Generation X is the demographic cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the late 1970s as its ending birth years, with the generation being generally defined as people born from 1965 to 1980. By this definition and U.S. Census data, there are 65.2 million Gen Xers in the United States as of 2019. Most of Generation X are the children of the Silent Generation and early Baby Boomers; Xers are also often the parents of Millennials and Generation Z.
Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom. The dates, the demographic context, and the cultural identifiers may vary by country. Most baby boomers are the children of either the Greatest Generation or the Silent Generation, and are often parents of Millennials.
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album, Nevermind (1991), released on DGC Records. The unexpected success of the song propelled Nevermind to the top of several albums charts at the start of 1992, an event often marked as the point when grunge entered the mainstream. It was Nirvana's biggest hit, charting high on music industry charts around the world in 1991 and 1992, and was number one on the charts in Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain. It was met with wide critical acclaim, and described as an "anthem for apathetic kids" of Generation X. Although Nirvana grew uncomfortable with the mainstream and commercial attention the song brought to them, listeners and critics continue to praise "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as one of the greatest songs of all time.
A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups.
A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. It also is "the average period, generally considered to be about 20–30 years, during which children are born and grow up, become adults, and begin to have children." In kinship, generation is a structural term, designating the parent–child relationship. In biology, generation also means biogenesis, reproduction, and procreation.
A generation gap or generational gap is a difference of opinions and outlooks between one generation and another. These differences may relate to beliefs, politics, language, work, demographics and values. The differences between generations can cause misunderstandings, but it is possible for generations to overcome their differences and maintain functional relationships.
Generation Jones is a coinage for the generation or social cohort between the Baby Boom Generation and Generation X. The term was coined by American cultural commentator Jonathan Pontell, who argues that the term refers to a full distinct generation born from 1954 to 1965. Media coverage of Generation Jones typically has used Pontell's dates, Others see this as a subset of the Baby Boom Generation, primarily its second half. A third view is that Generation Jones is a cusp or micro-generation between the Boomers and Xers.
Bobby soxers were a subculture of young women in the mid-to-late 1940s. Their interests included popular music, in particular that of singer Frank Sinatra, and wearing loose-fitting clothing, notably bobby socks. Their manner of dress, which diverged sharply from earlier ideals of feminine beauty, was controversial. As a teenager, actress Shirley Temple played a stereotypical bobby soxer in the film The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947).
Shampoo Planet is Douglas Coupland's second novel, published by Pocket Books in 1992. It is a thematic followup to Coupland's first novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. The novel deals with Tyler, a Global Teen, who shares many characteristics of the character Tyler from Generation X, the younger brother of Andy, Generation X's narrator. The novel tells the story of Tyler's life as he arrives home from Europe, and the fallout of this trip and beyond.
A helicopter parent is a term for a parent who is overattentive and overly fearful of a child's experiences and problems, particularly outside the home and at educational institutions. Helicopter parents are so named because, like helicopters, they "hover overhead", overseeing every aspect of their child's life. A helicopter parent is also known to strictly supervise their children in all aspects of their lives, including in social interactions.
Glam punk is a music genre that began in the early to mid-1970s and incorporates elements of proto-punk and glam rock. The genre was pioneered by the New York Dolls, who influenced the formation of other New York City groups the Stilettos, the Brats and Ruby and the Rednecks and bands in the United Kingdom including Hollywood Brats and Jet. These bands largely began the early punk rock scene. The impact of Hanoi Rocks brought about a revived interest in the sound during the 1980s, seeing a revival with groups including the Dogs D'Amour and Soho Roses, and the pioneering of glam metal. Through the 1990s, some groups gained significant commercial success reviving the sound of glam punk, notably the Manic Street Preachers, Backyard Babies and Turbonegro.
Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from recording artists, usually on dedicated television channels broadcasting on satellite, cable, or Streaming Platforms.
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, also abbreviated to Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation, is a non-fiction book about The Simpsons, written by Chris Turner and originally published on October 12, 2004 by Random House. The book is partly a memoir and an exploration of the impact The Simpsons has had on popular culture.
Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized the terms Generation X and McJob. He has published 13 novels, two collections of short stories, seven non-fiction books, and a number of dramatic works and screenplays for film and television. He is a columnist for the Financial Times, as well as a frequent contributor to The New York Times, e-flux journal, DIS Magazine, and Vice. His art exhibits include Everywhere Is Anywhere Is Anything Is Everything, which was exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Royal Ontario Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, now the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada, and Bit Rot at Rotterdam's Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, as well as the Villa Stuck.
Popular culture is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these dominant objects. The primary driving forces behind popular culture, especially when speaking of Western popular cultures, are the media, mass appeal, marketing and capitalism; and it is produced by what philosopher Theodor Adorno refers to as the "culture industry".
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture is the first novel by Douglas Coupland, published by St. Martin's Press in 1991. The novel, which popularized the term Generation X, is a framed narrative in which a group of youths exchange heartfelt stories about themselves and fantastical stories of their creation.
Katy Perry: Part of Me is a 2012 American 3D autobiographical documentary concert film about Katy Perry. It was directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz and released in the United States, Canada, the UK and Ireland on July 5, 2012. The film follows Perry through her California Dreams Tour while providing an insight into the singer's journey through stardom and detailing various aspects of her professional and personal life. It is interspersed with various moments of emotional weight and deep significance to Perry.
"OK boomer" or "okay boomer" is a catchphrase and internet meme used to dismiss or mock attitudes typically associated with baby boomers – people born in the two decades following World War II. The phrase first drew widespread attention due to a November 2019 TikTok video in response to an older man, though the phrase had been coined years before that. It is used mostly by those of the Millennial generation and Generation Z. The phrase has developed into a retort for resistance to technological change, climate change denial, marginalization of members of minority groups, or opposition to younger generations' values more generally. Critics of the term perceive it as ageist. It has been noted as a marker of intergenerational conflict.
Zillennials is the demographic cohort on the cusp of the Millennial and Generation Z cohorts. Their adjacency between the two generations and limited age set has led to their characterization as a "micro-generation." They are generally the children of younger Baby Boomers and Generation X. Estimates of the U.S. population in this cohort range from 30 million to 48 million.
