A very ambigous definition of the current adult generation. The age range is not definite but generally begins after the baby-boom to the beginning of the 80s. This generation is thought to be slackers and extremely liberal. The name "Generation X" was&actually coined by Canadian author Douglas Coupland.

The term, run into the ground and stripped of useful meaning by the mass media, dates back at least as far as the 70's. Generation X (Gen X) was a punk-era London band led by Billy Idol. That's possibly where Coupland got the name. Maybe "real" Gen X'ers would be old enough to have purchased a "Ready Steady Go" 45, with money from their allowance.

Born 1961 to 1981.
Star Wars.
Kiss.
Tom Cruise.
Rubik's Cube.
Roe vs. Wade.
Iran Hostage Crisis.
AIDS.

A book by Douglas Coupland. First published in 1991.

The book that has done the most to define a sub-culture of young adults in America (and increasingly across the whole world) which, before this book, had no name and no identity. They are described as

"Underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable".

Generation X was the comedown after the affluent yuppie high of the 1980s. It has grown up with recession, Star Wars and the birth of the Internet. It is the dropout generation. It is us.

"I felt like I was being excommunicated from the shin jin rui - that's what the Japanese newspapers call people like those kids in their twenties at the office - new human beings. It's hard to explain. We have the same group over here and it's just as large, but it doesn't have a name - an X generation - purposefully hiding itself."

Chapters:

1. THE SUN IS YOUR ENEMY
2. OUR PARENTS HAD MORE
3. QUIT RECYCLING THE PAST
4. I AM NOT A TARGET MARKET
5. QUIT YOUR JOB
6. DEAD AT 30 BURIED AT 70
7. IT CAN'T LAST
8. SHOPPING IS NOT CREATING
9. RE CON STRUCT
10. ENTER HYPERSPACE
11. DECEMBER 31, 1999
12. NEW ZEALAND GETS NUKED, TOO
13. MONSTERS EXIST
14. DON'T EAT YOURSELF
15. EAT YOUR PARENTS
16. PURCHASED EXPERIENCES DON'T COUNT
17. REMEMBER EARTH CLEARLY
18. CHANGE COLOUR
19. WHY AM I POOR?
20. CELEBRITIES DIE
21. I AM NOT JEALOUS
22. LEAVE YOUR BODY
23. GROW FLOWERS
24. DEFINE NORMAL
25. MTV NOT BULLETS
26. TRANS FORM
27. WELCOME HOME FROM VIETNAM, SON
28. ADVENTURE WITHOUT RISK IS DISNEYLAND
29. PLASTICS NEVER DISINTEGRATE
30. AWAIT LIGHTNING
31. JAN. 01, 2000

Some terms are defined in Generation X in little footnotes at the bottom of appropriate pages. Generation X Definitions contains a list of these.

My mother was born in `61, I was born in `81. I think the fact that I'm a member of the same generation as my mother actually did give us a bit more of a connection. Not simply because the numbers in our birthdate fit the definition of the generation, but how well we fit the attitudes of the generation; namely the ability to identify and discuss our shortcomings. Gone are the days when dad comes home and just "leaves work at work," dealing with the stress on his own. Things like family meetings and discussing conflicts and their solutions.

We (Generation X) are also expected to bear the "burden" of caring for the baby-boomers when they grow older. I can only hope that more of our parents, aunts and uncles will have prepared for retirement better than their parents did.

IMHO, the primary factor that distinguishes Generation X from the generation to come after is that we were the last to grow up with nuclear paranoia.

I am 23 years old. Many of my co-workers are between 18 and 20. Not much age difference, you would say, and you would be right. And yet I can feel a generation gap between them and myself.

They never woke up in the middle of the night as a child hearing an airplane overhead and thinking it might be a Soviet bomber. They never heard a tractor-trailer rumble by and wonder if what they heard was Washington to the south being vaporized. They don't remember when the United States had an insane criminal for a President. And sometimes I envy them that.

One of the reasons I think that members of Generation X are so vocal and work hard to articulate how they feel is because it seems to us that everything in our lifetimes just changed so fast. Generations are marked by how they are different; this is done so that all of us may feel some significance in our own time, so that we can feel set apart and therefore legitimately argue that previous generations may not understand ours. In one fell swoop, we are unified within our ranks and walled up from others. It's quite the tribal mentality we often only accuse of religious groups. And I am no better. I understand Ground_Control's statement, though for different reasons, since I didn't pay attention much to politics or war when I was growing up. In fact, I didn't really realize the uniqueness of our generation until I was out of college, which I guess is when everyone realizes it, when some time has passed between living the moment and recounting it.

Just as Generation X has its cliches, the one that follows it will have it even more so. As times goes on, it seems that all those still around from prior generations cling to those label with which they label us in an attempt not to understand but to safely categorize us. As history gets bigger in its volumes, we will have to shout that much louder, we believe, to be heard.

