The Article “The Millenial Muddle” by Eric Hoover touches upon different academic (or arguably academic) approaches to analyzing and categorizing the generation born between 1982 and 2004, which is referred to as “The Millenials”. Hoover discusses the influential work of Neil Howe and William Strauss, authors of the bestseller Millenials Rising: The Next Great Generation. The book is summarized by Hoover, and was apparently by many perceived, as predicting this generation to be highly ambitious empathetic and eager to create new successful structures in society. Teenagers and young adults are portrayed as driven and inspired to bring about profound changes.

Howe’s and Strauss’ analysis of the Millenials has been accepted and regarded as useful by many and has been challenged and contested by others. While many colleges and business rely on their work and try to cater to the needs and skills of this generations – looking at them more and more as customers whose generational background must be taken in consideration in order to ideally take advantage of them – many scholars dismiss these notions about the Millenials.

Professor Jean M. Twenge sees the generation of students coming out of this generation as narcissistic, consumed with the idea of “being special” and criticizes their sense of entitlement to attention and success. Her colleague Mr. Bauerlein even argues that they are becoming more and more stupid and that the internet and social platforms do hardly anything but nourish young people’s tendency towards self-indulgence.

Hoover navigates between all of these contradicting and polarizing views and eventually problematizes the issue of all of these approaches:  1. Situating individuals entirely within the time they were born and raised in does not do justice to the complexity of the adolescent experience. Aspects such as social status, race, particular cultural and family background are hardly taken into account by any of these scholars. The Millenials are assumed to be affluent white teenagers and young adults – hardly a cross-section of American, let alone global and globalized society. 2. While there are undoubtedly profound cultural and social differences between these constructed groups of generations, there is actually little empirical evidence that shows significant differences between the concerns and ideals of teenagers and young adults now opposed to 40 years ago.

The screenings this week tie in perfectly with both points. The Pilot Episode of Veronica Mars depicts wealth and arrogance – the cool rich kids of Neptune High – but also touches upon underlying issues and bigotry, while presenting a heroine who is neither (or rather no longer) socially and never was economically integrated in this society. Here we see reflections on the variety of experiencing adolescence in high school. Veronica is self-confident but also troubled, a character far more complex than the stereotypes Howe, Twenge or Bauerlein draw from.

Freeks and Geeks is set in 1980 and proves the second main point. Even though set 30 years ago, or roughly 20 years ago when it came out, many of the obstacles represented here, such as bullying, trying to fit in, generational conflict with parents are still very much the same. Despite political and cultural differences between generations, teenagers and young adults of all generations seem to face similar problems. Pitting generations against each other seems to be what all generations have in common.

As Hoover highlights, and as the screenings further show, there are big problems with generalizing about a whole generation and trying to attribute characteristics to a group as diverse based on the years they were born in. Adolescence is too varied and complex to fit into narrow categories that seem to assume a generic generational experience.