I think part of this isn't the selfishness of the new generation but because society hasn't really changed since 2001 and 2008 in terms of major problems. Children grew up in the rapid privacy and legal rights violations caused by the fallout of 9/11 are still dealing with it and nothing has been resolved regarding the erosion of consistutional and human rights. Global warming is still a major concern and that is also being exacerbated. Several places never recovered from 2008, and the younger generation is among the top in terms of disenfranchisement by being saddled with all this student debt- which also hasn't been resolved. Same for healthcare, income inequality, etc.

Arguably, all of society's problems are still the problems of 2001/2008. Doesn't it make sense that our culture has also somewhat been placed in amber within that generation?

I'm far from convinced that most millennials can be summed up with "like and subscribe," either, though. If anything, this seems to be an extremely politically engaged generation with an interest in radically reshaping their world. Which sounds, you know, an awful lot like the boomers, originally.

This is a generational conflict that happens with every generation. (Each generation has issues with the other) The whole ok boomer thing has me pretty concerned. It's a hostile dismissive attitude towards a previous generation. (That's a terrible thing)

> I think social media will finally tip things over into a new era though. The narcissism that is its core feature is also an outgrowth of 20th century individualism and a quest for self actualization. Pushed to its limits, it destroys its participants and society at large.

Unfortunately it hasn't. It's tied to the economy. I would agree that it actively destroys it's participants and society at large. (I don't even think this is an extreme case of it)

And I'm sure there are some who use the phrase to refer to every boomer, but I don't believe most do.

(Easy there downvoters, I'm demonstrating why 'ok <label>' is dismissive and hostile to others by showing a similar dismissal statement.. read and see below for the argument)

Or I could respond with why I believe what the other party's response is incorrect and understand that the other party may hold conflicting beliefs. What you're stating about the beliefs held by millennials about others view them. (It may or may not be correct.. media representation of the belief is there)

Are we embracing 20th century life by clinging on to old movie IPs, or are we just constantly being fed the same type of stuff by Studios who’ve found “their formula” for making content with a low risk of flopping, for example.

--

[0] - With the possible exception of Disney's Tommorowland, and of course DS9, VOY and ENT Star Trek series from the same universe as TNG.

If you can get past the somewhat juvenile humor in the early episodes it's surprisingly good.

https://ds9documentary.com/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Picard

I think it's a very interesting exercise in exploring the space of post-scarcity, and Banks does a good job of looking at those consequences. It's telling though how little of narrative interest happens within Culture borders.

EDIT: But you're not wrong that it's at the upper end of the optimism scale!

This makes perfect sense for a company (since they're almost always very risk adverse), but doesn't work so well if you want more original works or creativity. Entertainment requires outsiders, non corporations, etc to provide at least some of the works there, otherwise you'll get endless sequels, reboots and rehashes until they stop selling.

This sounds interesting, but I'm not sure I really understand what you mean. Could you elaborate on what embracing 21st century life would look like in your mind?

I actually think a lot of that was fueled by post-World War II prosperity in the US, and ultimately the rest of the west as the century got past its midway point. Globalization in a way is normalizing that "peak" and I suspect that, in addition to the corrosive effects of narcissism at scale will cause some sort of reaction that looks very different than 20th century teenage rebellion and extended adolescence.

For a theoretical example of 21st century life, I could imagine multiple generations sharing the same home, as is already the trend. That may seem very old fashioned but I see it as more post-modern as it will be mixed ad hoc with other more future forward conventions (for better or worse). Maybe some of those living in the household are gig economy workers enabled by technology for instance.

There's a reason the individual is the primary unit in western societies - we saw and can still see societies structured to put the group, the commons or the country first. They committed atrocities against masses of individuals in the name of the group. No thanks.

Nobody, but getting there by forcing everyone together because it's no longer possible to afford to do otherwise seems to be a good indicator that something has broken.

> It's only purely negative when viewed through the lens of individual economic achievement

I'm 41, I moved out of my folks place when I was 18. My life would have been quieter and poorer if I had had to stay in their house for the last 23 years, following their rules, and it would have driven me insane. I lived in shared houses for several years, then moved to my own place, now live with my partner.

It's not just about economic success, it's about having your own space to be yourself and live life the way you want it.

> (which may not be possible to the level seen post-WW II in the west).

Oh rubbish. Endless growth may not be possible or even desirable, but being able to make your own way in the world is not over, nor is it likely to be any time soon.

--edit-- I do understand that, for instance, owning property is much harder in many places now than ever before, I think we have work to do as a society to mitigate that. But I also think that perhaps we've over-centralised on a few desirable, expensive cities (in the UK, where I live, but also other western nations). A re-balance by distributing the wealth-generation around a bit more would help.

I am not surprised a reality escapism to simpler times culture effect was created. After all if future seems bleak looking back at simpler easier times might be only coping mechanism.

We are used to machines that we can replace like nothing. The truth is, things take time.

This is always the way, surely, by definition?

Here is a really good takedown of the superhero mass-produced trash and the cultural pit we find ourselves in:

https://jacobitemag.com/2019/05/14/capeshits-endgame/