False
Reality and Bad Feedback
The film Reality Bites opens with the blank blue screen from a VCR Camera
Recorder with the words VCR PLAY on the screen while the following voiceover is
pushed from speakers into an outdoor stadium:
"And they wonder why those of us
in our twenties refuse to
work an 80 hour week, just so that we
can afford to buy their
BMW's; why we aren't interested in
the countercultures that they
invented, as if we did not see them
disembowel their revolution
for a pair of running shoes. But the
question remains, what are we
going to do now? How can we repair
all the damage we inherited?
The answer is...I don't know. (Stiller 0:46-1:35)
Billy Idol’s 1970’s
band was named “Generation X” in the 1970’s. Later it became the title of a
book about rebellious teens by Douglas Coupland. After that it was “picked up
by the mainstream media and seeped into the consciousness of the culture (Gozz
Jr. 331).” Baby Boomers describes the
group that were teenagers and college students during the 1960’s and early
1970’s, described as the parents and adults in the quote above. However, do
these two generational groups hold more in common than the media have depicted?
Despite common ideologies of thought that Baby Boomers and Generation Xers
share, the media has portrayed unbridgeable generation gap, as exemplified by
the film Reality Bites’ portrayal of
the lack of regard between the groups, which orbits around a media-audience feedback
loop reinforcing that gap between the groups.
PBS
investigative reporter for the program Frontline,
Douglas Rushkoff, A group of teen would be models "spotted our crew at
a party in between their auditions. They appeared to be dancing for us, for our
camera, as if to sell back to us, the media, what we had sold to them. And
that's when it hit me. It's a giant feedback loop. The media [watch] kids and
then [sell] them an image of themselves. Then kids watch those images and
aspire to be [them]...and the media [are] there to watch that as well in order
to craft new images for them, and so on. (Rushkoff 42:41-43:16).” This feedback
loop theory can be somewhat substantiated with agenda-setting theory, which
purports that although the media do not have the ability to change minds or, if
and when they present opinions or images to audiences, what they should believe
or think. Rather, media tell us what we should think on and talk about.
According to Campbell et all, "when the mass media focus their attention
on particular events or issues...they set the agenda for...the major topics of
discussion for individuals and society (524).
Researcher
Michael D. Slater, in his work “Reinforcing Spirals” he describes a framework
which unites the studies of media effects and those of media selectivity, which
deals with how audience members choose their own media actively (281-282). He
explains the framework helps to understand the “influence of mediated
communication on the development and maintenance …subcultures” occur in
“dynamic, mutually influencing processes (281-282).” He lays out several
studies that give credence to the reinforcing spirals theory. In a study by Steele and Brown in 1995, when
they studied sexual media content, the patterns and effects of audience choice
as to the media they used “is likely to play an important role in the
development of personal and social identity (Slater 283).” Similarly in 1960,
Klapper’s and Berelson, Lazarfeld and McPhee’s 1954 research on a political
media campaign, suggested that “increased exposure” to content reinforced
existing beliefs, but also led to audience selecting to expose themselves to
even more media which further cemented those beliefs (283). Slater points to
another media effects study by Comstock et all from 1978 which found that
television viewing could lead to
audience consuming TV as a means of seeking out explanations for
behavior (283). Over 20 years later, a study by Brown in 2000
Argues that the sexual content in
media may increase
interest in sexuality, which, in
turn, stimulates further
interest in sexual content as well as increasing the
likelihood
of sexual activity among adolescents. (Slater 283)
Slater
ties reinforcing spirals to agenda-setting theory in that there is a high
likelihood that “group-specific media”
“set issue agendas and frame these issues for group members (297).” He
also describes what is known as social identity theory developed by Tajfel and
Turner in 1986 and the communicative theory of social identity by Hect in 1993,
in which it is explained that humans are predisposed to claim an identity based
on “actual or symbolic perceived affiliation” with other humans who share
values, ideas, opinions or experiences (Slater 290). Social identity theory
distinguishes between a social or group identity and personal identity (290);
it also discusses the significance of “categorization” in making meaning and
sense of the social word and one’s role in that world (Slater 291).
