Silent Generation
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Silent Generation is a term coined in the November 5, 1951 cover story of Time to refer to the generation coming of age at the time, born during the Great Depression or World War II. The article, (which defined the generation at the time as born from 1923 to 1943), found its characteristics as grave and fatalistic, conventional, possessing confused morals, expecting disappointment but desiring faith, and for women, desiring both a career and a family.[1] The article stated:
Youth today is waiting for the hand of fate to fall on its shoulders, meanwhile working fairly hard and saying almost nothing. The most startling fact about the younger generation is its silence. With some rare exceptions, youth is nowhere near the rostrum. By comparison with the Flaming Youth of their fathers & mothers, today's younger generation is a still, small flame. It does not issue manifestoes, make speeches or carry posters. It has been called the "Silent Generation."
The phrase gained further currency after William Manchester's comment that the members of this generation were "withdrawn, cautious, unimaginative, indifferent, unadventurous and silent." The name was used by Strauss and Howe in their book Generations as their designation for that generation in the United States of America born from 1925 to 1945.[2] The generation is also known as the Postwar Generation and the Seekers, when it is not neglected altogether and placed by marketers in the same category as the G.I., or "Greatest", Generation. In England they were named the Air Raid Generation as children growing up amidst the crossfire of World War II.
Silent Generation members are generally the offspring of The Lost Generation and the parents of Generation X, as well as the younger baby boomers.
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[edit] Demographic justification
It must be noted that the lowest birth year from 1929-1945 in the US was 1944[citation needed]. And as a result of the World War II -- the US birth rate in 1945 was almost as low as 1944's[citation needed]. However, children born during 1941-1945 for some reason seem to be excluded by many demographers[who?] from this Silent Generation as they did not actually grow up during the Great Depression.
This generation is comparatively small when compared to the surrounding generations because people had fewer children in the 1920s and 1930s, in response to financial and global insecurity. As a result, members of the Silent Generation were uniquely poised to take advantage of economic opportunities, thanks to the reduced competition. Many of them went on to harness the scientific and technological advances of the Second World War, developing innovative inventions which laid the groundwork for even more technological progress in the late 20th century.
[edit] Silent or not?
Describing this generation as the “Silent Generation” is a bit of a misnomer. In fact, many revolutionary leaders in the civil rights movement came from the Silent Generation, along with a wide assortment of artists and writers who fundamentally changed the arts in America. The Beat Poets, for example, were members of the Silent Generation, as were Martin Luther King and Gloria Steinem. Most rock stars of the 60s were of the Silent Generation, not the Boomers as some believe (most sources cite the Boomers beginning in 1946). Even if the cut-off was 1943 this would still put such greats as the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, the Who, the Beach Boys, as well as rock stars such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison in the Silent Generation. Elvis Presley was also of this generation, as were some of the most famous movie stars of all time such as Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.
However, the term “Silent Generation” is not wholly inappropriate. While some members of the Silent Generation did become outspoken activists, many were also quiet, hardworking people who focused on getting things done and advancing their careers, even as they struggled with what to do with their lives.
The relation between Silents and Baby Boomers was complex. Time Magazine Associate Editor Gerald Clarke, 32 (in 1970) wrote:
"We are renters still, taking as our own the values of both old and young—and not thoroughly comfortable with either. Many of us now feel quite at ease with pot, rock and permissive sex; many of us reject the youth culture categorically. Most of us, however, occupy the unhappy position of being undecided: we want to enjoy, but deep down in our pre-Spock psyches, we feel we shouldn't. We puff marijuana at parties when we would be happier with Scotch or gin; we don bellbottoms when we would rather be in tweeds; we jump into affairs when we would rather be at home in bed—asleep. The visible result often is a compromise: the staid Wall Street lawyer, in vest, rep tie and cuffed trousers in the daytime, who turns Bloomingdale hippie in the evening, donning tie-dyed pants and tank top to weed the garden.[3]
[edit] References
| Preceded by Greatest Generation (born 1914 to 1924, give or take some years) |
Silent Generation (1925-1939, give or take some years) |
Succeeded by Baby Boom Generation (1940-1953, give or take some years) |
