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Generation Y Culture are those cultural media productions such as music, movies, television programs, books, and internet distributed media, that are consumed most heavily by members of Generation Y, an age cohort in the anglophone world, cultural media strongly associated with Generation Y, or cultural media that has been produced by Generation Y.

Depending on the definition used, members of Generation Y were born during some span of years within the range of 1976 and 2001. As a result, members of this generation are often associated with the popular culture during their "coming of age" period, which arguably begins with the 1990s, particularly the late 1990s, but has not yet ceased as of 2006, as the youngest members of this generation are 5 to 11 years old, depending on the definition cited.

Generation Y is notably the generation that came of age during the Information Revolution centered on widespread adoption of the Internet. As a result, much of the contemporary experience of this generation's cultural distribution centers on Internet mediated forms of media and communication.

It should also be noted that foreign forms of media especially but not limited to that originating from Japan such as Anime and Manga as well as Music such as J-Rock and J-Pop and styles of clothing such as "Gothic-Lolita" have become popular with Generation Y.

Music

Background

In the anglophone nations, many members of Generation Y have adopted and identified with various modern forms of popular music, including hip hop, alternative rock, emo, metalcore, pop-punk, electronic dance music, and R&B, and bubblegum pop or teen pop. Despite being extant prior to the maturation of most of Generation Y, styles such as punk rock and heavy metal have remained as influential subcultures amongst Generation Y youth.

These musical genres were developed primarily during the same span of years as the span of years often consider the birth years of Generation Y, such as 1976-2001. Notably, Hip-hop had its origins in the late '70s and the '80s, and found widespread commercial success in the 1990s, when many Yers were in their preteens or teens and Gen Xers were dominant.

Most members of Gen Y cannot recall a time when rap, grunge, metal, punk, techno, and synth-pop were unfamiliar to them, whether by conscious choice on MTV or the radio, or from a neighbor's boom box, passing cars, or hits on the loudspeaker in the supermarket aisle (true Muzak was abandoned in the late 1980s).

Although these styles may have seemed revolutionary for the prior Generation X, experiencing them in their infancy, for most members of Generation Y, they have always been a normal part of the musical landscape that is generally been unchanged in many ways since the late 1990s, sounds long since "co-opted" by the mainstream and routinely melded with every type of pop music in an attempt by its makers to attain generational currency.

The importance of low-cost or free music for Generation Y should also not be underestimated. Generation Y was the primary generation to rapidly adopt peer-to-peer technologies, starting with Napster in order to build up their record collections.

Rifts with Generation X and earlier generations

Hip Hop and the rise/fall of Rock and Roll

Hip hop music, and accompanying movements in fashion and slang, create perhaps the largest musical rift between Gen Y and its forbears. Gen X and the baby boomer generation were both fond of rock and roll, even despite their differences; but while Gen Y also contains many fans of rock, beginning in the 2000s, rock is considered to be an alternative taste[citation needed]. By about 1996, hip hop had replaced rock as the "parent-angering" music, as rock became more about emotion and less about having a "good time"[citation needed]. Hip hop, especially old skool hip hop and the gangsta rap made prior to 1997 does cross into Generation X and that later Xers tend to more tolerant of hip hop than early Xers and the Xers as a whole do not dislike hip hop quite as much as the Boomers do. Also, the early days of hip hop's mainstreamization in the late 1980s and early 1990s was very much fueled by latter Gen X born in the 1970s.

During the 1980s rap was largely confined to the African American community, especially that in large American cities such as New York and Los Angeles. In the late Eighties, however, rap did begin to become mainstream as other cultures began to demand it with artists such as the Beastie Boys, NWA, Ice T, and Public Enemy.

The 1990s represented the assimilation of rap into the mainstream, by 1990 rap was only beginning to top the charts but by 1999 rap was the most popular form of music on pop radio except for perhaps the teen pop groups of that time.

By the 2000s almost all non-rock/punk popular music on MTV and pop radio was either rap or rap-influenced music; while rap and hip-hop were extremely popular for most of the '90s there were many other popular genres of music in that decade while 2000s pop is more musically one-tracked on rap and rap/R&B.

