Proceedings of the 8th International Academic Conference on Research in Social Sciences
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Echoes of Hauntology: The Beatles and the Specters of Past Futures
Chudi Hua
ABSTRACT:
This paper investigates the concept of hauntology through the cultural and musical legacy of the Beatles, analyzing how their enduring presence in contemporary media and collective consciousness represents a haunting of ‘past futures.’ Hauntology, a term coined by philosopher Jacques Derrida, explores the persistence of past possibilities that have never come to fruition yet continue to influence the present. The Beatles, with their innovative sound and vision of the 1960s, embody this spectral presence, offering a lens through which to examine unfulfilled potentials within contemporary society. By applying hauntological theory to the Beatles’ phenomenon, this study uncovers the ways in which nostalgia for the band invokes a longing not just for the past, but for futures that were imagined but never realized. It discusses how this intersection of nostalgia and hauntology in the arts and humanities provides critical insights into our cultural relationship with time, memory, and the unattainable ideals of previous generations.
keywords: hauntology, the beatles, past, future