The thing I am most interested in is what our kids will be like. We know how the Baby Boomer kids came out. I am looking forward to seeing how we handle being wives, husbands, fathers and mothers. And I know some of us have already started. But we haven't attained our own voice yet, we haven't become a target market for middle class stereotypes: the minivan, bulk groceries, biodegradable diapers, school voucher programs, teenagers on our car insurance. It's sad but somewhat true that you won't know how any generation turned out until you hear about it on the news, whether the news is telling the truth or not. We will always know the difference.

A spin-off comic book of the X-Men that focused on a group of teenage mutants. It was created in 1994 by Scott Lobdell (writer) and Chris Bachalo (artist).

The team formed during a crossover called the Phalanx Covenant. The Phalanx attacked Earth and looked for young mutants. The X-men tried to find them first, and the rest is history. The two heroes put in charge of teaching the kids to control their powers were Banshee and White Queen. The roster included:

• Jubilee - The most well known member thanks to the X-men cartoon. Jubilee was pyrokinetic
• Husk - Could shed the outer layer of skin to reveal different forms
• M - Telepathy, flight, invurnability, and more.
• Penance - Diamond hard skin and claws
• Skin - 6 feet of extra skin that he could manipulate
• Synch - Could mimic the powers of those around him,
• Chamber - Could create psionic blasts. When he didn't know how to control his power, one of these blasts destroyed the lower half of his face.

There was a Generation X made for TV movie that aired February 20th, 1996 on FOX. Penance, Chamber, and Synch were not in the movie, and another Cyclops like mutant named Refrax was created to take their place. The comic was recently cancelled after over 75 issues.

The story about how this book was written is really interesting:
Coupland received a lump sum from the publishers to write a documentary of the 80s. He returned a fiction that describes a unique generation. As expected, publishers did not resist him despite the fact that they did not have much expectations about the book. They considered it as a sunk cost and decided to go for it. This book is especially well known by the terms called neo logisms as described in Generation X Definitions

Generation X formed in November 1976 as Chelsea.Billy Idol (William Broad) played guitar, Tony James on bass, John Towe on drums, and Gene October was the lead singer. Later, when they changed their name to Generation X, Billy Idol became the lead singer, as they dropped Gene October on November 21st, 1976. The name Generation X was taken after the title of one of Billy's mothers books.

Their first gig as Generation X was at the Roxy club on December 21st, 1976.

They had many problems with drummers, but that didn't stop them from getting a record deal, as A&R men were competing for their signatures. They signed with Chrysalis in the summer of 1977.

"Punk rock seems like my childhood, the glorious naivete of rock'n'roll. Stenguns and guitars seem very idealistic when you're twenty."
Tony James. Punk The Illustrated History Of A Music Revolution.

"This group are important. They are something new, young and exciting. They're f****n great ! "
Mark P. Sniffin Glue 5. November 1976.

Every generation has it's defining characteristics.... and most were shaped by wars... the past 2 generations being shaped by the Vietnam War, and WWII... We had Desert Storm... but, that wasnt much of a war, and most of us were too young to really care, anyway, we couldn't serve.... So, are we just a lost and wandering mass of heathens because we have no binding force? Is this why generation x is so lacking in cohesion and morals?

I don't really care if that's the reason, but we DO have something that keeps us all together: The love of 80's fantasy movies. I'm sure you know by heart most or all of those I'm going to talk about here... but when it comes down to it, every gen-xer loves 80's fantasy movies....

Definately, the most highly reguarded of them is Labyrinth... Who can resist the story of a girl battling evil to get her baby brother back? (not to mention David Bowie's package *eg*) Most anyone can recite portions of this movie, if not the whole thing... And if you are in a bind for something to do, you can always fall back on watching Labyrinth with your friends, they'll be up for it, and you'll re-live many memories.

The others, I'm uncertain of where they would rank, exactly... but I would say on a whole, The Neverending Story comes in second... The battles of a small boy reading what is more than a book... the plight of an entire existence on his shoulders, that could have been any of us. Don't ever let the nothing devour your imagination!

My personal favorite out of these five is The Princess Bride... Someone not like this movie?? INCONCIEVABLE!! Another book being read approach, both done quite effectively. True love can never be stopped, not even by death. Pirates, giants, sports, and yes, even kissing. So many plot twists it's dizzying.

Legend... ahh, so beautiful. The epic story of a world turned upside down, because a simple unicorn was defiled. A band of inexperienced, but determined adventurers set out to fix it all. By far the prettiest movie of them.

And don't forget The Dark Crystal... It's been so long since I've seen it, I really should rent it again. Two small and frail little fighters go out to stop the tyranny that has befallen thier existence. No human actors to be found here, and Jim Henson really did a bang-up job making this one come to life. I bet you havent seen it in quite a few years either... it always gets pushed to the bottom of the pile.

You see, you know most, if not all of these movies... And so do the rest of your generation!! Anything that can touch so close to the hearts of millions has to have good repercussions... When you can't think of anything to talk about, or do, consider the preceding five favorite and classic movies. You know you need to see them all again. And if you've never seen any, you're missing out.