UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations 1-1-1997 Generation X: A social movement toward cynicism Paula Gottula Miles University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds Repository Citation Miles, Paula Gottula, "Generation X: A social movement toward cynicism" (1997). UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations. 3339. http://dx.doi.org/10.25669/7pna-i4pi This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. 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GENERATION X: A SOCIAL MOVEMENT TOWARD CYNICISM by Paula Gottula Miles A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master o f Arts in Communkation Studies Hank Greenspun School of Communkation University o f Nevada, Las Vegas August 1997 — — - _ _ Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 1387144 UMI Microform 1387144 Copyright 1997, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © 1997 Paula Gottula Mies All Rights Reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Thesis of Paula Gottula Miles for the degree o f Master of Arts in Communication Studies is approved. Chairperson, Richard J. JensertT Ph.D. Examinin^omnuttee Member^Gage Chapel, Ph.D Examining Committee Member, Lawrence Mullen, Ph.O Graduate Faculty Representative, David Dickens, Ph D. Dean of Graduate College, Ronald W. Smith, Ph.D. University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 1997 i i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT In the past twenty-five years Americans have shifted fivm modem values of reason, science, and progress, to postmodern values o f cynicism and relativism. Due to the different social climate and the ubiquitous mass media. Generation Xers—those bom between I960 and 1980—are the first to be socialized from inâncy to possess postmodem values. Because o f this dramatic shift in values. Generation X can be viewed as an intellectual or cultural social movement, m the sense o f a social movement being a collective change in values over time. This study examines the differing values of Generation X by comparing their values to that o f Baby Boomers and by examining the rhetoric o f the two groups. The difference in rhetoric is examined by analyzing and comparing the lyrics of two popular musical groups—the Rolling Stones to represent Baby Boomer values and Pearl Jam to represent Generation X values. m Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................Si CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 1 Literature Review............................................................................................... 5 Generation X Literature......................................................................................5 Communkation Literature .................................................................................. 7 Musk Literature ................................................................................................. 9 Methodology.....................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 2 HISTORY OF GENERATION X............................................................14 CHAPTER 3 VALUES IN SOCIETY....................................................................... 29 Generation X as a social movement................................................................ 34 Music as rhetoric............................................................................................ 36 Alternative rock ................................................................................................ 38 Conclusion........................................................................................................41 CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF LYRICS......................................................................42 The Rolling Stones......................................................................................... 44 Pearl Jam........................................................................................................52 Discussion...................................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 63 Possible weaknesses o f study .......................................................................... 65 Future research ............................................................................................... 66 REFERENCES.......................................................................................................... 71 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION *A cynic is not meretyone who reads bitter lessons from the past; he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the fiiture’* (Harris,1996, A2). This statement, made by journalist Sydney J. Harris, could, in one sentence, sum up the attitude o f the generation of young Americans referred to as “Generation X.” The term “Generation X” encompasses the group of Americans bom after the “Baby Boom” of 1946 to 1959, in the years between 1960 and 1980 (Holtz, 1995). This diverse group is also sometimes referred to as “baby busters,” “slackers,” or “13th generation,” though Generation X seems to be the most commonfy accepted title. The term Generation X originated in the 1991 novel by Douglas Coupland, Generation X: Tales For an Accelerated Culture. The book deals with a trio of “under-employed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable” mdividuals (Coupland, 1991, book jacket). Coupland uses “X* to designate the lack o f a common, binding thread within the generation. Unlike previous generations. Generation X had no great wars or assassinations of great leaders to give them a unifying force—to make them feel connected to one another. What they do have as unifying childhood experiences is a phenomenal rise in the divorce rate, the proliferation o f the media into every aspect of their lives, and a national debt that rose from the millions to the billions during their childhood years. These common experiences have resulted in a common attitude—cynicism. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. As members o f Generation X reach their twenties and thuties, many people have begun to notice a shift in cultural values among those in the group. Numerous newspaper and m%azine articles and books, as well as some academic articles, have attempted to describe and analyze the shift in values taking place among America s young adults (Walsh, 1992 and Howe