With the oldest of the Homelander Generation (born 2005-202?) entering their tweens in the next few years, it appears that Hollywood is preparing for the new mythology for their generation. According to [S&H] the Homelander generation will be similar to the Silent (born 1925-1942) in that they will be forced into a very conformist view of success through both parental and social pressures. This is definitely reflected in two different summer movie releases.
The first is “Divergent“, based on the 2011 novel of the same name. Here is the summary from Wikipedia:
It is a young-adult dystopian novel set in the so-called Divergent Universe,[1] that features a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago. The novel follows Beatrice “Tris” Prior as she explores her identity within a society that defines its citizens by their social and personality-related affiliation with five different factions. Underlying the action and dystopian focused main plot is a romantic subplot between Tris and one of her instructors in the Dauntless faction, nicknamed Four.
Divergent imagines a society where children are raised to become workers based on their aptitude, and secondarily, their choice. But once this choice is made it is set for life, and those that have multiple aptitudes are considered “divergent”. These “divergent” along with anyone that changes their mind about their direction after their choice are cast out of society. The goal of the society’s leaders is to avoid the suffering that occurred before their utopian system was devised.
The second movie is “The Giver” which is based on the 1993 novel of the same name. The plot here is similar:
It is set in a society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian. The novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth year of his life. The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to “Sameness,” a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. Jonas learns the truth about his dystopian society and struggles with its weight.
In the movie the protagonist is 18 while in the original book he was a mere 11. But the story is very similar to the later Divergent in that the elders of society are choosing for the youth their path in an effort to preserve a perfect society.
The rebellion depicted in both films smacks of Boomer (born 1943-1960) rebellion, but the oppressor here is not the G.I. (born 1901-1924) of from the Boomer’s youth, but rather a depiction of current [X] parents as stifling in their control of their children. Strauss and Howe predicted that the Homelanders would be sensitive, helpful and rule-playing because of how they are “carefully” raised by Gen X parents (I think this is a politically correct way of saying it).
Although there have been many books and movies on the theme of breaking away from uniformity of society (Fahrenheit 451, Gattaca, 1984 etc…) these two have a particular spin that is unique. The idea that society can be made perfect by each individual “choosing” (the amount of choice varies in each movie) their purpose is the central theme for both. That is the part that fits with the Homelander generation, who, like their Silent grandparents will have a life path that is sheltered and directed with close guardrails. The thing that struck me about these two movies is how they came out close together and with almost identical plot lines.
The business world is already moving in the direction of purpose as the driver for careers. Author Aaron Hurst has written a book titled “The Purpose Economy” on just this topic. He even provides a way to test your purpose with “The Imperative” (the definition of imperative? “of vital importance; crucial” and the second definition? “giving an authoritative command; peremptory“). These concepts are perfect for our time because they address the needs of Millennial (born 1982-2004) and Homelanders to have structure and a clear path to success or safety. The collective nature of both of these generations allows them to accept the categorization of their talents as long as they know that there is a guaranteed method for them to succeed (Millennial) or avoid risk (Homelander).
But 30-40 years from now there will be a massive backlash against these types of methods, which will be viewed by the Millennial’s children (Boomer’s grandchildren) as oppressive. That is where “Divergent” and “The Giver” are prescient in understanding the eventual rebellion.
P.S. The Giver was written by Lois Lowry, a Silent who has seen this path before in her youth, while “Divergent” was written by Veronica Roth, a Millennial who probably felt these nascent pressures growing up.
Dave: I’m interested in the massive backlash from the Millennials kids over mechanisms Millennials followed. If that’s the case what would college look like after Millennials say they transformed it. When I think of my job search in my college major Ill always keep in mind this revolution in 30-40 years from now. The Rebellion from the Millennials kids will explain the Millennial model inside out where we see it today outside in. Also 1979 is X.
Angelo – It will be interesting to see how this plays out in 30-40 years. I expect to be an old curmudgeon by then!
Dave- I’ll probably be listening and the oldest fan of the late 2040s music. Hope to visit Xer curmudgeons by then and introduce old Xers to the Mills kids by then.
Dave: There is a sequel to Divergent coming out by the end of this month. Called Insurgent. Insurgent gets into more what the rebellion looks like once the society that casts the girl out starts to fragment and the divergent/insurgents strike. Check it out.