Millennial-ish

Reading the Millennials book has been really interesting on a personal level. Born in 1983, I'm on the "forefront" of this generation and it has been really fascinating to see how I fit within this generation and how I reflect more Generation X tendencies. One thing that stands out is my relationship with my parents that is sort of on the fence of these two generations. I definitely resonated with the act of having your parents involved in your decisions. I almost always look for their advice when I make a big decision. For me it seems obvious to leverage their experience and perspective to make sure I see all sides of the issue, perhaps this is a reflection of my risk-aversion as symptomatic of a Millennial. Where our relationship significantly diverges from this generation, however, is that they have never been extremely involved in my activities or schooling. They were interested when I brought it up but it was frequent that they didn't attend my tennis matches and would attend concerts if I invited them, but would stay back otherwise. They are definitely NOT helicopter parents.

I think these patterns are an important point to make: that these generations may not be as clearly delineated as portrayed in the book. There is always a transition period like 1980-1983 in this case where the shift happens gradually. As I was reading the media sections, a few movies showing this shift jumped into my mind that owed their popularity to the rising generation of Millennials and signaled the shift. Forrest Gump, for example, drew on the rebellious tendencies to pull in Generation-X and the history aspect spoke to Boomers, but the overall focus of the film: a young man who makes a significant impact on history through his particular "specialness" which resonates with the empowerment of Millennials. The book also spoke about the rise of G-rated movies and animated film popularity and Shrek and The Incredibles jumped to mind. Shrek because it owes its popularity to targeting both young people and their parents with its allusions and insinuated jokes. The Incredibles pulled on the "specialness" I spoke of before where a seemingly ordinary family is actually special and extraordinary down to their infant son. This pulls on the trend exhibited by American Idol where average citizens close the gap between themselves and "special" celebrities.

These movies I think mark some of these transition points where the gradual shift between generations can be seen.