But some of us are certainly trying. Joseph Epstein writes about the culture of perpetual youth in modern America. He may not be right about Friends deriving its popularity from the eternal adolescence of its characters; after all, what would really be the point in watching a sitcom about an average, functional marriage with commonplace, somewhat achieving children? The wider trend, though, is undeniable and Epstein sums it up well.
It's often pointed out that Generation X is shaping up to be the first generation in a very long time that will fail to outdo the previous one, in terms of wealth, achievement or personal fulfillment (although not in terms of Masters degrees in Women's Studies, Post-Colonial Theory, or Queer Studies, areas of which Gen X has achieved undisputed mastery.) This cohort's insistence on clinging to the habits and trappings of youth is responsible for a large share of this failure. Other symptoms of this deferment of adulthood can be seen in the astonishment of women in their 40s upon learning that they cannot effortlessly have children, as well as in the rise of "no collar workers", who work chiefly in the computer field, and who can get away with wearing T-shirts to offices previously occupied only by people in suits.
This isn't all bad. Formality for its own sake can lead to stagnation, and the creation of entertainment, like the Simpsons, that can appeal to many generations is a wonderful thing. Apart from their failure to accrue real estate and build pensions, though, the perpetual youth of Generation X may well become a more significant problem in the near future. The next Depression may not be imminent, but the next World War is already underway, and we will need many grown-ups on our side to come out of it in good shape. You'd never know it from today's popular culture, though; these may be the times that try men's souls, but they don't seem to bother the kids much.
Posted by Clio at March 6, 2004 07:43 PM