History Main / GoodOldWays

* Bill Kraft of ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'' prefers to live in the 1930s, and his dress, mannerisms, home, furniture, and reconditioned car all reflect this, as does his family. Though they certainly have no issue taking advantage of modern medicine, still they have found a doctor who is also part of the Retroculture movement and is willing to make house calls. Later, this is imposed over all Victoria (formerly New England) not as a law, but as a cultural norm with more power and endurance than mere legislation.
* The virtues and faults of this attitude are a theme in ''Literature/AlienInASmallTown,'' a novel about what has become of [[UsefulNotes/{{Amish}} the Pennsylvania Dutch]] in TheFuture.

* In William King's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/SpaceWolf novel ''Ragnar's Claw'', Ragnar informs an inquisitor
--->''We hold with the old ways from the time of Russ. The truths do not change.''
* In Creator/GrahamMcNeill's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/{{Ultramarines}} novel ''The Warriors of Ultramar'', the {{Space Marine}}s have a weapon to deal with the tyrannid queen itself, but they explicitly say they must get to her "the old-fashioned way" -- "with flesh, blood and steel."
* In Creator/BenCounter's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} Literature/HorusHeresy novel ''Galaxy In Flames'', this is the core of Keeler's appeal to Qruze "the half-heard". She repeatedly tells him that he is the only one who remembers the ideals of the Astartes. [[spoiler:When he kills Maggard to allow their escape, he is heartened because he killed him face to face, not with treachery, from far away, and tells how they used to fight that way, respecting their enemies.]]

** The Mao Dynasty, of course.
** It probably wouldn't work if he found a village from the Maoist era ("Half of us have starved to death, but look how much steel we've made! Chairman Mao will be pleased, right?")

** More likely they fought the same way because they had low training and their way worked with low taxes. They fought in the same place, because that is how geography worked out. And they refused to exploit advantage because they wanted to be back on their farms.

* Hank Hill of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' is something of a traditionalist who values hard work and typical hobbies (sports, building things) above all else.
* The Pepperidge Farm commercials are parodied on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' with [[HumanPopsicle Fry]] watching recordings of old TV shows which include lines such as:

** In a BadFuture dominated by evil robots and crazy advanced technology, Jack himself really stands out with his traditional gi, his hat, his sandals, his SamuraiPonytail and his magic katana. When he's shown to have abandoned these for heavy armor, guns, and a motorcycle in Season 5, it's a clear indicator that something has gone ''[[DespairEventHorizon very]]'' wrong in Jack's psyche.

* ''VideoGame/TheSims 3'' expansion pack ''Supernatural'' adds the "proper" trait, allowing a Sim to "discuss matters of ettiquette" and the like.

* Hakumen--of ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''--uses archaic words and phrases ("How dare you interrupt me, [[YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe Grimalkin]]!"), at least in the English dub. He's also polite enough to formally declare doom on most of his opponents ''before'' cutting them in half, and generally holds himself as a KnightInShiningArmor, going so far as to warn all of humanity that they'll need to reform or die. [[spoiler:His status as a practitioner of the Good Old Ways is heavily subversive, though: not only is his {{Pride}} so intense it ''violates physical laws'', but he dips into KnightTemplar territory often. Oh, and he's actually from the future, not the past. [[TimeyWimeyBall Kind of.]] ]]

* Kazuma Kiryu of the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series is a firm believer in the classical depiction of the {{yakuza}} lifestyle: that of being a protector of the community with a sense of honor and fair play, who doesn't exploit civilians and proudly wears his allegiance to the cause for all to see. Much of the conflict of the series is Kiryu's idealism running smack into the reality of running a 21st century criminal enterprise, where the new generations discard honor and tradition for pragmatism and profit.

--->'''TV:''' Do you remember a time when chocolate chip cookies came fresh from the oven? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
--->'''Fry:''' Oh, those were the days.
--->'''TV:''' Remember when women couldn't vote and certain folk weren't allowed on golf courses? Pepperidge Farm remembers.\\

* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' The titular character [[{{Keigo}} speaks in the same way one would speak to a Japanese feudal lord]] (even though it's the Meiji era), and this is commented on by other characters more than once.

'''Fry:''' Those were the days.

