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A Tale of Two Generations
I am the stereotypical angry white male. Actually, I am a well-mannered, mellow, good-humored, relaxed sort of fellow. But I have precious little patience for fools, and this leads to stereotypical angry white male behavior. Mainly I yell at the TV, and occasionally throw a beer can at it. All it takes is a stupid commercial or news anchor to trip my trigger, and I break into a tirade that sends the cats scurrying in panic. A wonderful example was the recent PBS rerun of their special on Ronald Reagan. This was actually a sterling piece of reporting by the usually dismal PBS political hacks. They clearly made every effort to be balanced, countering an Anthony Lewis with a George Will, for example. But they couldn’t keep their hackneyed leftist beliefs hidden completely. At one point the narrator matter-of-factly stated that the ‘80s saw an "increase in the homeless resulting from cuts in social programs". That set me off. "Cuts? What cuts? Which programs? And how did that cause homelessness? There were no cuts! What the hell are you talking about?! You moron!" Do you remember the homeless? I don’t blame you if you don’t, as they apparently ceased to exist once Bill Clinton was elected. In the ‘80s there were simply millions and millions of them wandering all about, sleeping on heating grates, begging for food, sorry victims of cruel Republican social policy. We know this is true because the news said so. But Democrats, being kind and compassionate, have no cruel social policies, and hence homelessness has ceased to be an issue since they won the White House. ‘Tis the logic of Pravda. But I digress.
One of the benefits of yelling at the TV is that it makes it easier to spot patterns. When I find myself repeatedly snarling at the same sorts of shows or commercials, it tells me there is something more than just a bad commercial at work. A couple of trends I have spotted recently in commercials worry me a little bit. Advertisements tend to reflect not what we are, but what we would like to be, what we could be if we buy their product.
Eloquent Earnest Young People. I am seeing (and hearing, on radio) more and more commercials meant for adults, but featuring children. And these are not your average, ordinary children. Average children would sound something like they do on "Kids Say the Darndest Things", or perhaps on Saturday morning cereal commercials. These children, ranging in age from six to sixteen, speak somberly and eloquently using the words, tone and pitch of middle aged advertising writers. They show up in venues as various as public service announcements and sneaker commercials, lecturing we adults on the evils of smoking or the purity of athletic endeavor. There is something spooky and sad about a child speaking as an adult rather than a child. It is downright eerie when they speak with the earnest sanctimoniousness of the modern liberal.
What can it mean? What is the message beneath the approach? What are the advertisers, perhaps inadvertently, telling us about ourselves? For what it is worth, I have concluded it is a reflection of the fears of the Peter Pan generation inching towards old age. The baby boomers, or "sixties’ generation", essentially reversed the traditional desire to get to adulthood as quickly as possible, replacing it with a desire to remain adolescent forever. This attitude causes some very bizarre behavior, such as the sight of paunchy middle aged men furiously peddling down the road in spandex bike shorts, or the 60s rock band The Who singing "My Generation" in concert ("Hope I die before I get [really, really, really] old."). The boomer looks in the mirror and sees an undeniably aging face staring back. This is not what he wants to see. He wasn’t supposed to grow old. What he wants to see is what these commercials show him: a vision of himself as the young, pure, noble child he feels inside combined with the intelligent and eloquent adult he has become.
Greedy, rude Generation X. Another generation is now working its way up the ladder of life. generally called Generation "X", it came of age during the ‘80s and early ‘90s, and is now climbing its way up the career ladder. I cannot imagine a generation that has had less demanded of it than this: no wars, no draft, no depression, few siblings, incredible technology. One might think that they would be grateful for all they have. Given the spirit of an increasing number of commercials aimed squarely at Generation X, it might appear that they believe themselves to be not self-serving enough.
A couple of examples: A twenty or thirty-something businesswoman is waiting with a crowd of fellow passengers when an announcer declares the flight to be cancelled. Groan. But, the announcer goes on, there is another flight available, and there are five seats left! The herd of passengers - nuns, old folks, middle aged overweight heart attack candidates – worriedly hurry off to another counter hoping to claim one of the available seats. Our sharp little business gal, thanks to the marvelous cell phone she possesses, with its internet capability, is able to book one of the remaining seats on the new flight without ever leaving her chair. As the generic airport voice announces to the rest of the herd "Correction, four seats available", the clever little vixen smirks to herself content in the knowledge that she managed to beat out nuns, old ladies, elderly gentlemen with canes and fat people, thanks to her phone! That’s right, she was proud of what she did. The message is clear: Why should you have to be inconvenienced by a bunch of nuns? To hell with ‘em. You have a neato cell phone, and you deserve it.
The second example is from a car commercial. Its approach is "Don’t you hate people who drive seventy, zip around other drivers, etc.." "Jealous?". And then a picture of the car. Again the message is the same. The hell with everyone else. Be rude. Be greedy. Do what you want to – you have no social obligations.
Can this possibly be what Generation X aspires to? To shove their elders and betters out of the way so that they can get what they want? I hope I am misreading this, but if commercials with this message become more widespread, it will be a sure sign that it has hit a generational nerve.
I feel sandwiched between two generations with serious problems. It sure is a good thing that my own is perfect.