Good morning, Tuesday. I'm not much of a 2012 type (well maybe a little), but the Mayans may have been on to something. The world is disordered, to say the very least. I hope all of my friends in London are safe and all of those that have beaucoup bucks in the market are thinking of alternatives (depending on who you listen to, it's either Armageddon for the markets or this credit/debt debacle means nothing. Mixed messages, anyone?), maybe socking some money under one's mattress is the way to go these days.
In light of all of this insanity, you might think my generation, certainly now old enough, to remember what are often referred to as the "good old days", would look back on bygone days, bi level haircuts, and boy bands as a simpler, happier time. Nope. We're not the nostalgic sort.
I loved Carl Wilson's piece this past weekend in the Times Magazine entitled 'My So-Called Adulthood' (he's my latest writer crush, PS. I dig what he's throwing down) all about how my generation, X, is not so big on all of this grunge revivalism taking flight. After all, we are the generation that grew up with Happy Days on TV, and because of our inbred and intuitive cynicism, we can't seem to get down with this notion of nostalgia, with many of us crying "too soon". Maybe part of it is that we don't want to feel old, and when 80s songs on the radio are suddenly called "oldies", we bristle in our Chuck Taylors. How is it possible we have gotten so old so quickly? And is the cycle for recycling getting shorter? (Not really, as 20 years seems to be the rule of thumb for back in the day these days...)
I love Wilson's take on my generation, our generation, I should say. He claims we were distinguishable by two character traits: " our dislike of nostalgia and our irritation whenever our barely formed narratives were appropriated and marketed back at us. So it brings on something of an identity crisis to see Gen X's formative years become part of the cycle of retro-revivalism. How does an anti-nostalgic generation deal with the human reflex to sentimentalize its youth?" Good fucking question. I am not sure we know how, although some of us, to be fair, never left the grunge era (I see loads of dudes my age in flannel and combat boots and Chucks. They're called advertising creatives) or the 80s for that matter (you know who you are, you Tones on Tail listening fool).
At a time in our American (and global) epoch when things indeed seem dire, nostalgia always creeps in as a way to comfort us, to show us the way things used to be in contrast to how terrible they are now. But Gen X is indeed too cynical for such high levels of warm and fuzzy, and so we remain entrenched in now, and tomorrow. Sure, we watch John Hughes films and remember where we were when we heard Kurt Cobain was dead, but I'm not sure we're capable of full on nostalgic revelry. Maybe it's that aforementioned refusal to grow up, that arrested development I know I feel, and many of my fellow Coupland era Xers feel as well. I'm not really sure- but I for one am needing something to get me over this very spiny hump.
Which brings me to St. Elmo's Fire, which I watched last night and remembered how special of a little film that was. It includes all of the Brat Packers, and it's a fashion triumph all around (Judd Nelson's rolled up sleeves and popped collar on his suit, Ally Sheedy's pearls, which remain on in a sex scene with a baggy intellectual Andy McCarthy, cuter than I remember PS, Rob Lowe being insanely pretty with the ultimate bedhead, and Demi Moore, elegantly wasted and wearing absolutely amazing clothes fitting of an 80s party girl). I can't say I felt nostalgic watching the movie, but I did remember how good it was, how great these actors were, and did wonder where is this generation's St. Elmo's. That's more what we're wondering I think- why is this generation, although admirably optimistic, not coming out with better music and films that reflect their culture (the Social Network doesn't count)? That reflect their values, their attitudes towards relationships and life? Or are they simply too busy adopting our style, our music, and our contribution to pop culture?
Regardless of what generational crew you roll with, all of us are wondering why this moment in life feels so icky, so scarring, and so out of control. If my generation is too cynical to refer to anything as a better, simpler time, then surely the Y set is going to struggle with the same thing, because they're not growing up in simple times. At all (#wherearethefuckingjobs).
Here is the link to the piece in the Times, it was a great glance at a generation that was one of the first to be marketed to, and to ultimately turn their back on all of it, because we had to grow up, or at least pretend to. What I do know is I relate very closely to my generation, and if I'm not exactly yearning for "back in the day", I am feeling in touch with how I grew up, and what my influences and interests from that time did to create this brand called me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/magazine/the-gen-x-nostalgia-boom.html
Hope whatever beliefs or mindset you buy into today is helping you lens what's going on in the here and now. It's rough out there, people. Do whatever you need to do. May I suggest a bad/yet oh so good 80s movie to help ease the pain? Cause that's what's up this not necessarily nostalgic Tuesday in the 305. XO