Cursed by older generations, Generations X means a lot of things to a lot of people. They are a culture, a demographic, an outlook, a style, an economy, a scene, a literature, a political ideology, an aesthetic, an age, a decade, and a way of life. Here is a collage of the most revered voices of Generation X, demonstrating that while twentysomethings may, indeed, have dropped out of American culture (as it is traditionally defined), they also stand as a testament to American ingenuity, optimism, instinct, and intelligence.
Cursed by older generations, Generations X means a lot of things to a lot of people. They are a culture, a demographic, an outlook, a style, an economy, a scene, a literature, a political ideology, an aesthetic, an age, a decade, and a way of life. Here is a collage of the most revered voices of Generation X, demonstrating that while twentysomethings may, indeed, have dropped out of American culture (as it is traditionally defined), they also stand as a testament to American ingenuity, optimism, instinct, and intelligence.
Winner of the first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity, Douglas Rushkoff is an author, teacher, and documentarian who focuses on the ways people, cultures, and institutions create, share, and influence each other's values. He sees "media" as the landscape where this interaction takes place, and "literacy" as the ability to participate consciously in it.
His ten best-selling books on new media and popular culture have been translated to over thirty languages. They include Cyberia, Media Virus, Playing the Future, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, and Coercion, winner of the Marshall Mcluhan Award for best media book. Rushkoff also wrote the acclaimed novels Ecstasy Club and Exit Strategy and graphic novel, Club Zero-G. He has just finished a book for HarperBusiness, applying renaissance principles to today's complex economic landscape, Get Back in the Box: Innovation from the Inside Out. He's now writing a monthly comic book for Vertigo called Testament.
He has written and hosted two award-winning Frontline documentaries - The Merchants of Cool looked at the influence of corporations on youth culture, and The Persuaders, about the cluttered landscape of marketing, and new efforts to overcome consumer resistance.
Rushkoff's commentaries air on CBS Sunday Morning and NPR's All Things Considered, and have appeared in publications from The New York Times to Time magazine. He wrote the first syndicated column on cyberculture for The New York Times and Guardian of London, as well as a column on wireless for The Feature and a new column for the music and culture magazine, Arthur.
Rushkoff founded the Narrative Lab at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program, and lectures about media, art, society, and change at conferences and universities around the world.
He is Advisor to the United Nations Commission on World Culture, on the Board of Directors of the Media Ecology Association, The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, and as a founding member of Technorealism. He has been awarded Senior Fellowships by the Markle Foundation and the Center for Global Communications Fellow of the International University of Japan.
He regularly appears on TV shows from NBC Nightly News to Larry King and Bill Maher. He is writing a new monthly comic book for Vertigo, and developed the Electronic Oracle software series for HarperCollins Interactive.
Rushkoff is on the board of several new media non-profits and companies, and regularly consults on new media arts and ethics to museums, governments, synagogues, churches, and universities, as well as Sony, TCI, advertising agencies, and other Fortune 500 companies.
Rushkoff graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, received an MFA in Directing from California Institute of the Arts, a post-graduate fellowship (MFA) from The American Film Institute, and a Director's Grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has worked as a certified stage fight choreographer, and as keyboardist for the industrial band PsychicTV.
He lives in Park Slope Brooklyn with his wife, Barbara, and daughter Mamie.
Although this tome dates from 1994, it now reads like a history book of GenX culture. We may have moved on from there, but in 1994 this was where it was at.
Some of the articles seem out of place, like the interview with Ice Cube, while others are spot on like Dan Clowes comic make the whole work a useful compendium of GenX work. It must be remembered that as a "Reader" it represents an overall view of the (at the time) current trends. It does this quite well.
From a historical view though, it is frustrating that none of the potential of GenX (such as the global protest movement) could be seen from 1995, and as such is not included as a concept.
If you can get your hands on a copy, then read it if you're interested in an overview of content that elsewhere is hard to find. Otherwise try more up to date books such as Naomi Klien's No Logo.
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When I read this in 1995, it felt like I'd found an entire generation that felt like I did - a 22 year old with little positive outlook on my career and how other generations saw us. 6 years later, it's a quaint look at how wrong we can be. While I'm sure there are people out there who lived the "Gen-X" dream (or nightmare), it certainly does not define an entire generation.
That said, the pieces within this reader are still a good read, from fiction, to old-school BBS posts, to underground comics, essayes and interviews, there's plenty to keep one amused from a purely creative view - it's just no longer that easy to relate to.
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