I Think when it's all said and done, what's really going to be called movies that identify our generation are apatow movies and frat pack movies more than anything.
Not because they necessarily reflect our generation really, as our generation I think is less introspective and more consumeristic, so general frat comedies will be our identification. (note: I do love a lot of the apatow movies but, except for superbad, I really don't see this as reflecting anything about what goes on around us.)
Honestly looking at what's going on around us considering 9/11 kicked off this decade with, for lack of a better term, a bang, you'd think our generation would reflect some sort of awakening of a global consciousness, or maybe with the internet taking off some sort of a Renaissance of worldly proportions but we're content with our consuming to the point that none of this really matters.
Maybe these things are all too big to be immediately digested into our generation and its going to have more of a ripple effect onto comming generations with an oncoming depression or something.
This is really a good question and these are just the immediate thoughts that come to my head.
And for the record, I think that Garden State probably fits this idea the best off the top of my head. Doesn't matter that Zack Braff is old, there are people involved in Reality Bites, Breakfast Club, etc etc that had major contributions from outside of a specific generation. You can still have insight into a generation without being classified from within it, I think for this question the movies that would be an answer to it more have to do with the mentality and feeling of the generation rather than just age of those involved.
Garden State is a perfect example of this generations commentary on drug use (clinical, as apposed to recreational) and how it's supposed to solve everything, with a big splash of indie music.
Hmm, this is something that I'm definitely going to be thinking about, I didn't even mean to spend so long writing this post but it's really got by brain firing. It's 1 in the morning and I should go to bed, I just watched Reality Bites but I think I'm going to watch Garden State now... hmmm...
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