Unfortunately, most kids are satisfied being spoon-fed mainstream culture from the likes of American Idol and posting their boring pics on Facebook from the abstinence concert they got to "rock out" to during their summer break. That is, of course, if these poor kids even get to have a summer as their parents whisk them from college prep courses to cross-town playdates at the age of 8.
To add to his post that doesn't need adding to: I'm not the Nostrawekus I once thought. With the advent of technologies like the web, MP3's, Napster, et cetera,... I naively believed that being able to connect with similar interested funsters anywhere in the whirled (intentional alternative spelling) would unlock creative potentialities that would expand the arts in ways not seen since the Italians painted cathedral ceilings. I knew big business was pushing back by destroying small record labels and making big $ motion pictures where content takes a back seat to spizzzeshul effects, but I never anticipated even the 'lil stuff' in life would be effected. Yummy delis have been replaced with Panera Bread. Small coffee shops are Starbucks and another Starbucks. Blockbuster/Netflix chooses which shittty movies we can choose from and throws in a few John Waters films to show they're 'really where it's at'. Hell, even my nearest city of Tampa has had their social scene of independently owned bars upended by having a slew of publicly traded bars and restaurants take away their weak-minded patrons so they can all listen to the same songs at the same named bar in 20 other cities.
The Gen Yers have, through no fault of their own, been treated like lab rats since birth. They, and their parents, have been marketed to since their 'Gavin' or 'Kaitlin' (I hate Gen Y names) popped out of their momma's bellies in 1989 or so (annoying book plug here: read Consumed by Ben Barber). The LT asks today's parents to let their kiddies breath for themselves sometime and what I've witnessed from my peers that are parents, he is right. Sadly, the "security moms and dads" today are GenXers that have somehow came to the fucked up conclusion that we're the last generation that can be trusted with independence. Maybe the over protectiveness by us Xers can somehow be attributed to us not spending much time with our folks due to divorce or both parents having to work, but hell, I'm a dumbass blogger with no research to back up my intuition.
I don't doubt there are creative youngins', it's just that they have an overwhelming task of beating back the most structured marking mechanism we've ever seen. Good luck to them. Even though I've went from being a young bitter man to an older one, I still don't wish to prove my point of Gen X awesomeness by being creativity's last stand generation.
2 comments:
Nonsense! Dave and Busters is the only place a person should need to go for good times.
Bwahaha! I wouldn't go to that place at gunpoint.
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