It is likely, then, that insights
about …identity may be
gleaned by analyzing the social
categories and attributes
for category members—both ‘‘in-group’’ and
‘‘out-group’’—
communicated in such preferred media content. (Slater 291)
Raymond
Gozzi Jr., describes the semantics surrounding Baby Boomers and Generation
Xers. He says that as the story is told by the media and members of Generation
X themselves, the the group feels like they “were born too late” and “missed out
on all the fun of the ‘60’s” i.e. the proliferation of drugs, sex, rock and
roll, and protests (3--). They feel that Baby Boomers took all the good jobs
and are staying in them too long, as well as caused inflation, a lower standard
of living in the 90’s, and have help pollute the earth (33-). The story of
Generation X includes that members complain frequently, and are considered less intelligent and less gifted by Baby Boomers (33-). Gozzi
goes on to describe the story of Baby Boomers, who were born from the mid to
late 1940’s to 1950’s (33-). Boomers reaped the advantages of the post WWII
economic prosperity and power that the United States experienced. Their lives
were enriched by a strong consumer culture, which allowed them individual power
to fine tune the arts of rock music and protest while having “a lot of fun
(Gozzi 33-).” However, toward the end of the 1970’s the Boomers “sold out”
turning to simple suburban lives and becoming “yuppies” while selfishly leaving
only table scraps for the generations following them, Baby Bust (late 1950’s-1960’s)
and Gen X (33-). He defines all this as “the narrative of the North American
Generations. It contains enough truth to be interesting, enough distortion and
stereotyping to be infuriating (33-).”
Television as Parent, Companion,
and Literature
It
is this narrative that the storytelling of Reailty
Bites reinforced. There are three themes that run through the film which
feed into the stereotypes of inexorable conflict and distrust between the Baby
Boomers and Generation Xers. The first
is the role of television in the childrearing of the latter group. According to
Ron Owen, a media theorist and historian, there is no use of the term “latchkey
kids” prior to the mid 1960’s (Owen 41). This phenomenon points to societal shifts such
as both parents working and single-working parent homes. In 1988, the US Public
Health Service found that half of
teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 did not live with both their
biological parents (Owen 8).
Gen X is the first generation to grow up with VCR's
and remote
controls...This generation also lost something far
more important-
faith in the nuclear family, church, the government,
and US leaders
…is it any wonder that TV an easy parental substitute
had such an
impact on the lives of Gen Xers? (Owen8- 9)
Television
was the literature of Generation X, according to Rob Owen, a researcher of the
generational group which he considers the core of which was born between the
years of 1965 and 1975 (5-6). "This explains the rise of TV shows whose
premises are the media or other TV shows. Many programs are littered with...
inside jokes about the media (6). Reality Bites is also crowded with examples of the main
characters and their friends using the media they consume to help them navigate
their way through play and life's daily challenges. Author Pagan Kennedy
"pointed to the 1970's as the time when TV first began to revel in
self-references that have become commonplace today (Owen 31).” In the film, a television
comes into frame showing the opening credits for the show Good Times; then the camera
moves to the left to see a group of friends, three of which are part of the
main cast, sitting on the floor around a coffee table drinking pints of beer
and shots of what the audience assumes to be hard liquor. The audio changes
from the Good Times theme to voices of the young people taking
turns naming episodes of the show that have not been named yet, which the other
players confirm were actual unnamed shows. The game, which is drinking game
similar to “never have I ever” forces players who have not seen that particular
episode to take a drink or shot. (Stiller 23:13-24:37)
In
another scene, a supporting character, comments on a humorous line that one of
the main characters said, which was recorded by another character for her
documentary. The exchange went like
this: "That whole thing about nobody can eat all the eggs was great."