Acceptance of adult-oriented media

Although the baby boomers were considered controversial during their heyday in the 1960s and 1970s and Gen X saw the beginnings of looser censorship standards, Gen Y was the first generation that pretty much lived with censorship labels in place -- such as the PG-13 rating, the Parental Advisory sticker, and the V-chip -- rather than the transition to them. [Gen X felt the transition, impacted by these cultural battles but not yet able to influence (e.g. vote) the outcomes. More appropriate, perhaps, is the Boomer's increasing the Drinking Age [Wiki page link desirable] to 21, so some Gen Xers were Grandfathered while some siblings had to wait the three years from 18 to 21. For early Gen Xers, this waiting period included the College Years, and may have contributed to some party riots.]

As technology boomed in the 1990s and the then-young-adults Gen X gained influence over the media Gen Y, at the time children, gained easier access to explicit material. By about 1993 crude language began to become acceptable on television and within a few years television networks such as FOX and cable channels such as Comedy Central pushed the boundaries of what could be shown on TV. This trend peaked in the late Nineties with the rise of the Internet and ultra-controversial shows such as South Park went on the air.

The censorship changes of the 1990s were not all more allowing of explicit and offensive material. While graphic depictions of blood and gore, and certain depictions of sexual activity became more commonplace, mild language is still censored as of 2006. Some curse words (such as "fuck" and "shit") are still quite taboo and censored in various media. While certain forms of disrespectful activity are now at least somewhat acceptable on television and radio, other offensive material such as violence against women, and certain types of racial humor/slurs are no longer acceptable. Children's programming tends to be much more rapid-paced and crude than it was prior to the early to mid 1990s, although children's movies tend to be more politically correct (a rare example of a modern non-PC cartoon is Recess) . Also, during the early 2000s Nickelodeon became less focused on vulgarity, reducing the prevalence of certain institutions such as Slime Time.

Musical contributions

The musical genres most commonly associated with Generation Y are post-gangsta rap, pop punk, teen pop of late 1990s style and numetal, although there are other genres associated with Gen Y, including underground rap from the likes of Atmosphere and Common, pop R&B from the likes of Mariah Carey and 1990s indie acts that have since become mainstream in the mid-2000s such as Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, and Elliott Smith. As of late, this generation has started to appreciate the classic rock from the 60's and 70's.

Of course, as many genres of 1990s music still live on into the 2000s many music stereotypes of Gen X, such as Grunge rock which remains hugely influential despite being "dead", can be extended somewhat to Gen Y.

What might end up defining at least the 2000s section of Generation Y music is the heavily charged political nature of music from popular bands and artists in response to the September 11th attacks and ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

There have been many left-leaning, anti-establishment frontmen like Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day, outspoken political singer Steve Earle, Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Chris Cornell from Audioslave, Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam, and Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes, as well as from more mainstream bands like Bono from U2, Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones, and Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher from Oasis who continue to have success with Generation Y. Also most hip hop rappers such as Kanye West, Ludacris, Eminem, Chamillionaire also have a left-leaning musical infulence on the Generation Y. On the flip side there have been very popular, right-leaning songs from country artists like Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, and Kenny Chesney.

The late 1990s (1997-1999)

During the late 1990s and the early years of the 2000s teen pop became a very heavily consumed form of music. Artists strongly associated with this resurgence include Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and various boy bands including 'N Sync and The Backstreet Boys. These artists harkened back to artists more familiar to older members of Generation Y, and members of Generation X, including New Kids on the Block, Debbie Gibson and similar artists of the late eighties and early nineties. Arguably, a transition began as early as 2002 in which many of the artists associated with teen pop, bubblegum pop, or the "boy bands" saw waning popularity as more-rock influenced and "adult" pop such as Avril Lavigne took their place. As well as waining interest of pop music fell to hip hop music. However, even in 2006 people still often refer to the "boy bands" and "pop princesses" as a current trend, because of their presence in various mediums such as tabloids and Disney Channel.

Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani, and Jessica Simpson are respectively popular, showing that while pop of the late nineties variety is no longer as favorable as of 2006 (e.g. the Backstreet Boys endeavor at a comeback in 2005 was a relative flop in comparison to previous records sales in the United States, even despite going platinum), pop still upholds its place in the twenty-first century.

