Resumo de Generation X - Douglas Coupland

In The Republic, the ancient Greek philosopher Plato sounds off about the youth of Athens: 'He lives his life day by day, indulging each appetite as it makes itself felt. One day he is drinking heavily and listening to the flute; on the next day he is dieting and drinks only water. Then he tries some exercise only to lapse into idleness and lethargy? His life lacks all discipline and order, yet he calls it a life of pleasure, freedom and happiness.? You can imagine his fellow philosophers shaking their heads, saying ?Kids these days!? and complaining that this new-fangled flute music doesn?t even have a proper tune.

This is an age-old example of ?Clique Management: The need of one generation to see the next generation following it as deficient so as to bolster its own collective ego: ?Kids today do nothing. They?re so apathetic. We used to go out and protest. All they do is shop and complain.??

Welcome to the world of Canadian writer Douglas Coupland. A funny, sharp and strangely beautiful mixture of storytelling and satire, his unique novel Generation X (1991) looked at the issues and ideas which concerned him and his peers. It was a massive worldwide hit: clearly, many people identified with what Coupland called the X generation.

The media quickly picked up on the name, as did sociologists and, ironically, advertisers (one thing that characterises Generation X-ers is their determination not to be defined as a sales target market). Broadly speaking it can refer to any young-ish person who?s suspicious of climbing the careers ladder. It?s also frequently used with reference to grunge music, unconventional fashion statements and most films with Ethan Hawke in.

As for the book itself, Andy (the narrator), Claire and Dag have left behind their meaningless jobs and dysfunctional families and wound up in the Californian desert. Haunted by the threat of nuclear apocalypse and environmental disaster, they reject the certainties of previous generations of Baby Boomers and Yuppies. They know that, whatever the advertisers claim, money can?t buy your life a meaning.

The emptiness of the desert is the opposite of the materialistic world Andy and co have rejected. It?s a blank space where they can write their own stories: ?We know that this is why the three of us left our lives behind us and came to the desert ? to tell stories and to make our own lives worthwhile in the process.?

The stories the characters tell are a wildly inventive mix of sci-fi and fairytales, surreal parables, achingly poignant and outrageously funny recollections from their own lives. These are interspersed with Coupland?s own pop-art cartoons (a young man reading a real estate magazine tells his father: ?Hey, Dad ? You can either have a house or a life? I?m having a life?), slogans (?Less Is A Possibility?, ?Use Jets While You Still Can?) and definitions of key Generation X phrases. At least one of Coupland?s coinages is now found in many dictionaries: ?McJob: A low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one.?

You don?t have to be going through your own Mid-twenties Breakdown (?A period of mental collapse occurring in one?s twenties, often caused by an inability to function outside of school or structured environments coupled with a realization of one?s essential aloneness in the world.?) to identify with Generation X anymore than you need to be a medieval Danish prince to enjoy Hamlet. In fact, Hamlet would find a lot in common with Andy and his Gen-X friends.
Here?s a Generation X game you can play: ?What?s going to be your best memory of Earth?? I want to hear one small moment from your life that proves you?re really alive.? If you?ve ever thought about this sort of thing then Generation X will speak to you. And if you?ve never thought about it, well, what does prove that you?re alive?

Resumos Relacionados