The main character replies, "I was
quoting Cool Hand Luke (Stiller 1:06:46-1:06:52)." For Generation Xers,
some of their best lines are quotes from TV and films, as well as commercials
and advertisements. In one of the
opening scenes of the film, the main character who is at the moment recording
footage for the documentary she is making based on her friends lives, says the
following: "Well I know this sounds cornball, but I'd like to somehow make
a difference in people's lives ( Stiller 2:34-2:41 )." Her friend replies,
“And I would like to buy them all a coke (2:44-2:47).” He is referencing Coca
Cola's 1971 Christmas commercial which featured the jingle turned song "Hiltop"
or "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" (Coca-cola 1971)." In the
advertisement young people from all over the world were assembled on a hilltop
in Italy (Coca-cola 1971). The character
who references the commercial was being sarcastic. In the film he often attacks
the idealism of the main character who wants to use her documentary to achieve
the grand ideal quoted above. Furthering the irony, the slogan used at the end
of the commercial was “Coke: It's the Real Thing” (Coca-cola 1971) and the name
of the film also claims that the film portrays “reality.” The film references
the network MTV, and even invents a similar network which later purchases the
main character’s documentary in order to start its own “real programming” to
replicate The Real World.
MTV
first aired the reality TV show, one of the first of its kind, The Real World in the summer of 1992
(Owen 126). Ira Ungerleide, the story
editor for the television show Friends,
said this of the reality show, " It wasn't really real...If it were called
The Contrived World it would be kind of ironic and funny (Owen 129).”
There is a dramatic scene that takes place in a diner booth in Reality Bites where one of the main
characters, Vickie, explains how she is coping with the possibility of being
diagnosed as HIV positive, a very real public and private issue that the youth
of Generation X faced.
"You
don't understand. It's all that I think about all day
every day, okay...It's like it's not even
happening to me.
It's like
I'm watching it on some crappy show like Melrose Place.
And I'm the
new character. I'm the HIV-AIDS character and I live
in the
building. And I teach everyone, it's ok to be near me, it's ok
to talk to me." (Stiller 1:01:02-1:01:28)
The
main character who was not filming this scene, which is an uncommon thing when
spending time with her friends, replies back that Vickie is not alone because
she has her friends who will help her whatever the results are (1:01--). She
also states that Melrose place is a really good show (Stiller 1:01--). Owen
concluded that “Xers watch Melrose Place to feel smarter about themselves[;]
they watch The Real World for the
same thing...[they] turn to tv to feel more intelligent (Owen 125).” Another
way Generation Xers, like those portrayed in the film Reality Bites reaffirmed their sense of intelligence was in their
sense of humor, which was the following: subversive, self-deprecating, full of
irony, antiestablishment, and self-conscious (Owen 54). Interestingly, David
Letterman, a Baby Boomer, became the favored comedic voice for Gen X (54). He
was seen as a "peer" with his "angry, sarcastic, cynical, an
ironic" comedy (54).Thus, television taught values, babysat, helped Gen
Xers make sense of life, reaffirmed their intelligence and humor, and gave them
pseudo-role models in David Letterman and the cast of Friends or Melrose Place.
Media as Reflection of
Values
Television
and media did more than parent and act
as a companion for this generation. Media also acted as a reflector of their
values. Douglas Rushkoff pointed out networks like MTV, have main goals of selling
an image or caricature of a normal teenager that actual teenagers will, in turn,
attempt to emulate (Rushkoff 42:02-42:33). He asked, “Who's mirroring who? Real life and
TV life have begin to blur (Rushkoff 42:33).” Reality Bites, with its main character documenting the every day
“real life” of her friends, demonstrates a micro feedback loop as the audiences
of the film watched the main characters deal with hot topic issues of the day
that TV serial shows discussed such as AIDS, homosexuality, unemployment after
college, distrust of authorities, and a postmodern cynicism about the meaning
of life. The main character meets a producer for a MTV copycat network, and
tells him she is making a documentary about her friends, “but it’s really about
people who are trying to find their own identity without having any real role
models or heroes or anything (24:39-24:49).” Her documentary is later bought by
the network and repackaged for a younger teen audience. The network producer
explains that her work was great, but it was like meatloaf, and the young kids
don’t want to eat meatloaf. It therefore needed to be edited so that the
audience would be able to consume it(Stiller1:12:09- 1:12:48). He later
explains "I wish I could live off of creeds and mottos, but I'm in the
real world here (1:13:01-1:13:02).” Michael clearly becomes the bad guy in the
film at that moment. Later, he apologizes to the main character, and promises
that he will take her to New York to show the documentary the way it should
have been aired to the network, raw and uncut. This message that the film
portrays about realism being an important cultural value for Generation X. When
the main character feels defeated after what the network did to her documentary
with a friend she says, “I just don’t understand why things can’t go back to
normal at the end of the half hour like on the Brady Bunch.” Her friend reminds
her, “Well cause Mr. Brady died of AIDS (Stiller 1:14: 39-1:15:08).”
