Nostalgic communication as temporal escape: When it was a game's re‐construction of a baseball/work community

This essay illustrates how nostalgic communication invites individuals disenchanted with some aspect of their cultural conditions to make a temporal escape to a secure place of opposition. Such places offer a sense of community and identity to confused individuals. An analysis of the two‐part HBO documentary, When It Was a Game, identifies how the text invites contemporary U.S. workers disenchanted with a loss of workforce identity to escape to a time when workers were cultural heroes. This escape, however, is temporary since the place of opposition reminds individuals of the insecurity of their identities.