Self-proclaimed
Spokesmodel of his Generation (X) Ted Rall is a-bitchin' & a-moanin' about his generational cohort (not that he can define it too well) & position in the national birth order lottery, & the Prez-in-waiting.
The Nation, the Bible of liberal Baby Boomers, is atypically smart on this point. "For Obama, who is 46, and his followers, Boomer politics clearly have to go," writes Lakshmi Chaudhry of the 1980s and 1990s "culture wars," which constantly rehashed Vietnam and other hoary so-last-century conflicts. "What is less obvious is whom Obama represents. He often speaks to the Millennials, recently telling cheering college kids in South Carolina, 'It's your generation's turn.' But rarely mentioned is Obama's own generation, i.e., Generation X, the Lost Generation, whose name has been virtually erased from the national conversation."
And:
Demographers William Howe and Neil Strauss predicted this phenomenon in their 1991 book "Generations." They argued that Xers belong to a "reactive" generation doomed to be ignored by everyone that matters--Hollywood, Madison Avenue and Washington. Like prior "reactive" generations (the last one was Hemingway's "Lost Generation"), they will probably not see one of their own become president.
The horror. Really, how will they be able to go on?
Howe and Strauss note that members of a generation can exhibit cultural signifiers and other traits more closely related to another generation. As a self-identified Gen Xer (1963/age 45), I spent my college years attending concerts by late-period Blondie, the Dead Kennedys, Flipper and the Clash. Punk rock and New Wave defined my coming of age. Like most of my peers, I later got into post-punk and grunge bands like Nirvana. But many of my classmates were more into the Doors and Bob Dylan. Born too late to enjoy the Summer of Love, they nevertheless identified as Boomers.
By this measure, Obama is a Boomer. His favorite music? According to his Facebook page: "Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Johann Sebastian Bach (cello suites), and The Fugees." Yech. His favorite movies? "Casablanca, Godfather I & II, Lawrence of Arabia and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Great films. I love them all. But a Gen Xer would have been more
likely to namecheck "Repo Man" and "Slacker."
Our dime-store psychology take on Mr. Rall? Too much Nirvana,
etc., not enough Doors.
He is a swell cartoonist, even if he is an ageist pig.
We suspect this one has a lot to do w/ the hostility he expresses toward the newspaper biz in his screed. This one is objective, fair & balanced even, reporting.
2 comments:
Obama is not a Boomer or Xer. As many nationally influential voices have repeatedly noted, he is part of Generation Jones, born 1954-1965, between the Boomers and Generation X. Google Generation Jones, and you'll find that many top commentators from many top publications and networks (New York Times, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) are using that term now, and are specifically referring to Obama, born in 1961, as part of Generation Jones.
Youth-sploitation Editor Replies:
We'll do that & see what we find. Whatever it is, we just missed it.
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