Interesing blog. A key to understanding John Hughes’ work is knowing the distinction between Generation X and Generation Jones (between the Boomers and Xers). Many of his films were about GenJones characters, and many in the Brat Pack were GenJonesers. This was sometimes confusing, since the same actors sometimes played GenXers (Breakfast Club) and sometimes GenJonesers (St. Elmos’s Fire) within the same year.
Google Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten lots of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009. I found this page helpful because it gives a pretty good overview of recent media interest in GenJones: http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. And most analysts now see generations as getting shorter (usually 10-15 years now), partly because of the acceleration of culture. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
Interesing blog. A key to understanding John Hughes’ work is knowing the distinction between Generation X and Generation Jones (between the Boomers and Xers). Many of his films were about GenJones characters, and many in the Brat Pack were GenJonesers. This was sometimes confusing, since the same actors sometimes played GenXers (Breakfast Club) and sometimes GenJonesers (St. Elmos’s Fire) within the same year.
ReplyDeleteGoogle Generation Jones, and you’ll see it’s gotten lots of media attention, and many top commentators from many top publications and networks (Washington Post, Time magazine, NBC, Newsweek, ABC, etc.) now specifically use this term. In fact, the Associated Press' annual Trend Report chose the Rise of Generation Jones as the #1 trend of 2009. I found this page helpful because it gives a pretty good overview of recent media interest in GenJones: http://generationjones.com/2009latest.html
It is important to distinguish between the post-WWII demographic boom in births vs. the cultural generations born during that era. Generations are a function of the common formative experiences of its members, not the fertility rates of its parents. And most analysts now see generations as getting shorter (usually 10-15 years now), partly because of the acceleration of culture. Many experts now believe it breaks down more or less this way:
DEMOGRAPHIC boom in babies: 1946-1964
Baby Boom GENERATION: 1942-1953
Generation Jones: 1954-1965
Generation X: 1966-1978
I thought that was so neat. Watching that entire retrospective made me nostalgic.
ReplyDeleteI'm gen Y but I love the 80's...lol.