... the other Black experience
The Kids Are Ok (Younger Generation)
This is inspired by someone else's post on here. I have a little brother who is 17, I'm 31, and sometimes I find it very difficult to relate to him, particularly with his choice in music and his relationship to media in general. When I was his age, I was a fanatic, hanging out in record stores, searching for obscure bands, the works. His attitude towards media is a lot more blase -- he listens to whatever's on Mtv at the time, and doesn't much care about music one way or the other. He's sorta like that in general about books, movies, whatever, he's a lot less obsessive than my friends and I were at his age. He's like that kid in 2 And A Half Men, he's not really into anything, I don't even know what to get him for Christmas!
Is this a generational thing? Does anybody else find this a prevalent attitude among the younger generation? Does it bother you?
Or, are YOU a member of the younger generation, and wish I would just shut up? Every generation thinks they were somehow better than the one that comes after, it's all just an illusion...
How do we reach out across generational boundaries? Should we even make the effort?
What say you?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Junie on -
Personally I don't think its an generational thing...b/c the generation now a days are taking it beyond the possibility of things in general...Also many younger people are influenced by the pass generation...Being 19 going on 20 personally I am...I look up to my older siblings & cousins...Just look at how things are coming back slowly but better...like for instance: style/fashion, music, just entertainment period.
Maybe your little brother haven't quite found himself yet....or maybe he's just open to or interested in many possible things...& haven't quite found exactly the things he want to be more into & just is experiencing things as they come & go
& I love this topic...b/c many older people at times always have something not negative but not positive to say about the generation today...in other words they're just voicing their opinon...but I have much respect
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Permalink Reply by Compound Egret on -
Listen to your brother long enough and you will find out what interests him. Ask him what he wants for Christmas. He isn't going to be like you because the media and the world has changed so much due to the internet, but also because you are different people. Look for commonalities between the two of you. Plenty of people that I love and respect HATE the music I enjoy.
There is a tendency to look at everything as the "good old days" as you age, but it doesn't do any good and really doesn't help to build a rapport with anyone but other people who want to talk about the good old days.
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Permalink Reply by lyfenlyn on -
I understand where you are coming from. I think it's generational and also cultural. For instance I have noticed that in one commercial break they will play the same commercial twice. It's REALLY ANNOYING! It makes me not want to buy the product because they are beating you over the head with the advertising.
I was the same way you were at that age. LIVED at the record and book stores. Friends all jammed together, wanted to make the new sounds. Wanted the underground shit. (that pic you chose I have the EXACT same one on the front of a journal I had in the late 80's There was a chick standing next to him with long hair in a red outfit. ) We wanted to be as far away from the mainstream as possible. There were things that the mainstream picked up on but there wasn't much we could do about that. We created our own fashion, and our own way of doing things and didn't apololjise for it.
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Permalink Reply by SaintGermaine on -
Yes, I know I'm being a cranky old man to a certain degree, but I'm trying not to. I guess I'm just trying to get a sense of what's important to young people these days. There doesn't seem to be the same sort of social stratification though, which gave me a lot of my identity at the time, like there were Punks and Goths and Hippies and Ravers or whatever. It seems to me that things are a lot more mixed and I guess that's a good thing, but it makes it harder for me to know where my little brother is coming from, because I can't just slap an easy label on it...
Compound Egret said:Listen to your brother long enough and you will find out what interests him. Ask him what he wants for Christmas. He isn't going to be like you because the media and the world has changed so much due to the internet, but also because you are different people. Look for commonalities between the two of you. Plenty of people that I love and respect HATE the music I enjoy.
There is a tendency to look at everything as the "good old days" as you age, but it doesn't do any good and really doesn't help to build a rapport with anyone but other people who want to talk about the good old days.
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Permalink Reply by Compound Egret on
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SaintGermaine said:Yes, I know I'm being a cranky old man to a certain degree, but I'm trying not to. I guess I'm just trying to get a sense of what's important to young people these days. There doesn't seem to be the same sort of social stratification though, which gave me a lot of my identity at the time, like there were Punks and Goths and Hippies and Ravers or whatever. It seems to me that things are a lot more mixed and I guess that's a good thing, but it makes it harder for me to know where my little brother is coming from, because I can't just slap an easy label on it...
