Generation X Diversity
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It has been claimed that Generation X has failed to create "an original youth culture" of its own (Gross & Scott, 1990, p. 62). Indeed, many of the elements of today's popular culture have been borrowed from previous eras. For example, grunge music is an extension of late 1970s punk rock, and raves are adaptations of late 1960s happenings and LSD parties. It has also been claimed that Generation X has no spokespersons or heroes of its own. Kurt Cobain of the grunge rock group Nirvana was deeply mourned after his suicide in April, 1994, and some people consider him to be a symbol of the angst, frustration and aimlessness of today's youth. However, in actuality, some young people loved Kurt Cobain and some hated him: "The simple truth is that Generation X is too diverse to agree on a hero" (Giles, 1994, p. 68). Because of these factors, few, if any, defining characteristics set the current generation apart from earlier ones. Nonetheless, as Karen Schoemer (1995) points out in Newsweek, "The temptation is to conclude that there is no Generation X, but we all know in our hearts that's not true" (p. 32). This paper will examine the media image of Generation X, as well as the social attitudes and value systems of the people who comprise it. In this way, an effort will be made to define the generation and to determine what course the future may hold for today's youth. The concept of "Generation X" first rose to national attention in July, 1990, with a Time magazine cove
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was also seen in a U.S. News & World Report article of February, 1993. That article claimed that the new generation is not a bunch of "slackers" and "whiners;" rather, it is comprised mostly of responsible young adults who are setting out to fix the problems they inherited from older generations. It noted that the members of Generation X "will be the ones hurt most by fallout from the debt crisis, disintegrating families, a growing racial disharmony and a poisoned environment" (Shapiro, 1993, p. 52). It also noted that the generation will have to fix these problems not just for themselves, but also for the benefit of both the older and the younger generations. Because of this, it is little wonder that the members of Generation X are bitter and cynical about their fate. In the words of a man in his late twenties, "We feel like a generation of janitors" (Shapiro, 1993, p. 52). However, the U.S. News article pointed out that the people of the young generation are not merely cynical. Because of their experiences as "children of neglect," they have developed a strong sense of self-reliance and an ability to "fend for themselves" (Shapiro, 1993, p. 53). They are also more tolerant of diversity because they have been "exposed to
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Approximate Word count = 2690
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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