Contrary to popular belief, in 1997 and 1998 hip hop was in somewhat of a dead state as the deaths of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. slowed the genre and Eminem had not yet appeared on the scene. In fact, from about 1995 on, hip hop was generally losing fans to "alternative" music; this was increased by the deaths of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. and was not recovered until about 1999 when Eminem rose to fame.

By 2000 rap was the prime staple of whatever music was left on MTV and began to dominate pop radio.

The early 2000s (2000-2003)

By the early 2000s rap was clearly the most popular genre of music, at least in the United States, outselling rock and roll for the first time in history in 2002, although post-grunge bands such as Nickelback and punk-influenced pop like Avril Lavigne still periodically topped pop charts. In 2002 Nickelback's How You Remind Me was the #1 song of the year; a year later in 2003 50 Cent's mass hit In Da Club was released.

Rock during the early 2000s was mostly numetal, rap metal, and grunge-influenced rock bands. Overall it was not too different from most of the 1990s stylistically, but pop-punk bands began to become popular in this period. Also, beginning in 2003 and up to 2005 there were attempted revivals of New Wave music and classic rock, led by bands such as The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, and Jet. This movement evolved into the post-punk revival style by mid-decade.

The mid 2000s (2004-2006)

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of Generation Y's musical genres during this time period are pop punk, emo and the latest post-punk revival, sometimes termed "Neo-Wave", both of which are influenced by 1990s punk and 1980s New Wave music, the former more influential on sound and the latter on image in the case of pop-punk. Pop-punk is also considerably influenced by Millennial teen pop, albeit often in a tongue-in-cheek way.

The term emo is often used to describe a rock movement associated specifically with Generation Y, beginning around 2000 but peaking in 2004 with websites such as Myspace, but the term's meaning is controversial and arguably inept. The genre is producing a pseudo-counterculture with bands such as Hawthorne Heights, Taking Back Sunday and My Chemical Romance through mediums such as Fuse and MTV2. Mainstream rock radio, however, is slower to pick up on the trends as they find post-grunge bands (such as Nickelback) to be a much safer bet for their listeners as the genre generally refuses to die even despite being around so long and rock has lost much interest to hip hop.

Rap music of the post-gangsta and crunk subgenres were widely favored, almost entirely dominating the charts by 2003 as the teen pop explosion of the late 1990s phased out and grunge rock began to fall out of style to emo ("grunge-pop" like Lifehouse is still quite popular among some). However, beginning in 2005 some rap fans slowly began to tire of hip hop for being formulaic, and rock music actually seems to be slowly increasing in popularity as of 2006. It is possible that similar to the way the hair metal of 1990 caused backlash against the genre in the early 1990s that the hip hop songs of 2006, such as Nelly's "Grillz" and D4L's "Laffy Taffy" may precipitate backlash against the current trend of glam/bling rap.

Mainstream artists like 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Chamillionaire, Lil' Jon, Black Eyed Peas, and Kanye West are very well-liked among many Y'ers.

However, beginning in the early 1990s as gangsta rap started, but especially in the latter half of the '90s and the 2000s, many rap fans disliked the mainstream as it had become more "glam" and less meaningful and fun, turning to underground from the likes of Atmosphere or old skool from the Beastie Boys and similar bands.

As MP3 downloads and iPods became popular and the increase of the Internet's use for propagating culture greatly increased during this period, many Gen Y'ers developed very eclectic, international tastes. Examples of this would be the rise of flapper type styles, and the burgeoning popularity of reggaeton throughout the United States. However, record companies claim that internet downloads have negatively impacted their sales.