Reality Bites also
demonstrated the value of friendship for Generation X. The television show Friends another example of the importance of living
with friends, who will shelter you when you are down and out. In Reality Bites there is a scene where
Vickie tries to convince the main character Lalaina to allow their friend Troy
to move in. “He just got fired from the newsstand. He needs a place to stay
until he can find a new job and get his own place (Stiller15:55-16:00).” To
which Lalaina says that is the “American dream of the 90’s.” and it could “take
years” (16:00-16:04).” However, she still allows Troy to move onto their couch.
The main character Lalaina follows a steep learning curve during the film. She
begins by desiring to make the world a better place by the time she is 23 years
old (Stiller 1:15:22). With the failure of her documentary as well as getting
fired from her job, she learns from her friend Troy that it is only important
for her to be herself, and enjoy the simple things in life, like coffee,
“smokes” and conversation (39:44-39:56 ).
She looked down on Troy early in the film for being a slacker who sat
and watched TV all day, played in a band, and did not feel compelled to “make
the world a better place (20:56-21:10).”
She says he needs to do something with his life before he ends up a
loser (58:35-58:44). At the end of the film she falls in love with Troy,
signaling her acceptance of what is real and what is to be valued in life.
Baby Boomers as the
Source of Economic Problems
According to one Gen Xer, "The
vast majority of my generation is paid far less than the older generations made
coming out of school, and that's the lucky ones who did find jobs related to
their college degrees" (Owen 9). In the film Reality Bites, Lalaina, the main character and aspiring
documentarian, works as a production assistant for a local good morning show
which caters to the over 65 mostly female crowd. The host, a baby boomer named
Mr. Koogler, does not like her, and threatens her one day when she forgot to
get his coffee. "I'd like to remind you we are laying people off around
here, and I can find an intern who will do you job for free (snaps his fingers
in front of her eyes) like that (Stiller11:29-11:34)." On another occasion, she attempts to get him
to review her documentary, and he ignores the question and demands his note
cards (18:59-19:03). The show’s executive producer insists that Mr. Koogler
look at her documentary and consider airing part of it on the morning show.
Koogler’s response was “It's junk. Depressing
junk. You know my rules for video view: light and perky
(34:33-34:44)." When the executive producer tells Koogler he wants to hire
Lalaina on as staff because she is talented, Koogler demands that she be fired
instead, and threatens to walk off the show if she isn’t, to which the producer
agrees to (34:51- 35:04).
When Lalaina attempts to find a job
in her field, she if forced to apply to other communication jobs outside of TV.
She gets doors slammed in her face because a radio producer’s “gut” told him
she was overqualified for a position at his station, and a newspaper editor
took exception to her not having any newspaper experience since she had been in
TV (44:13-44:46). Lalaina goes to her father to ask for a job at his factory,
but he refuses, because her friend Troy did not show up for an interview that
he had arranged. Her father tells her that she needs to grow up and stand on
her own feet. He says she needs to show some ingenuity. "I'll tell you the
problem with your generation. You don't have any work ethic (54:25-54:38)."
She next attempts to get a loan from her mother and stepfather. Their first
assumption was that she was trying to buy drugs. She explains that she lost her
job, and her mother says she shouldn’t have any problem finding another job.
Lalaina explains that she has applied for all the jobs in her field. Her mother
replies:
Well I hate to say it,
but times are hard. You're just gonna have to
swallow your pride. Why
don't you get a job at Burgerama?
