I was going to post this in Dinner and a Movie, but I thought I would get better input if I expanded the topic...

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about what movies and music defined a "generation" of people. Here are a few of the things we came up with (and these are just a few examples, not a comprehensive list by any means):

70's - Movie: Animal House
Music: CCR, Fleetwood Mac, Disco (bleh)

80's - Movie(s): Breakfast Club (any John Hughes film)
Music: Hair bands

90's - Movie(s): Reality Bites, Singles, Empire Records, etc.
Music: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Grunge music, even Gangsta Rap to a
degree (Snoop, Dr. Dre, etc.)

00's - Not sure about this on all fronts, except maybe a movie like Old School, and Pop music

I wanted to get everyone's input on what you think are the defining "pop culture" movies and music of each generation, particularly the '00's. I'm 24 and have yet to find a movie (especially) that really captures the essence of people my age like the others did for people of that generation.

Thoughts would be greatly appreciated. This has been somewhat bothering me for quite a while. Thanks!

 

Music will be
1) something stupid like Brittney/Justin Pop crap
2) commercialised rap
3) anything that has a film clip that has been editted so that each scene lasts a billionth of a second. (my personal pet hate - happens in movies too)

Not sure what the movie will be... Napoleon Dynamite?

 

Blah! I know I'm being optimistic but there HAS to be something more meaningful than Napoleon Dynamite, 50 Cent, and N*Sync. If not, that is just sad. I feel like I identify with the 80's/90's generation more than anything (I have older siblings from this generation that I relate to more).

 

Here in lies the problem - Any true form of a universal 'culture' in a broad stroke sense died in '79. IMO after that it gets to diverse and somewhat sold out (commercialism) to have a narrow scope. Let alone a decent amount of a single generation that all have about the same point of view on life.

With the birth of quarky 80's music, electronic music, punk, heavy metal, hard rock, soft rock, techno, rap, and hip hop, easy listening, dance etc - Peoples interest vary to much I think to 'define' a generation on them. That said, I'm bored again -

60's - Movies - TBH dunno

music - Folk (Peter, Paul and Marry), Crosby Still Nash and Young.
Rock - HENDRIX!! - Clapton - Beatles - Beach Party anyone? - Chuck Berry


70's Movies - Star Wars all the way. Some of my first memories (granted would be early 80's), are seeing it in the theatre, Scar Face, Easy Rider, ?Stripes?

Music - The tune in and drop out - Think Wood Stock (I know I know, it effected the 70's though) and IMO the best generation of music to date. Music basically died the second it rang 1980 and has not recovered. WAY too many influential bands to list - They started it all, including defining generation/culture by it's music and movies. The one that bothers me - Santana - So many people have no idea where his roots really are.

80's movies - Anything over the top and stereo typical. Weird Science, Breakfast Club, War Games, Wonder Years, Rambo, Connan, Mad Max, Karate kid. Typical Good vs Evil - really strait forward plots, easy to follow and the good guys always win. ?Tron?

Music - Ugh Anything played on VH1's I love the 80's. I hate it so much I don't even know any of it. SRV is about the only good thing in the 80's I can think of and he was not 'defining' of the 80's. It was the birth of Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, and horrible Rap.

90's Movies - Welcome to the birth of special effects, via CGI. Jurassic Park, Toy Story, Molested versions of Star Wars etc. Plots where thin - but as long as there was eye candy people where happy.

Music - Beastie Boys, Bad Religion, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Tool, Birth of rap that takes minimal talent to perform and birth of hip-hop.

00's - IMO no defining movies, they run too wide of a gamut. ?LOTR and EP. 1-3?

Music - What sucks, defining music we will see on "I love the 00's" will be torturous. CrazyCase is spot on. This to me supports my downward spiral since '79 theory. Only question is, how far will it go?

 

Admittedly the mainstream stuff has gone to crap, but there is a good part, the variety/diversity of music/movies. Great bands, and some damn fine movies. The lesser known stuff is where the real gems are. I think the shear diversity is what defines the '00s. So what movies/music defines the 00's is everything you've never heard of.

 

Well, I think it's always going to be the same age-group that really defines what the pop culture is for any given time. That's the age group really between 16 to about 24 (+/- a couple of years on either side).

This could also explain why some of us identify with certain time periods.

For me (i'm 26), the 80's seemed really cool (cos I was still single digits in age and everything seemed cool in my naivity), 90's felt like "my" decade, esp late 90's. These days, I'm just getting more and more disgusted with the late teens/early twenty-somethings, and how they all act like life is one big movie, they are the all-important, and they all expect to be rich and famous some day, with it all handed to them.

Yes I'm generalising, but I can't wait another 10 years and see how all that age-group end up. I'll also dispair at what the current pop culture is like at that point, though.

 

Any thread regarding movies and decades that doesn't include "The Princess Bride" (80 something) and "Office Space" (90 something) should be closed. Luckily, I just mentioned both.

 

Good point.

 

"Inconceivable!"

 

you guys are funny. you speak like old people who miss ''the good old days''

'rap that takes minimal talent to perform' b.s.
'00 has no defining movies' b.s.
'music gets worse/too diverse to have defining music of this generation' b.s.

I think its because you have become too disconnected with the current culture to be able to enjoy it. I'm 21, and enjoy it Very much

But go on ahead and define your very, very specific views of what defined our 'age' in terms of music and movies; most young people will probably disagree.