The movies of Generation Y

Members of Generation Y are maturing during a period where most popular movies are either cult films or renditions of books, comics, graphic novels, other movies, or even other remakes (this has so far remained particularly consistent of the mid 2000's.) Movies released in the summer of 2005 were nearly all remakes or based on old television shows or comic books. This in conjunction with declining box office ticket sales and a greater variety of entertainment choices and mediums. Video entertainment movie sources include cable television as well as rented/purchased/library videos and DVDs. Movies may still be labeled blockbusters since higher ticket prices mean ongoing breaking of sales records; but no meaningful 'blockbuster' (or made-for-TV event), with theater ticket sales (or single-night viewership) has been driven by Generation Y. The closest TV event is perhaps "Survivor: Season 1". Each Harry Potter book release gets greater emotional anticipation than the movie releases. "Star Wars: Episodes I,II and III" are in the running for Gen Y movie blockbusters. Meanwhile, some segments of both Gen Y and Gen X eagerly monitor and indulge in video game releases. (Gen X had the first Atari Pac-Man and now games with their children.) Given the lack of a singular point to monitor viewing -- movie and network TV viewing is now more dispursed in time and space via DVDs, reruns, and internet chatroom summaries; it is harder for social scientists to recognize and comment on an entertainment piece with lasting meaning to a generation. To distinguish a simply popular flick versus a shaping one (emotionally or logical) and to distinguish a narrow cult flick from a nationwide or worldwide one increasingly requires some hindsight, rather than recognizing it as it happens. (Products labeled "collectible" will generally not be the best, most valued memoriabilia.) To wit: American Idol's She-Bang singer may be one of Gen Y's pivotal memories.

While preference in film inevitably varies from individual to individual, popular films with Generation Y include cult-hits such as Napoleon Dynamite, Sin City, Finding Nemo, Fight Club and American Beauty as well as main-stream hits like The Matrix, the Lord of the Rings series, and the Harry Potter series. Also, older movies that were released when Gen X-ers were teens, such as John Hughes' The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Sixteen Candles are quite popular, as are Quentin Tarantino movies like Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and the more recent Kill Bill series. More notorious Gen X films are only now gaining more attention from the Y Generation and iGeneration, as they begin to search for more meaningful, edgy, and thought-provoking filmmaking. Part of Generation Y's self-definition through films occurs by quoting and citing scenes and dialogue from popular films such as Napoleon Dynamite and Office Space. Napoleon Dynamite — a film set in the early 2000s but with a pointed nostalgia for the 1980s — will most likely serve as a reference point for Generation Y nostalgia. Movies such as The Matrix, Memento, and Waking Life lead the generation to heavily question the nature of their reality.

One common movie trend of the 2000s is youth turning to indie, avant-garde, and much older films in reaction to the perceived vacancy found in the mainstream movies of the new millennium. Thirteen seemed to have had an enormous impact upon Generation Y teens, as did Ghost World, Donnie Darko, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I ♥ Huckabees, Garden State and Sin City.

Another interesting aspect of Gen Y film culture is that films, while individually successful, are becoming more identifiable by their directors. Many popular Gen Y films include blocs of films done by directors like Quentin Tarantino, M. Night Shyamalan, Peter Jackson, David Fincher, Wes Anderson, David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, Steven Soderbergh, Cameron Crowe and Sam Raimi.

It should also be noted that while movie stars' careers are much less fickle than those of musicians, many well-established celebrities such as Tom Cruise have experienced a very noticeable decline in popularity for various reasons while Harry Potter, LOTR, Lost, and even the Disney Channel are producing new stars, some of which are part of Generation Y itself.

The television of Generation Y

TV overview

Similar to the case with movies, members of iGeneration and Gen Y at large are purported to watch much less [1] television in comparison to members of past generations. This is largely attributed to the popularity of the Internet, [2] which was formerly relegated to so-called "nerds" or "geeks". In fact, in 2004 internet viewing surpassed television watching. Mundane programming and lacking television series which honestly depict (and thus appeal) to Gen Y are some contributors of this. Although reality shows are viewed by some, it seems most reality series are actually more popular amongst older adults as many are bored with the trend. American Idol however is the only mainstream TV Show in which has a driving force in appealing to Generation Yers. Most shows that appeal to the Gen Y as of 2006 are on MTV, The CW, or on Nickelodeon, though many Gen Yers are giving sour reviews to many new shows on those channels.

Typically, news and current events outside of pop culture are not closely followed by most Generation Y members, as many are bored with the news and many seem to not care for what's going on, which is hurting the news industry as it is losing ratings due to their older aging group which follows it closely than most age groups, and with very few young people replacing them. Anderson Cooper's program is popular amongst those who follow news, though some criticize his making the story more about himself. For those less serious, The Daily Show is their answer. The Daily Show has become the most popular news program for the 18-25 demographic even though it is a "fake" news program.