In RealLife, Good Old Ways are often used symbolically. The Soviet Union's flag showed an old-fashioned sickle, not a tractor. [[CoolSword Swords]] are routinely used in military ceremonies and parades, even in the 2020s. The British Royal Family's horse-drawn carriage, used at weddings, in fact post-dates their owning an automobile. (This is a common source of NewerThanTheyThink.)

This character [[OutdatedOutfit dresses in an old-fashioned manner]], uses old courtesies and practices things that have fallen by the wayside since YeGoodeOldeDays. Obviously a good person -- the writer is using her or his adherence to the Good Old Ways to signal it, as a convenient shorthand.

In RealLife, Good Old Ways are often used symbolically. The Soviet Union's flag showed an old-fashioned sickle, not a tractor. [[CoolSword Swords]] are routinely used in military ceremonies. The British Royal Family's horse-drawn carriage, used at weddings, in fact post-dates their owning an automobile. (This is a common source of NewerThanTheyThink.)

* Leonard [=McCoy=] from ''Series/{{Star Trek|TheOriginalSeries}}'' both enforces and subverts this trope. He's rabidly in favor of fighting the dehumanizing effects of too much technology (especially the transporter) in favor of enjoying "the simple things in life", and yet sees "primitive 20th-century medicine" as just above trepanation, leeches, and blood-letting in its barbarity, preferring the "high tech approach" to healing. TruthInTelevision, since this is how many conservative-minded people view scientific progress in real life. In general, he embraces the positive, constructive aspects of technological progress rather than the destructive or dehumanizing ones. This gets a LampshadeHanging in the book ''[[Literature/StarTrekDepartmentOfTemporalInvestigations Forgotten History]]'', where a character is surprised to hear [=McCoy=] railing against the past because she thought he was suspicious of modernity, and he replies "I'm suspicious of all kinds of things."
** True with many other characters in the Star Trek universe. Among others, Picard prefers paper books and drinks real wine and Sisko likes to cook real food and play baseball. His father has a restaurant which serves authentic Cajun cuisine too. Cooked, not made by a replicator.
** A darker example shows up at the beginning of the ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' Mirror Universe two-parter, when Reed and Phlox show off their new [[AgonyBeam "Agony Booth"]]. Captain Forrest comments "There's something to be said for a good old-fashioned [[CorporalPunishment flogging]]."

** This is the hat of the Minbari. Quite well drawn though [[SpaceElves less mundane]] than similar human cultures actually are in practice. Both the virtues and the faults of traditionalist cultures are well shown. Minbari are often loyal, brave and honorable but they can also be bigoted and vicious. Still, when one sees Minbari act, one can actually believe in them and it is a tribute to the writer and perhaps the actors (Mira Furlan was a Croatian exile and might have had the advantage of being able to act what she knew to some extent).
** Londo is a follower of the good old Centauri ways, including honor duels (he's a good swordsman, if one whose fighting style gave him the nickname ''Passo Liati''--"[[TheBerserker Fights Like a Madman]]") and poisoning your rivals. He even [[LampshadeHanging declared it out loud]] while explaining to Lord Refa [[MagnificentBastard why he poisoned his drink before asking him to break his alliance with]] [[BigBad the Shadows]]: apparently poison was used often in the good old times, and as an aficionado of those times Londo decided to become a master poisoner.
** Michael Garibaldi is a fan of 20th century Warner Brothers cartoons (specifically Daffy Duck; B5 itself was produced by WB), and generally basks in a FilmNoir vibe. Also he has a 20th century revolver (his great-whatever-great grandmother was apparently a UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} cop) and motorcycle, each of which only pop up for one episode.
** John Sheridan is a baseball fan and is {{lampshaded}} as a "bit of a history buff". He's notorious for cribbing historical speeches whenever he needs to make a public address. Really, B5 is rife with characters who are all about this trope.

[[folder:Film]]

* Witch Culture in ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' is shown to be steeped deep in tradition, Luna Nova in particular filled with various traditions, customs and ways that seem archaic by modern standards. Because of this, many of the students and staff have a bias against Akko, a regular person from a non-witch family that idolizes Shiny Chariot (a witch many other witches dislike due to her use of magic for entertainment).

** Harry Dresden likes to act old-fashioned, partly because he's a wizard, and partly because it annoys Murphy.