In a series called Mondo Bullshittio, let’s talk about some of the most glaring hypocrisies and faux pas in pop culture… and all that it affects.
In a bid to seem both aggressive and “just letting you know” passive aggressive, Gen Z has come for a new generation: millennials. And it all arose from one little crying and laughing emoji. In truth, it seems the millennials were the last generation capable of laughing to keep from crying. Whereas Gen Z’s self-serious nature has manifested in this superfluous callout of what emojis are extremely telling of a certain age demographic. This in addition to the arbitrary dislike of other hallmarks of millennial “culture” that include specifically skinny jeans and side parts. Which tends to infer, somewhat ironically, that Gen Z would prefer to emulate a boomer aesthetic of the 60s and and 70s with middle parts and bell bottoms or high-waisted mom jeans. Anything, all of the sudden, to set themselves apart from millennials.
Maybe the sudden contempt comes from a self-conscious place of realizing there’s nothing left for them to “take ownership of”–especially since Greta Thunberg has the sole monopoly on environmentalism and it’s unlikely that Gen Z as a collective will actually be able to do anything to make enough of a difference to stop the future from happening. Talking of the environment, the millennial sense of responsibility to it was yet another “trademark” that the generation helmed–possibly an additional sore spot for Gen Z just looking to carve out a unique identity for itself. But no, millennials were the ones haunted with the in-school indoctrination about how damaging the planet was a cardinal sin, bombarded with images and videos of fish’s heads getting caught in the plastic rings of soda cans because people wouldn’t take the time to cut them before throwing them out. Plus, the very existence of Recycle Rex telling you to “recycle, reduce, reuse” and “close the loop.”
All Gen Z has associated with it is TikTok and Billie Eilish. Not exactly crowing generational achievements, hence this bitterness rearing its petulant head at random. Presumably, if they knew that the 80s or 90s existed (beyond Ariana Grande appropriating the latter decade’s sound and vibe for positions), they might fully fathom the flaccidity of what they have to offer.
Unfortunately for the art of discourse, Gen Z literally cannot hear reason; the only attack they have ever, it appears, is to call everyone else old or out of touch. But to say as much to millennials who, like, invented Gen Z, is possibly the biggest indication of the generation’s insecurity. This self-doubt, in turn, is overcompensated for by a grotesque arrogance that plays out daily on the internet. Alas, to use Gen Z parlance in lyrical form, “Bad bad news, one of us is gonna lose” in this war that they might have started, but millennials will have to finish in gently reminding them that they are the Cady Heron to Regina George.
The Gen Z sense of self-superiority seems especially marked when taking into account that millennials never harassed or mocked their preceding generation, X (a.k.a. the ones who spawned Z), regarding how to live, nor tried to shame them via hollow attempts to make them feel old–though maybe that was just because there weren’t emojis back then to help draw a line in the sand. And, to be sure, there were (and are) many ways in which millennials could spurn Gen X if they had wanted to (most notably in terms of how Gen X was the last generation that tried to enforce the “gatekeeping” nature of the arts, whereas millennials democratized the shit out of that–even if it has, so often, been a detriment to the overall quality, therefore expectation of said arts, not to mention a boon to the likes of BuzzFeed for ripping off other people’s online content).
If anything, Gen Z should kiss the ground millennials deign to walk on without dragging the cuffs of their jeans like some kind of simpleton (or Gen Xer). Not just for lending them a deity like Britney Spears to sponge off in renewed obsession (with Spears herself fond of Eilish, in one of the few instances of a bridge between the millennial/Gen Z divide instigated by the latter). But because millennials blazed the trail for Gen Z to not really have much in the way of skills or great life understanding, yet still somehow be expectant of everything to go their way, only to lash out or simply shut down when it doesn’t. Scoff at boomers all you will, but they were rightly conditioned to believe that life owes you nothing, and to expect otherwise results in yet another opioid addiction. Speaking of the boomers, this was the initial generation Gen Z opted to come for with the dismissal, “OK Boomer,” once more highlighting the extreme ageism of such a supposedly “woke” generation. So woke that they can shut their eyes to everything–sexuality, gender, race–but not a person’s age. Which goes to show just how arrogant youth can make a person til, like Lady Gaga (a millennial) said, it happens to you.
What it all amounts to as a response from millennials, of course, is nothing more than a laughing-crying emoji–likely not to be cancelled in favor of a skull or happy face with a cowboy hat. Both of which illuminate just how hard Gen Z has to work to even remotely stand apart from the continued millennial dominance over pop culture. As if Euphoria isn’t enough for them.