I think even in the "good old days" looking at someone as just a hippie or a raver was kind of a thumbnail sketch of the real person. All those people probably had different opinions as well. Darkness Unlimited and I are both metal fans, but we don't share the same views on a lot of things...LOL. Talk to your brother and more importantly, listen to him to find out what he is passionate about. If building the relationship with him is important, PLEASE do not approach with an air of musical superiority, even if he's listening to the Hannah Montana soundtrack.
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Permalink Reply by SaintGermaine on
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Compound Egret said:cite>Talk to your brother and more importantly, listen to him to find out what he is passionate about. If building the relationship with him is important, PLEASE do not approach with an air of musical superiority, even if he's listening to the Hannah Montana soundtrack.
I can't, I'm too busy imposing MY opinion on him! Haha, okay, point taken.
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Permalink Reply by Rosenda on -
CE, very well put there. KRS One said the same thing in this long interview on a local tv show a few years ago.
The interviewer asked him what he thought was important in family bonding, and he said the best thing was to ask questions and talk consistently with family members and pay attention to what it is they like and don't like, and you have a better time telling that person how you feel and your own tastes & opinions, on music culture and everything else.
He gave the example of his children. He said even though he can't stand some of the music and films and shows his teenage and young kids were watching, he made it a point to sit down and listen to their music and watch the shows/games that they were entertained by. What eventually happened was they appreciated he was paying attention to what was going on in their lives even if he didn't like all of it, and they got so accustomed to this that it improved communication and understanding between them. And he said it also made his teenagers open their own minds to what he wanted to introduce to them musically and otherwise, because he'd taken the time to look at their world first.
Saint Germaine, you should definitely make the effort. And the closer the person is to you, the more important is that you make that effort all the time. Your siblings cousins other family members, even close friends and their siblings/cousins, etc., give it a try. Ask questions............! Your brother will appreciate it at some point and so will you for making that effort. Be open in listening to what moves him and in that way you encourage him to be open to new things people experiences that might broaden his own life and mind.
Is your brother worth it? Yes he is, always. Is any other young person in your family or neighborhood you are about worth it? Yes they are, always.
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Permalink Reply by LesYpersound on -
Re: if blase attitude towards media is a generational thing -- see: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Juno, and so on.
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Permalink Reply by Corinne Stevie on -
Try to share some of things you like with him.I think you should make a effort.you and your bro could learn from each other
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Permalink Reply by SaintGermaine on
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I think part of the problem is, we have a relationship that's somewhere between big brother and parent, and it's not so easy figuring out which I should lean all the time. I was in high school when he was born, I changed his diapers and burped him, but soon after, I went away to college and I don't go home very often...I feel sort of guilty for not being around during his formative years, I wasn't around to play music and read comics with him, so a lot of that stuff, the stuff I'm into, he never really got to learn.
Beyond that, I do think, however, that the media landscape he grew up in is very different from the one I did, and I'm not so sure I should just abandon my sense of values and judgement and just "go with it," especially given what I see as the degradation of a lot of popular culture, in other words, current rap and mainstream rock.
It's a puzzler...
One place we do intersect is Manga. He actually knows a lot more about it than I do. I've only really ever read Akira, but it's one of my favorites.
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Permalink Reply by V on -
Woah it's not a generational thing. It's a him thing.
Some people like to accept things as they are handed to them and others like to search for more. This goes for all kinds of stuff not just music.
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Permalink Reply by Rosenda on
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Oh you mean the curiosity factor. That's true, some of us are very curious and adventure seekers to find the new and different, be it old or new stuff that they have not heard or seen of before.
But SG can still get into getting into the habit of sharing with his relative. It's good for two people to open their mind to new things at least once in awhile, and when it's people who want to be closer, it helps to form a better bond with them sometimes, too. Even if you ultimately see your tastes and interests as different, it's nice to share your own world with someone else. Just the act of doing that feels good.
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