ABSTRACT
This chapter considers nostalgia and its relationship to cult film, in particular the viewing of Hollywood classic film on college campuses, seasonal cult films. The nostalgic tendency of cult audiences is reflected upon by Ernest Mathijs and Xavier Mendik who suggest: a core feature of many cult films is their ability to trigger a sense of nostalgia, a yearning for an idealised past. The nostalgic tendencies, and the inherent contradiction of longing for an imagined past, are illustrated in the case study of Australian cult film audiences. In terms of ritual and seasonal screenings of cult films, the expanse of occasions for repeat screenings favoured by the Annandale group are distinct from those identified within Ernest Mathijs’ research. Jaimie Sexton and Aspasia Leonarder are the organisers of Cult Cinema Tuesday night, which operated for a decade at the Annandale Hotel, Sydney.