Animated sitcoms, such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, South Park, and Futurama are very popular among Gen Y and latter Gen X. Traditional sitcoms fare less well among Gen Y, but are still common in the 2000s mainly because of older viewers. American Idol is also popular among Gen Y, as they are the number one group that votes.

Comedy Central and FOX are popular channels among Gen Y. The former hosts "South Park". The WB is also somewhat popular (e.g. Buffy the Vampire Slayer); but its popularity among teens is below that of its late-'90s peak, and the network began targeting an older audience in 2005.

Other popular networks for Generation Y are Fuse, G4, VH1, Spike TV, Cartoon Network (mostly Adult Swim), Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, MTV and MTV2. (The children's networks may be of particular note. Previous generations had Sesame Street (PBS), Saturday morning cartoons, and after-school shows such as The Mickey Mouse club and Kids, Inc. Cable first became widespread in the 1980s, with the above children's stations for Gen Y (while Gen X was getting its MTV).

SpongeBob SquarePants seems to be the most popular cartoon currently in this generation, and has the potential to become the flagship cartoon for the Gen Y. Although this is being disputed by Pokemon, as it too has flagship status in certain regions of the world, especially in Japan.

Major professional sports leagues are also struggling to appeal to the mostly music-oriented Generation Y. Because very few Generation Yers tend to follow sports or even play sports, this in turn has made the sports attendance in turmoil in recent years, as many older sports fans blame the Gen Y for not following sports as much as the other older generations tend to do. Generation Yers tend to view sports as "old-fashioned" or "boring", also sports during this time period are beginning to have a bad view among Gen Y members, as with the retirement of Micheal Jordan from the NBA, and the Major League Baseball scandal with steroids which has scared off the interest of sports from the Gen Y.

Notable Generation Y shows

Popular TV programs amongst Generation Y include:

Due to the fact that modern programming generally does not appeal to this generation, slightly older 1990s television series such as Daria, My So-Called Life, Seinfeld, and Buffy all have their legions of devoted fans. Even early '90s sitcoms such as Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saved by the Bell, and Full House appeal to some. Additionally, the long-running sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live is fairly popular amongst certain subcultures of Generation Y, despite beginning in 1975, largely due to its relative comeback in the early 1990's and a later resurgence toward the end of the decade with a cast featuring tremendously popular comedians such as Will Ferrell.

Anime and "mature cartoons" are also popular: Cowboy Bebop and Aqua Teen Hunger Force both quickly became cult-hits on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim program block.

Generation Y literature

Many critics point to the fact that Gen Y lacks any consistent literary figure [3] that represents the generation, as all previous generations seem to have had. The only possible candidate may be the Harry Potter series.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Go Ask Alice, Gossip Girl, Sloppy Firsts, The Bell Jar, and Girl, Interrupted have all received cult followings but still remain unknown to those less affiliated with books and reading in general.

The Rules of Attraction and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis as well as the works of Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club, Survivor and Lullaby are currently gaining popularity with Generation Y college students, as are many books by countercultural authors such as Hunter S. Thompson.

The Internet and Generation Y

A major characteristic of Generation Y was the arrival of the Internet. Generation X mostly viewed the computer as a "geeky" thing to have in the 1980s and early 1990s (or minor class jealousy for those who could do their English homework on the computer instead of the typewriter), but Gen Y as been universally exposed to the computer as general users (rather than Gen X's technically-oriented users) and now a computer lies in almost every household of at least moderate financial means. Ironically, using paper-based resources such as libraries became seen as "geeky" by Gen Y.

Gen Y has also been called the "Thumb Generation", for because of the technological advances of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s this generation uses its hands less than any previous generation.

  • One major feature would be instant messaging through AOL Instant Messenger, MSN messenger or ICQ. This connected many of this generation with peers and has proved to be quite a social activity. With the introduction of the webcam, Generation Yer's could communicate while actually seeing their recipients. This has also lead to popular dating services.
  • The Internet also proved to be quite resourceful for school projects, making libraries largely obsolete for quick and easy research. Internet websites such as Encarta and Wikipedia came to be major sources for research projects, much to the chagrin of many teachers and professors.

See also

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