Where's Your Radical Youth? In Cahoots With 'The Man'
Posted by meredith on 03-06-2009In a recent opinion piece that ran in The Washington Post, Ron Charles bases an argument for young people's lack of intellect and sense of "suburban contentment" on the fact that bestselling titles on college campuses lean more towards the popular (Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling for fiction; Malcolm Gladwell for non-fiction) than the subversive (Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg and the like).
I won't generalize to suggest that Mr. Charles' opinions represent those of his generation — I honestly don't think they do — but for those who are in his camp and do find themselves lamenting the lack of radical heroes being celebrated among today's youth, I thought I'd just take the time to explain a few things.
Or rather, point out a few things, as the basis for my rebuttal can actually be found between the lines of the first paragraph where Charles' says, "According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the best-selling titles on college campuses are mostly about hunky vampires or Barack Obama. Recently, Meyer and the president held six of the 10 top spots." Inexplicably, the article fails to make comment on Obama's ranking. It does, however, go on to berate Gen-Y for "choosing books like 13-year-old girls" and for having "turned on the computer, tuned in the iPod and dropped out of serious literature." Seriously?
Setting aside the fact that as with any bestseller lists the titles that rise to the top are going to tend towards the common denominator (i.e. national sensations like Meyer and Rowling) and won't necessarily reflect what else students are reading. And never mind that according to other measures of reading materials college students' sensibilities have shifted towards being more serious. Isn't there one glaring oversight here that Charles doesn't seem to be addressing? You know, that other name on the bestseller list, that isn't writing about "hunky vampires."
Charles asks where all of the "challenging, annoying, offensive" writers are that are supposed to be getting our blood boiling, but the answer is right in front of him. They've been replaced by our head of state. The reason our generation hasn't adopted the same "damn the man" attitude and authors as those who engineered the radical movement of the 60s, is because we actually, you know, like the man.
This may comes as a shock to the "card-carrying liberal in full tweed glory" who was quoted in the article as blaming the expansion of capitalism for Y's wayward literary ways, but the fact is for the most part the youth of today are working with the system, not against it. Moreover, the system is working with us. We aren't the only ones turning on our computers and tuning into our iPods. The president and his administration is right there with us, supporting our efforts by inviting young entrepreneurs like Josh Spear (joshspear.com), Evan Williams (founder of Blogger/Twitter) and Aaron Patzer (founder of mint.com) to the White House. And as for that revolutionary "well-designed website" ? It was already here… in the form of change.gov.
But is this really something to abhor? The major beneficial aspect of this technology that seems to be going unmentioned is interactivity. While I won't argue that the attention span of Gen Y has remained unaffected, the upside to this quick-paced web world is that these dialogues are happening practically in real time, in large forums and in places where the people in charge can see our demands and actually respond to them. That said, and I know this may be a radical concept, but perhaps the hefty political manifestos we're accused of lacking are actually being authored as we speak… as a collaborative effort online.
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For a more detailed and statistical analysis of my generation, check out this recent article from the interactive magazine Flyp featuring an audio interview from Anastasia on page 8
For more coverage of YA books and publishing, check out the Ypulse Books Channel sponsored by the NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL: FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE! (LB Teens).
Categorized under: Books & Print
March 7th, 2009 at 10:30 am
[...] Where’s Your Radical Youth? In Cahoots With ‘The Man’ | Ypulse [...]
March 9th, 2009 at 9:19 am
[...] was published in the Washington Post, that I had mentioned on Friday? I found a rebuttal over at YPulse arguing why today's generation is so different than those during the 60s and 70s. It makes [...]
March 10th, 2009 at 8:00 am
As an English major, former English teacher and millennial, I tore through the entire Twilight series in six days and enjoyed every guilty minute of it. I think there's lots to be said for reading for pleasure; Meyers delivered a highly engaging, entertaining story. That's why I bought her book, not because it was on my reading level, a challenge to my understanding of the world nor because I support an abstinence only approach to sex ed.
Also, I think it's hard to gage the meaning of best sellers on college campuses. Since the majority of college students have heavy academic reading required with classes, I would expect their leisure reading materials to be lighter. In my observation, many of the controversial pieces of the 1960s are now standard reading in various classes, so while at one time students might have been forced to seek these opinions out independently, they're now incorporate into standard study.