They'll hire you. My
Lord, I saw on the TV they had this little retarded boy
working the cash
register. (46:59-47:58)
This scene is
perhaps the most intriguing of the film. Lalaina is sitting at a round kitchen
table across from her mother and stepfather. She is smoking, and her stepfather
is smoking. Her mother has her hand around Lalaina’s stepfather’s arm. The
scene is wrought with tension, as the audience realizes this is Lalaina’s last
attempt, and she is visibly uncomfortable, since we have never seen her smoke
before in the film. The only background noise is the ticking of a loud clock,
indicating the slow drag of time, and heightened by numerous breaks in the
dialogue. The camera shifts back and for the between a close of Lalaina and a
medium shot of her mother. This
conversation, was decidedly humiliating to the main character, who was
valedictorian of her undergraduate class. The faceoff across the table clearly
indicates the “us verses them” concept between the generations. Her mother and
father are caricatures of a Baby Boomer generation lacking in compassion for
their own children. This is especially unbelievable for the main character and
the audience, due to the fact that they abandoned her emotionally and
physically when they divorced the previous decade, leaving her to take care of
running the households day to day needs.
Another main character, Vickie,
explains her surprise at rising to the position of store manager at the Gap
store she works in. "I have never been good with responsibility. I blame
my parents though. I think I was conceived on an acid trip (32:38-
32:47)." Troy, who portrays the slacker of the group, explains that his
parents got divorced when he was five, and he only saw his father a few times a
year. He explains how his father has failed him in teaching him about meaning
and purpose with this story that takes place on a beach:
And when he found out he
had cancer, he decided to bring me
here, and he give me
this big pink seashell and he says to me,
'Son, the answers are
all inside of this.' And I am all like what?
Then I realize the shell
is empty. There is no point to all of this.
It's all just a random
lottery of meaningless tragedy and serious
of near escapes. So I
take pleasure in the details, you know,
a quarter pounder with
cheese, those are good; the sky about ten
minutes before it starts
to rain…And I sit back and smoke my camel
straights and I ride my
own melt." (32:48- 33:53)
In response to the
last line of this quote, a website known as Urban Dictionary.com created a
listing and definition for “ride one’s own melt.” According to
urbandictionary.com, it means, “To go one’s own way, enjoying the pleasures of
the here and now and ignoring what others think; to live according to the values
you appreciate and the qualities you’ve gained. Later in the film the Troy
character sings a song made for the film. It had the following lyrics:
Got a pot head mama, and
a coke head dad, I'm the ultra modern
version of the American
man, I'm really sick of people talking about the
American Dreams, there
is nothing left for me, before I was born, that
was all gone, never
would cut it at some corporate job, when people see I'm
coming they say 'hey
look at that slob' Cause you see I’m nothing."
(Stiller
1:18:21-1:19:40)
According to the story told in Reality Bites, a film which did not wish
to market itself as a Generation X film, but rather a contemporary love story
in 1994, these young people were just trying to survive the harsh world that
the Baby Boomers created for them. However,
Gozzi presents another version of the North American generational
narrative. According to him, the Baby Boomers won their fight; they did not
sell out (333). Their protests got the Vietnam war to end and put a halt on the
draft, and when this happened, the main issue unifying their generation
dissolved, so they went back to their lives in the suburbs of a changed country
(Gozzi 333). Gozzi explained that very few of them became “yuppies,” but
instead faced economic hardships decades before Generation X, calling it “the
age of diminishing expectations (333).” In addition, he explained that
Generation Xers should be grateful to
the Baby Boomers for curbing the Vietnam war crisis and fighting for a change in
foreign policy (Gozzi 333). Generation X has grown up in the wealthiest nation,
and have “tremendous opportunities (333).” They are more educated than previous
generations, and although they cannot afford a “single-family home” there are
plenty of other options for them that can bring equal contentment (Gozzi 333).
He said “They are being told that their lives will be constricted and cramped.
