Mellostalgia: looking forward to looking back

Nostalgia has predominantly been situated as a positive orientation to the past – a function of either personal or vicarious rose – tinted memory, triggered by circumstances in the present – a past/present dichotomy. Yet, nostalgia has no counterpart, a concept to explain a longing for the future, anchored in the present and determined by actions taken in the present. This paper details such an emotion by proposing the concept of “Mellostalgia.” Drawing on a study of visitors to the site of a British TV drama, the process of experiencing mellostalgia through a series of triggers and actions is examined. These include; stimulating mellostalgia; mellostalgia, the present and the future, and, capturing the mellostalgic experience, or “looking forward to looking back.”