Mementoes For My Generation, Pt.2.

"The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear." - Bono


For those who haven't had the chance to read the first post of this ongoing series which I started last week, this unordered continuing list features the best and most influential of entertainment, music, literature, and current events of which I personally feel, have (or soon will) become synonymous with my particular generation.

For Part One, Click The Link: HERE


#11: London

Synopsis: Telling the drug and alcohol-fueled story of a heartbroken young man named Syd (played ingeniously by Chris Evans) who's recently broken up with an insanely gorgeous woman named London after a two and a half year relationship. The story opens with Syd waking up smashed from a really deep high; not long afterwards, he gets a phone call from a friend who tells him that London is moving to California with her new boyfriend. Over the remainder of the film, we learn (through flashbacks) from Syd's point of view of what the now-separated couple's relationship was like for him and the reasons behind their love's inevitable failure - all the while, as Syd and his newfound friend Bateman, with the occasional visit from Syd's other friend Mallory, do cocaine, smoke, drink, and discuss/debate the facts of life in the bathroom of the loft in which London's "going-away" party is simultaneously being held.

Why It's On The List: Not too many dramas appeal to my generation, let alone, have been made in my generation's ongoing tenure, but "London" is an absolute highlight in terms of the quality of films which have been made in our (still) young era. Featuring magnificent performances from an overwhelmingly young cast, this film - I feel - will become a keepsake for my generation as we get older, much in the vain of Generation X's "Trainspotting", "Spun", and "Requiem For A Dream".

#12: Journeyman

Synopsis: When a newspaper reporter and committed family man named Dan Vasser begins to time-travel, his life is turned upside down; moreover, his uncontrollable and frequently increasing trips into the past cause friction between himself, his wife Katie, and his older brother Jack (who happens to be a detective for the SFPD). As the series progresses, Dan continues to alter the lives of certain people, for the better, every time he travels into the past, but it's not long before he learns that his ex-fiancée, Livia Beale, never truly died in a plane crash ten years prior, as he - along with the rest of the world - previously thought; instead discovering that she, like himself, is also a time-traveler from 1948 who happens to travel from the past and into the future - contrary to his very own ability.

Why It's On The List: Lasting only thirteen excellent episodes before getting cut short by the 2007 Writers Strike and subsequently cancelled by NBC, Journeyman proved to be a smartly-written, passionately acted, and deeply emotional story - surpassing, quality-wise - even the likes of the network's then-biggest hit, "Heroes", while matching the intensity and brilliant writing of another of NBC's freshman series that year, which happened to be "Life" starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi. For a generation with only a few smart things to watch on television (thanks to the silly reality fad), "Journeyman" - although short-lived - deserves to be remembered as one of the many things that Generation Y can be proud to have grown up with.

Episodes That I Recommend: All of them to be honest (HERE), but in particular: "A Love of a Lifetime" (1x01), *"The Legend of Dylan McCleen" (1x05), "Double Down" (1x07), "Blowback" (1x10), "The Hanged Man" (1x12), and "Perfidia" (1x13)

#13: Muse

Synopsis: Like Coldplay, Muse definitely goes up very high on my list of elite young bands who's music has/will become synonymous with my generation. Consisting of vocalist Matthew Bellamy, drummer Dominic Howard, and with Christopher Wolstenholme on bass, Muse have proven themselves to be a rarity for the ages with such contemporary classics such as "Take a Bow", "Starlight", "Uprising", and "Sunburn".

Why They're On The List: Re-introducing revolution-themed space rock to a younger generation, they have provided an alternative to the increasingly politically-correct music and expectations that were forcibly pushed onto us by our predecessors, up to and including the conformative Generation X. Much like a younger KMFDM, the trio known as Muse have come to embody the angry, resistant, and somewhat fed-up, aspects of Generation Y.

#14: Iron Man

Synopsis: Ushering in a fresh brand of critically and fan-acclaimed comic book movies, only months before The Dark Knight, 2008's Iron Man has deservedly grabbed it's place in cinema history as a landmark of greatness for it's genre. Faithfully adapting the origin story of Tony Stark (extremely well-played by Robert Downey, Jr.), as he is injured on foreign soil (smartly updated from Vietnam to Afghanistan) shortly after demonstrating a highly advanced smart-missile system developed by his military-funded enterprise: Stark Industries. Captured by a middle-eastern extremist organization known as The Ten Rings (a reference which only a true comic book fan could understand), and with massive amounts of shrapnel buried within his chest, Tony, now on a permanent life-support system created by a fellow captive named Yinsin, secretly builds a makeshift suit of bulky weaponized armor with the purpose of escaping from his captors' clutches. Upon his return home, a changed man, Tony updates his suit of armor while re-adjusting to his old life with the help of his friends Pepper Potts and Jim Rhodes. But when Tony's business partner, Obadiah Stane, steals his technology with immoral intentions, Tony has to find a way to regain it before it's too late.

Why It's On The List: Beginning the clear-as-day cinematic crossover series between Iron Man and the majority of Marvel Comics' Superhero Universe, Iron Man was the beginning of a new era for the world of comic book movies. The film, which marks the start of the first crossover superhero franchise, was the start of something extremely unique which began on my generation's, and only my generation's, watch.

