(...) Most of the information used by journalists in depicting Generation
X in this way comes from polling data and marketing research, especially
by Yankelovich Partners and the Roper Organization. For example,
in a 1996 poll, Yankelovich Partners found that 64% of young
people aged 18 to 24 agreed that “material things, like what I drive and
the house I live in, are really important to me” (Hornblower, 1997,
p. 65). About one half believed that they would be better off financially
than their parents. Nearly all—96%—agreed, “I am very sure
that someday I will get to where I want to be in life” (p. 62). In a 1992
poll, the Roper Organization found 18- to 29-year-olds to have higher
material aspirations than 18- to 29-year-olds polled by the organization
in 1978 (Roper Organization, 1993). Fifty-nine percent aspired to
have a lot of money (compared with 50% in 1978), 42% aspired to
have a second car (28% in 1978), and 41% aspired to have a vacation
home (25% in 1978). Sixty-nine percent included a job that pays a lot
more than average as part of their definition of “the good life” (58% in
1978). However, an equal percentage included an interesting job as
part of their definition. Many of the poll results on the views of emerging
adults concern economic issues, partly because these are believed
to be issues that are especially salient to young people as they enter
the workforce, but also because the objective of pollsters such as
Yankelovich Partners and the Roper Organization is to inform their
corporate clients about the economic characteristics of their potential
customers.
HIGH HOPES IN A GRIM WORLD
Emerging Adults’Views of Their
Futures and “Generation X”
JEFFREY JENSEN ARNETT
University of Maryland
Published in 2000. Study conducted between 1994-1995… what has changed since then? In the terms of “good life” and “future”, I mean. The whole spectrum of, more or less, connected notions suggests that probably we won’t be able to avoid the question of current understanding of success, which is personally harmful for me, but what can I do?
And why it is so disturbing? It’s actually pretty simple… I feel that I’m being forced into sort of an association pattern – phenomenon which creates in my mind a vision of attractive people in suits, driving shiny cars, talking through iPhones, waving their golden credit cards in the supermarkets etc. when I hear word “success”. This is my automatic first connotation, which I cannot control. I can always correct myself after, but in what position exactly does it put me?! Being against this influences, trying to think rationally and critically I am still associating success with profitable business, attractiveness and money, in a way as an unconditioned mind reflex. How powerful is that? Swiss banks, Louises Vittons and Rolexes do not exactly help…
Luckily, thanks to my Greek friend from school, I discovered this guy! For now on my personal “King of Banality” (in a good way, not in the Paulo Coelho way):
In this short lecture, Mister Botton is proposing a pep talk regarding a term of success as a personal success. Moreover, he underlines a potential of individual successes which, in his opinion, are being unfairly standardized into one common vision of success. When you don’t fit in, you’re a LOSER. Why? Because we live in a world in which each one of us is responsible for his future. We are alone in our struggle and we have only two options - to win or to lose.
That reminds me the adorable movie “Little Miss Sunshine”. Especially the Father character (Richard), who was specializing in inspirational speeches basing on simple division, is coming to my mind right now:
Richard: There's two kinds of people in this world, there's winners and there's losers. Okay, you know what the difference is? Winners don't give up.
… and of course during the movie he’s forced to redefine his theory and he finishes with the simple conclusion à la Mister Botton - we are not afraid of losing, as much as we are afraid of judgment. Media and consumption culture are those powers that keep the ongoing creation of the one and only idea of success, and they are guarding the leading position over our weak self-esteems. Living consciously and above those influences enables us to choose our own path towards our own personal success.
So simple, so true, but so difficult to accomplish. I’ve shown this lecture to my friends and my brother. Everyone agreed that it’s nothing reviling and nothing that we weren’t aware of. However, everyone also agreed that it’s not so easy to apply this attitude during everyday activities. Envy, fear of negative judgments, stereotype of success are powerful weapon against real needs and desires of post-industrial human being. How can we get rid of them and start to think independently when even in Kenya some idiots organized a social campaign promoting success by hanging posters presenting a simple mathematical(ish) equation:
Image of One guy in a suit + Image of One shiny car + Image of One Big Wallet full of money = SUCCESS *
I mean for god’s sake! Assuming that the receivers group was actually able to understand the written word (it’s not a sarcasm!) there are still quite huge obstacles on the Kenyan road to success don’t you think?
[* this interesting information I received from one of CCC fellow students. We had a long discussion concerning this disturbing fact, and who would have known that I’m going to use this argument afterwards…]
Back to the original notion of the good life - movie experiment. I am pretty amazing in films and TV series knowledge, but still a lot work a head, so I’ve decided to trust Google this time. Results:
There are “quadrillion” of movies with “life” in the title.
Several movies titled “Good life”, in many different languages.
All of them are dramas.
Interesting…
Right! There’s also one British sitcom about a couple, who quits their jobs and starts to lead their life in a village, raising chickens and growing vegetables. Cliché !
To make my point - please watch this trailer of Canadian movie from 2008. Actually, it is about people in their 20s. About us, more or less. Movie is called “When life was good”, so I’m asking myself where are those smiley faces in the trailer? I don’t feel a need to add more comments on that. (Well, ok I have one – can we, as a faculty, order this movie to our archives. Maybe it’s pointless but I honestly doubt it.)
To conclude this small part of my reflections concerning the notion of good life I would like present two answers I’ve just obtained from my friends asked “what is your first association with the concept of the good life?”. First of all, I have to emphasis the fact that I’ve written to several, more or less, close friends of mine, representing completely different backgrounds and approaches towards life in general. Till today I received only 2 answers, both from young male graduates, pretty successful in their professional lives – suits, fair money, complete independency from family, fluent in 2 or more foreign languages, experienced in working and studying abroad, way more than 250 friends on Facebook. Personal happiness? Problematic…
1. Good life = advertising campaign slogan for a new brand of yogurt light
2. First Thought: Good Life as an advertising slogan. I’m looking at a lady on a body shop poster. She’s beautiful but you know.. ecologically beautiful. Red hair, slightly tanned skin. Many MANY freckles! She’s wearing make-up but in a completely natural way. She wants to say that GOOD LIFE cacao face cream made her so happy.
Second Thought: Good life as a French middle class from la treinte glorieuse 1950-1980 period. A couple. Both in really trendy cloths. Their house is full of serial home appliances. It’s their first work-free Saturday, so they drive on the newly build highways, they eat in inexpensive restaurants and they don’t have any idea what Value Added Tax means.
Third Thought: Advertising slogan again, closely related to original products from British grocery chain Sainsbury’s - “taste the difference".
Don’t get me wrong. I’m pretty convinced I understood the irony, but still my dear beloved “association patterns”…
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