THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 29, 1994 TAG: 9407280096
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VALERIE CARINO, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
A COUPLE OF years ago, I would not have associated myself with the words angst-filled, slacker and whiner. But the more I try to avoid it, the more it all seems to fit.
The media brand me and my generation with one anonymous letter: X. They are so virtually confounded by us that they don't know what to think. It's not like we're Hester Prynne (the woman in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter sentenced to wear an ``A'' on her bosom for committing adultery). And we don't really have a common thread that holds us together. We're sort of an enigma. Perhaps that is why the label X is so appropriate.
It makes sense to me that X-ers have the right to be mad. These days a college degree does not necessarily secure a high-paying job. Just check out the Celebrations section of the Sunday newspaper if you don't believe me. A couple of weeks ago, I read about a couple planning to get married who were both employed by a supermarket chain. The trouble is, they had both graduated from the same prestigious, I mean prestigious, university on the East Coast.
Perhaps they are just as happy with their careers. It would be unfair for me to assume that that is not enough for them. I'll have to say that now I am just as lost about what I want in life as ever.
Studies have shown that we 18- to 29-year-olds are more culturally diverse than our baby-boomer parents. We, the offspring of the generation marked by their relentless idealism, are often accused of shirking responsibility. In other words, baby boomers took action while X-ers lay blame.
When boomers were our age, lots of exciting things were going on, events that would spawn real change. The fight for racial equality and women's lib were just two of the movements that began to pose some serious questions about the nature of our political and social institutions.
As the boomers grew older, they would ultimately leave the fight behind and settle for the superficiality of the '80s. Who knew? Who cared? As long as the kids had their Atari systems and MTV.
And here we are, their kids, just as ``dazed and confused,'' as ever, sorting through credit card bills (I know this from experience), watching ``Melrose Place,'' sipping trendy drinks like ``Fruitopia,'' wondering if we'll ever get that shot at that prized BMW.
And if we do, will that be enough? Enough. There's that word again.
My parents preached that money would be enough. They still do. It was like a college degree and a big house in the suburbs would solve everything. Poof. Happiness.
I wonder how many people work so diligently toward that end and realize they are unfulfilled. Maybe X-ers are actually just the first to openly acknowledge this possibility.
The advertising industry has attempted to create this image of who X-ers might be (which is pretty difficult, I imagine, since there are 46 million of us), hoping that we'll buy their cologne, drive their cars, wear their sneaker.
Have you noticed all the commercials aimed at 20-somethings? Most of them are in-your face ads, with lots of risque sexuality that isn't so risque anymore, or just plain annoying - like those beer ads where the guys are shooting pool and trying to decide, ``Ginger or Mary Ann?''
I'll have to give the ad executives some credit, though. Some of the campaigns are right on. For example, Sprite's new slogan is, ``Image is nothin'. Thirst is everything. Follow your thirst.''
How many times have you said to yourself, ``Cindy Crawford drinks this, so it must be cool?'' However, this is coming from a company that once used Kriss-Kross to promote its drink. Now that's the endorsement to end all endorsements. Yeah, right.
Unfortunately, this generation claims no spokesmen, no heroes. Nobody wants the jobs. Even Douglas Coupland, who, in his book ``Generation X,'' was perhaps the first to acknowledge X-ers' existence, admits he doesn't ask for that responsibility. And the man who many predicted might have been the one to do it, Kurt Cobain, left all too soon. I guess he didn't want it, either.
Now that I've read this over again, I realize how whiny I sound, how broken, and lost my voice comes off. One would ask how could someone so young be so cynical? For most of us X-ers, this reality biting truth is nothing new. MEMO: Valerie Carino plans a career in journalism.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Valerie Carino is a rising sophomore at ODU.
by CNB