The passing of Eric Rohmer led me to question why and how I ever got around to watching “New Wave” movies. I did not want to use the word film, because we consume films digitally, and therefore everything is just a movie or even a 2 hour clip. What I like the most about New Wave movies is not about their plots, the supposed genius of the directors, their legacies in film studies, but the cinematography. Old movies give us a glimpse of how things looked and provide a measuring stick of how much progress we’ve made. If there were to be a modern day remake of The Moral Tales, we would think the main characters are weird and crazy. Only after expurgating the exaggeration of the character do we see universal traits and emotions. These traits still exist in contemporary movies, so why watch old movies? Scenery and nostalgia.

Perhaps film studies majors are just nostalgic. If they were so interested in movies, they would write a screenplay and learn how to shoot a project. Nostalgia is forcing NBC to put Jay Leno back at 11:35. The argument is that so many Americans are used to Leno hosting after the local news, it’s like a divine right. What about my current generation? Where is our opportunity for nostalgia when we’re in our 30s and 40s, and we tell our kids, “I remember Conan when he was doing Late Night”. When will we be afforded to tune in to the mostly gray, but tinted orange-red haired comedian on a whim?

I believe nostalgia is greater in sports. I am lucky I grew up in the generation that saw Michal Jordan’s greatness, the “give me one chance and it’s in the back of the net” precision of Ronaldo (the Brazilian), the no-fuss attitude of John Stockton, and the grit of Allen Iverson. No doubt, I will be saying “they don’t play ball like they used to” in the future.

Forget the above words, just watch this: