillain Icon]] Dr. Oddfellow.

* The MCU's ''Film/CaptainMarvel'' is set in 1996, allowing for a '90s-based soundtrack and references to Blockbuster and the analog age, but ultimately could have taken place in any time period, so long as it predated ''Film/TheAvengers2012''.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'' (2016-present) is one of the archetypal examples of this trope in modern media. The first season was set in 1983, with follow-up seasons set in the following years. The third season went all-out on the '80s aesthetic, with the production renovating part of a dying [[TheMall shopping mall]] in suburban UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} to look like a place that an '80s ValleyGirl might shop at, complete with period-appropriate stores and films like ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'' and ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' playing in the mall's theater.

* ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'', Creator/JohnWaters first PG film, is a surprisingly affectionate 1988 look back at Baltimore of 1962.

* Creator/WaltDisney was enamored with the [[TheGayNineties 1890s]] (he was born two years after they ended, in 1901) and set many of his cartoons in that period, such as WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse's ''The Nifty Nineties'' and WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck's ''Crazy Over Daisy''. Even Donald's iconic outfit is a Gay Nineties throwback!

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

* ''[[Series/Pen15 PEN15]]'' (2019-present) does this for the TurnOfTheMillennium, taking place in the year 2000. While the 21st century ''technically'' starts in the year 2001 (and culturally, many people would argue that it ''really'' started on [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror September 11, 2001]], this is the first series to start with 2000s nostalgia.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'' (2016-present) is one of the archetypal examples of this trope in modern media. The first season was set in 1983, with follow-up seasons set in '84 and '85. The third season went all-out on the '80s aesthetic, with the production renovating part of a dying [[TheMall shopping mall]] in suburban UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} to look like a place that an '80s ValleyGirl might shop at, complete with period-appropriate stores and films like ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'' and ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' playing in the mall's theater.

* British comedy ''Series/DerryGirls'' (2018-present) is set roughly in 1995 near the end of UsefulNotes/TheTroubles in Derry, Northern Ireland. It references Film/PulpFiction, Film/TheUsualSuspects is in theatres[[note]]British spelling[[/note]], and President UsefulNotes/BillClinton visits Derry. However, there are creative liberties with the timeline: Music/TakeThatBand performed in Derry in 1993 and the IRA ceasefire happened in 1994.

* ''[[Series/Pen15 PEN15]]'' (2019-present) does this for the TurnOfTheMillennium, taking place in the year 2000. While the 21st century ''technically'' starts in the 2001, this is the first series to start with 2000s nostalgia.

** ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]]'' and its prequel ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories Vice City Stories]]'' are the best examples of this, set in pastiches of '80s UsefulNotes/{{Miami}} designed to allow people to live a gangster lifestyle straight out of ''Film/Scarface1983'' or ''Series/MiamiVice'', with a period soundtrack of NothingButHits and plenty of broad satire of the culture and politics of the time. ''Vice City'', in fact, has been described in hindsight as the game where most of the imagery associated with nostalgic depictions of TheEighties really coalesced.
** ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas San Andreas]]'' does something similar, except for UsefulNotes/{{California}} in 1992 at the height of the GangstaRap era, breaking the 20-year rule for this trope (it was released in 2004, just over a decade after it takes place) but definitely indulging in its spirit.

* Music/CharliXCX and Music/TroyeSivan's "1999", released in 2019, is all about them being nostalgic for their childhoods in the late '90s, with both the lyrics and the video referencing famous musicians, shows, movies, and other pop culture touchstones of the [=Y2K=] era.

** ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity Vice City]]'' and its prequel ''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories Vice City Stories]]'' are the best examples of this, set in pastiches of '80s UsefulNotes/{{Miami}} designed to allow people to live a gangster lifestyle straight out of ''Film/Scarface1983'' or ''Series/MiamiVice'', with a period soundtrack of NothingButHits and plenty of broad satire of the culture and politics of the time.

Sub-trope of PeriodPiece. Compare {{Retraux}}, which is when the work is meant to ''look'' like it's from another time period, which has its own nostalgic value. May relate to RomanticismVersusEnlightenment as another reason to set a piece in an earlier time period. Has nothing to do with the video game ''VideoGame/{{Nostalgia}}'', or ''WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic'', or any of the many [[FollowTheLeader similar critics]]; the trope for that is CausticCritic.

* ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' is set in 2002, exactly twenty years before it came out, and is imbued with nostalgia for the pop culture touchstones of [=Y2K=]-era girlhood, such as Toys/{{Tamagotchi}}s, Nokia cell phones covered in stickers, G-Shock watches, YA ParanormalRomance novels, the Cha Cha Slide, and most notably the {{fake|Band}} BoyBand 4*Town that figures heavily into the plot.

* The entire point of ''VideoGame/GoneHome'' is exploring the house of a family in '90s UsefulNotes/{{Portland}}, with a RiotGrrrl soundtrack and numerous references to the decade's pop culture artifacts from ''Series/TheXFiles'' to 'zines to mixtapes.

* The ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'' games from the 2000s were set in parodies of the '50s, '60s, and '70s, all from the point of view of an alien invader who had come to Earth to... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well]], [[KillAllHumans read the title]].