I recall a conversation I had with a woman a few years back about Generation X and what makes them so different. As my quarter-of-a-century benchmark is fast approaching, I've been considering this conversation. And I'm riding that tail-end wave of the genXers.
I remember the Goonies. Someone who is, say 20, probably doesn't. I saw the first Ghostbusters movie in the theater. I can still sing "Good 'Ol Boys," and the General Lee is more than just something I learned about in American History. I remember seeing the first Apple-does-Pink-Floyd commercial on TV, and the first television remote control I remember had giant push-buttons and a metal screen on the front. And the TV took 10 minutes to warm up.
Anyway, the genXer woman who was musing about the life and times of "we a-pathetics" concluded that the single most unique trait that we have is our appreciation of irony. We live it, and we enjoy it.
i•ro•ny ( r -n , r-) n. pl. i•ro•nies
1. Incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.
2. An occurrence, result, or circumstance notable for such incongruity.
[French ironie, from Old French, from Latin r n a, from Greek eir neia, feigned ignorance, from eir n, dissembler, probably from eirein, to say.]
MTV, the icon of our generation, was built upon a foundation of young rebellion and irony. The simple concept: music television. Ridiculous, ironic, and wildly successful.
We love when the stars we love get shit on, and Martha Stewart ending up in prison was the most amusing thing to happen in years. Even better than this, we're so apathetic that we let a monkey on a leash run our country.
Condi Rice and Clarence Thomas. Gay Republicans. Need I say more?
India is full of irony just waiting for genX appreciation. Cows stopping busses. 60 Rupee teas and 10 Rupee meals. Physics told me the other day about an obviously homeless young girl picking up trash in the Western-style shopping area. She paused from her work long enough to look up at a poster of Uma Thurman advertising a watch that certainly cost more than she will ever see in her life.
Over 40 million people around the world are currently infected with HIV, and the WHO estimates that there are as many as 5 million new infections every year. Nearly 3 million of these infections are among children. Children. The movie "Titanic" cost over $200 million. It grossed another $800 million. If all that money were reorganised, it could cover the $350-a-year cost for HIV medications in developing countries for all the children that are currently infected. Some money would even be left for research and prevention. I'd have given my $8 movie-ticket for that.
Unfortunately, this isn't amusing. It's just sad.
Flown by mariposa at 07:35 AM on June 08, 2005