#15: Economic Downturn of 2008

Synopsis: Starting with the fall of the Lehman Brothers Investment Bank in 2008, the country - as well as the world - fell into the worst recession since The Great Depression in the 1930's and early 1940's.

Why It's On The List: What's obviously the most severe thing to hit my generation, thanks to the irresponsibility of Generation X's financial spending for decades on end, we - like our grandparents - inherited the mess of those who came before us. Something which will affect those my age or near it, for a very long time to come, the lasting economic downturn of 2008 not only marks one of the most depressing times of which the world has ever seen, but also, the probable opportunity for Generation Y to become the next "Greatest Generation," as noted columnist Kurt Anderson, put it, in Vanity Fair Magazine.

#16: Iraq War

Synopsis: An unpopular war, the first of it's kind - popularity-wise - since The Vietnam Conflict, marked not only, the downfall of George W. Bush's presidency, but also, the beginning of my generation's massive opposition to our very own government, as well as their foreign policy. Started in 2003, as what the "official" take on it was: President Bush used U.S. Military forces to invade Iraq due to now-known false reports of infamous "weapons of mass destruction" which, in theory (if there ever truly were any weapons of that sort at all), were banned by the likes of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United States, and the United Nations.

Why It's On The List: The most widely-known of the wars seen in Generation Y's time so far, the war in Iraq was one of the first things of which my generation united against in massive numbers. Known to those my age as an unnecessary war which was fought "for oil and paid with in blood," the Iraq War has become the go-to event in recent memory for my generation's disdain and apathy towards the world and government which we've inherited.

#17: The Hurt Locker

Synopsis: Probably THE best war film of my generation so far, The Hurt Locker told the story of a bomb squad stationed in U.S.-occupied Iraq during the first phase of the war. Opening with a doomed attempt to defuse a bomb disguised as garbage on the streets of Iraq, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (played most-realistically by Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge, witness the death of their squad leader: Staff Sergeant Matthew Thompson. Days later, after being assigned a new squad leader named Sergeant First-Class William James (played absolutely brilliantly by Jeremy Renner), the bomb unit go out on their first mission together - the first of over eleven missions (not including a revenge-laden covert op which James carries out without any official military knowledge) on a thirty-eight day rotation which tests, bonds, and ultimately separates the group over the course of the entire film.

Why It's On The List: Cleverly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this war movie details the very dangerous and on-edge times in which my generation grew up in, as well as the in-your-face attitude of the military which bravely carried out their duties during an immensely unpopular war effort.

#18: Stay

Synopsis: Taking place in a limbo which we percieve as the world we're living in, a young artistic college student named Henry Letham (who somehow knows that this world isn't truly real), reveals to his temporary psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Foster, that he plans on committing suicide by the end of the week on the Brooklyn Bridge - in the footsteps another young artist who killed himself in the 1970's. Trying desperately throughout the course of the film, by searching for clues in Henry's paintings, locating Henry's school acquaintances, and by searching Henry's usual hangouts, Dr. Foster and his girlfriend race to find the recently-missing Henry, and more importantly, a way to stop him from his suicidal plan.

*SPOILER ALERT: By the end of the extremely well-written film, it is discovered that the world in which we've seen and come to know throughout the entire film, isn't a limbo at all, but rather, merely a single reality existing amongst many others.

Why It's On The List: Underappreciated, like that of Journeyman (which premiered two years after this film's release), this multi-universe/nonlinear/time-manipulating thriller does more to make it's viewers actually think about the events of it's story than what most people seem to be comfortable with these days.... and that's very rare. Released little after I'd just started the ninth grade, this film resonated with me - in a very rare way - almost immediately. Being made at a time when most films were made for profit, out of ignorance, or simply for the sake of being made, "Stay" stands out to me as a film which set out to do something different and ultimately achieved it's goal.... in an era when us Millenials were still coming into our own.

#19: The 2005 Flood of Greater New Orleans

Synopsis: Probably one of the three most heartbreaking things to happen in the United States since the beginning of the 21st century, the 2005 Levee Break in New Orleans killed over 1,836 residents, while it simultaneously displaced over 1.18 million more. All thanks to the faulty levees built by the Army Corps of Engineers, the greater part of New Orleans - as well as most of the gulf coast - has felt the devastating effects of the ferocious hurricane and subsequent flood ever since.

Why It's On The List: Another massive fuck up thanks to the efforts of the previous two generations, the unfortunate events which nearly destroyed the city of New Orleans will forever be remembered as one of the many events which helped shape my own generation into the very thing which we've become, and more importantly: The thing which we're still developing into. Forever one of the most unfortunate events for which my generation has had to grow up with: The mistreatment of the residents of New Orleans by our own government after the initial flooding, will permanently be known as one of the biggest times when the nation had the ball, the whole world was watching, and then we dropped it.... big time.

#20: The Road

Synopsis: A commentary on the world in which we're living in as you read these very words, and where our current decisions may very well take us: Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", chronicles the story of a man and his young son as they trek across the post-apocalyptic landscape of the not-too-futuristic Midwest of America.

Why It's On The List: Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007, McCarthy's very dark tale of resilience in the face of death, is one which can be noted as a true masterpiece, even by literary standards. Something which can truly touch the souls of people all ages, The Road was written and released at a crucial time for Generation Y, more than any other living generation, in my humble opinion.




Continued Next Week....