My current favorite “Gen X is” trend on social media is the one that casts us as capable, on-purpose outsiders, who are hilarious while being almost invisible (think Randall Flagg from The Stand- good humored, smiling, but you only see us when we want to be seen) and (also like RF) are absolutely terrifying to the younger generations- even the ones that love and admire us. They appreciate the massive contribution of Gen X to pop culture, but respect our ability to go all Michael Douglas (Falling Down, The Game) at the drop of a hat.
I see a mix bag of trends on social. Some positive and some negative. There are some Gen X creators that stoke some of the negative fire, but for the most part, I would say our generation doesn't get doused negatively as bad as boomers do. Hoping it remains that way ;)
The reason the Boomers always resented us was because, just by living, we reminded them that they weren't The Young anymore. They aggressively defended their centrality in the culture, first by imposing their Nostalgia Industrial Complex upon the music industry in the late 1980s (+ freezing out ours so bad we had to make a whole other one, which they bought out before it could threaten theirs); then spreading from there.
Now that the Boomers are truly old, they're trying to recast themselves as "benevolent elders"; when they absolutely can no longer maintain their vise-like grip on power, they attempt to pass it over GenX's heads to Millennials instead, who are more likely to flatter their egos with surface-level reverence.
This picture, of course, is largely drawn without the influence of class; as the middle class across generations has become more precarious and less likely to rise. That, however, creates different and more vicious grudges and rivalries between generations, as we're all stuck competing for a modicum of material dignity; which heightens tensions culturally (a phenomenon weaponized and used by the right and center-right, for its own purposes). GenX has a lot of right-wingers in it, yes; but also a higher percentage of pretty hard-left folks too, partly because below a certain class-level, we've never known "good times", just a steady drumbeat of losses and cuts and layoffs and always threats of more if "austerity" isn't imposed (tho' even if it is, we lose things then too).
Then we see Millennials (again, benefitted by class) being handed a new culture, and empowered to run it and make it the rule of society, in ways we were never allowed to come close to in the days of our youthful prime.
The fences Boomers erected around "centrality" still fence us out; there's just new people inside them now.
This is one of the finest comments on something I've written in a very long time.
You make excellent points here. The area where I believe Gen X and Millennials have been fenced out the most is in politics and news media. I've always been frustrated by the vice-grip boomers have had in those areas. I see social tech as a way to break through that fence.
This Gen X'er is perfectly content to remain in the shadows whilst the generation before and the ones after insult each other ad nauseum , its oddly fun to watch from the sidelines .
I must admit, sometimes it's amusing to watch the slinging, but more often than not, I'm just shaking my head because the vitriol is usually aimed at the wrong source.
Damn.
My current favorite “Gen X is” trend on social media is the one that casts us as capable, on-purpose outsiders, who are hilarious while being almost invisible (think Randall Flagg from The Stand- good humored, smiling, but you only see us when we want to be seen) and (also like RF) are absolutely terrifying to the younger generations- even the ones that love and admire us. They appreciate the massive contribution of Gen X to pop culture, but respect our ability to go all Michael Douglas (Falling Down, The Game) at the drop of a hat.
I see a mix bag of trends on social. Some positive and some negative. There are some Gen X creators that stoke some of the negative fire, but for the most part, I would say our generation doesn't get doused negatively as bad as boomers do. Hoping it remains that way ;)
btw. I'm a big fan of The Stand!
The Stand ..brilliant story , once I started reading it , could barely put it down .
The reason the Boomers always resented us was because, just by living, we reminded them that they weren't The Young anymore. They aggressively defended their centrality in the culture, first by imposing their Nostalgia Industrial Complex upon the music industry in the late 1980s (+ freezing out ours so bad we had to make a whole other one, which they bought out before it could threaten theirs); then spreading from there.
Now that the Boomers are truly old, they're trying to recast themselves as "benevolent elders"; when they absolutely can no longer maintain their vise-like grip on power, they attempt to pass it over GenX's heads to Millennials instead, who are more likely to flatter their egos with surface-level reverence.
This picture, of course, is largely drawn without the influence of class; as the middle class across generations has become more precarious and less likely to rise. That, however, creates different and more vicious grudges and rivalries between generations, as we're all stuck competing for a modicum of material dignity; which heightens tensions culturally (a phenomenon weaponized and used by the right and center-right, for its own purposes). GenX has a lot of right-wingers in it, yes; but also a higher percentage of pretty hard-left folks too, partly because below a certain class-level, we've never known "good times", just a steady drumbeat of losses and cuts and layoffs and always threats of more if "austerity" isn't imposed (tho' even if it is, we lose things then too).
Then we see Millennials (again, benefitted by class) being handed a new culture, and empowered to run it and make it the rule of society, in ways we were never allowed to come close to in the days of our youthful prime.
The fences Boomers erected around "centrality" still fence us out; there's just new people inside them now.
How are we supposed to feel about that?
This is one of the finest comments on something I've written in a very long time.
You make excellent points here. The area where I believe Gen X and Millennials have been fenced out the most is in politics and news media. I've always been frustrated by the vice-grip boomers have had in those areas. I see social tech as a way to break through that fence.
This Gen X'er is perfectly content to remain in the shadows whilst the generation before and the ones after insult each other ad nauseum , its oddly fun to watch from the sidelines .
I must admit, sometimes it's amusing to watch the slinging, but more often than not, I'm just shaking my head because the vitriol is usually aimed at the wrong source.