Cloudy and gloomy here in Dullsville (didn't Maynard G Krebbs use that term?). My girlfriend failed her driving test again last Friday (which explains why I was so bored Friday night). She had previously taken and passed the written portion of the test and was, therefore, exempt from taking it again. They couldn't find her paperwork and forced her to take it again. The state guy, who would also be giving her the driving portion of the test, remarked twice that the test was to be in English (she has an accent, but her English is excellent)! After the second remark, she told hm that as a Columbia University educated dentist she probably spoke English better than some $10 an hour loser who was forced to work giving driving tests because he couldn't find any other employment -- an almost certainly accurate, but unfortunate, comment. Although she, again, passed the written, he subsequently failed her for "changing lanes too slowly." So, we're practicing again this weekend.
On the way back from such yesterday, Sirius 60s played Marvin Gaye's I Heard it Through the Grapevine which brought up in conversation that archetypal Boomer movie, The Big Chill. We began discussing this, amidst jokes about my age ("old fart" is a term commonly used), I began to wonder what movie represented best her generation -- The Breakfast Club, perhaps (which she had never heard of)? But when I looked it up on my Blackberry, that depicted high school students in '85 when she was 11!
Although this question remained unanswered, all of this made me start thinking of cultural associations with and representations of the various American generations -- Greatest, Boomers, Gen-X, Gen-Y (are there others?). I think clearly my generation (Boomers) is represented most clearly and fociibly by music, leading (as you knew it would) to the...
TOTD: What cultural art form best represents your generation and what single (TOTD's are all about making choices) individual piece of art -- what song, what novel, what painting -- best encapsulates the goals, aspirations, failures, etc. of that generation? Additionally, could you explicate as to what characteristics of your generation that piece of art most clearly delineates?
This time, I'll provide an answer as well, rather than simply throwing the meat on the table. Without a doubt (at least a doubt for me), the Boomers are best represented in their unique contribution to the world of culture -- rock n' roll. And that song that best represents us, our hopes that flowered in the '60s, were corrupted in the '70s, were postponed in the '80s, and were sought after again in the '90s, is Mick and the Boys singing...
I think we, like Robinson's Johnny Rocco in Key Largo, wanted a single thing from life -- More! And the Stones' lyrics most vocally express our eventual realization that life is finite, that we will die, and that perhaps we won't "get what [we] want."Well, I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would go meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man
No, you can't always get what you want
No, you can't always get what you want
No, you can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime, you just might find
You get what you need
Or maybe, for something completely different, you might feel this piece of art, found in an Antibes gallery earlier this month for the bargin price of 700 Euros, best represents the Boomers, looking at life always from the outside! :D
Originally Posted by Bubba Dawg