I wonder how much of this is true (333).” He agreed that the 90’s experienced
an economic slowdown, but he encouraged the use of imagination (333).” Perhaps
the most significant part of Gozzi’s article is the following quote: “ On the
whole, I tend to see more similarities between Boomers and Xers than
differences. Common to both, there is an idealism and a hope that the planet
can be put right (Gozzi 332)."
Walter Lippman said the following
concerning stereotypes "In the great blooming, buzzing confusion of the
outer world we pick out what our culture has already defined for us, and we
tend to perceive that we have picked [it] out (Lasorsa and Poindexter
30)." Even in the 1920’s, this media theorist understood that there are
correlations between consumer choice and the perception of choice. In the case
of marketing to Generation X and the Baby Boom generation, similarities exist.
In a study by Harmon et all, it was found
that “in response
to the question asking respondents to identify the one medium that was their
primary information source in large and small buying decisions, both groups
favored television in each situation (Harmon et all 34).” They also found that “the results indicate that, although
there were a few exceptions, boomers and Xers respond to different promotional
media in much the same way (Harmon et all 34).”
Another study by Carrig in 1994, the same year Reality Bites arrived in theaters nationwide, “concluded that Xers
may not be all that different from boomers (Harmon et all 36).” Carrig asked
Are
today’s young people different from baby boomers?
Yes,
but not in the ways marketers seem to think. Studies
conducted
in 1977 and again in 1990 show more similarities than
differences. (Harmon et all 36)
Perhaps the lack of accuracy in the media-audience feedback
loop has much to do with the age of Generation X. Without the benefit of the
wisdom that comes with experience and time, the young people may be making
false assumptions about Baby Boomers.
For example, Gozzi explains one fallacy of though concerning the Baby
Boomers. The term Boomerangs came from when Baby Boomers were forced to move
back home with their parents because they had lost jobs or could not afford
their own housing. This is a common problem with both generations
(Gozzi 335). The Gen Xer who worked for
television show Friends, Ira Ungeleide admitted
the following: “I
don't think we know who we are yet. I think a lot of what we do is to emulate
other decades, other generations (Owen 9).” It can be assumed that
only time will rewrite the history of the relationship between Generation X and
the Baby Boom generation, but some are hopeful. "As time goes by, I
believe the continuities between the two generations will become more visible,
and the Boomers and the Xers will probably share the same fate, whatever that
may be (Gozzi 335)."
Works
Cited
Campbell, Richard,
Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. Media
and Culture: Mass Communication in a
Digital Age. 10 ed., Boston:
Bedford/St. Martins, 2016. Print.
Gozzi Jr.,
Raymond. "The Generation X And Boomers Metaphors." ETC: A Review Of General Semantics 52.3
(1995): 331-335. Communication & Mass Media Complete.
Web. 26 Jan. 2017.
Harmon, Harry H.,
Robert L. Webster, and Stephanie Weyenberg. "Marketing Medium Impact: Differences Between Baby Boomers And
Generation Xers In Their Information Search In
A Variety Of Purchase Decision Situations." Journal Of Marketing Communications 5.1
(1999): 29-38. Communication & Mass Media Complete.
Web. 26 Jan. 2017.
Owen, Ron. Gen X TV: The Brady Bunch to Melrose Place. 1st ed. Syracuse: Syracuse University
Press, 1997. Print.
Poindexter, Paula
M., and Dominic L. Lasorsa. "Generation X: Is Its Meaning Understood?." Newspaper Research Journal 20.4 (1999): 28. Communication & Mass Media
Complete. Web. 25 Jan. 2017.
Slater, Michael D.
"Reinforcing Spirals: The Mutual Influence Of Media Selectivity And Media Effects And Their Impact On Individual Behavior
And Social Identity." Communication Theory (10503293) 17.3 (2007): 281-303. Communication
& Mass Media Complete. Web.
27 Jan. 2017.
Rushkoff, Douglas.
“The Merchants of Cool.” Frontline. PBS. WGBH. 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2017.
Urbandictionary.com."Ride
One's Own Melt." Web. Accessed 26, Jan, 2017.
Coca Cola. "Hilltop"
Coca-cola 1971." YouTtube. YouTube. 6 March 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2017. Uploaded by Project Re:Brief.
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