The trailer for the documentary ReGeneration has gone online. The film, produced and narrated by Ryan Gosling, argues that today’s generation of teenagers and young adults are far more apathetic than previous generations. The synopsis says the doc “takes an uncompromising look at the issues facing today’s youth and young adults, and the influences that perpetuate our culture’s apathetic approach to social and political causes.”
Hit the jump for the trailer and why I think this movie is going to be irritating.
Here’s the official synopsis from the movie’s website:
Beyond the labels of “Generation X” and “Generation Y,” the feature documentary film ReGeneration takes an uncompromising look at the issues facing today’s youth and young adults, and the influences that perpetuate our culture’s apathetic approach to social and political causes.
Focused on how today’s education, parenting, and media can shape us, the film follows three separate walks of life representing today’s generation. Each brings their own unique perspective – from an inspired collective of musicians working outside the corporate system, to a twenty-something conservative family about to welcome the birth of their second child, and a group of five high-school students from the suburbs looking for their place in society. Their stories are interspersed with the knowledge, wisdom, and personal reflections of some of the country’s leading scholars, social activists, and media personalities, including Andrew Bacevich, Noam Chomsky, Talib Kweli, and the late Howard Zinn, among others.
Within the film, the discussion of apathy found in today’s generation leads to exploration of technology, our disconnection with nature, how much we consume, our loss of history, and the economic factors holding many of us back from becoming more active participants in our communities. With such a varied and intelligent group of interviews, we come to a deeper understanding of the numerous influences shaping today’s culture where one universal feeling is shared – our society is at a crossroads, economically, environmentally, and intellectually – and we must change ourselves and the world for the better.
I haven’t seen the movie, so please note that I’m making these judgments based on the official synopsis and trailer. I have several issues with what ReGeneration is selling:
1.) Every generation believes that the latest one is the worst. This leads to the imagined past where we’ve lost site of “what was great” about our country. Specifically, the film is pointing to the 60s and how activism affected social change. I’m curious if ReGeneration will go on to mention how the baby boomers then transformed into the selfish Reagan generation where it was more important to feel good about America than actually changing America. Furthermore, when we refer to “The Greatest Generation” (the ones who fought in World War II), there’s no mention of America’s deeply engrained bigotry. If you can find someone who was a minority in the 1950s, ask them how their life was going.
2.) When you take aim at an entire generation and accuse them of being apathetic, it makes them even more likely to tune out your message. It’s not because they’re apathetic, but because no one likes being grouped in with every single other young person in America. No one wants to see a movie to be scolded. They want to be encouraged. If anything, this seems more like a movie to comfort those who look down on those darn kids today.
3.) The trailer presents an extremely vague notion of social activism. Should people rally around any cause? Is one cause as good as another? Or is it just good to write a letter or stand outside with a sign? Hopefully, the film will address what counts as meaningful activism because I think there’s a more thoughtful exploration there beyond “Consumer culture and video games have ruined today’s youth.” There’s also footage from the Occupy movement, which would seem to negate the argument that young people don’t care about what’s happening in the world.
4.) The movie’s website puts a Twitter hashtag in front of the title. I’m of the opinion that social media has ruined social activism. The effort of supporting something goes as far as a mouse click or a few key strokes. I could just as easily support #GayRights or #HealthCare as I could their movie. It’s all equal. The same goes for Facebook “likes”. Last year, people on Facebook changed their profile pic to a favorite cartoon character as a way to “protest” child abuse. It’s not apathy. It’s fake activism. I wonder if the filmmakers behind ReGeneration understand that distinction.
But I will say this about ReGeneration: I’m curious to see it even though I think it will infuriate the hell out of me, and not in the way it was intended.
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I’m going to have to agree with Matt. They make a lot of mentions of what the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s did, but say nothing about the 80′s and 90′s. I don’t mean to rag on the prior generations to mine, but really if anything we’ve become more accepting and apathetic. Sure we’re lazier but everyone is, technology has had quite the helping hand with that. This whole documentary seems silly.
It’s like no one remembers the Rodney King riots, the Iraq War protests, or the Proposition 8 vigils.
Or does the verdict on your fight have to be in before you can be counted as raising your voice?
Kids of all generations are always maligned by the older folks as being apathetic, complacent, lacking direction and discipline. Look back to the 1950′s and films like Blackboard Jungle or Rebel Without a Cause. They thought rock and roll was ruining the kids. So much for that theory. I think “taking action” is everyone’s responsibility, not just one generation of people. Some feel the “greatest generation” was that of the 1940′s that banded together to get through WWII. My feelings are different. While I respect their choice and sacrifice, I feel that to some degree, they just went along with what the government wanted and signed up for the war. No one questioned anything…ever. That’s why I think the greatest generation was that of the late 60′s. They challenged the status quo and stood up to the powers that were in existence at the risk of being called many names, least of all un-American. They fought for civil rights and a better world.
Outside of the limited Occupy movement, who’s protesting anything today regardless of their generation? No one. Gas goes to $5 a gallon. That’s cool. The economy crashes, Fine. Travelers are practically strip-searched by TSA. No problem. We have no threshold of anger anymore because we don’t live in the real world anymore. Our heads are too far up our igadgets. The less we live in the real world, the MORE someone else will run it for us.
That’s the real difference with today’s generation. They’ve never known an “unplugged” life. I’ve heard college kids say, “Why do I care if the government wants to track my search engine activity, monitor my texts or listen to my phone calls? I’m not doing anything wrong”. Sure…up until someone else redefines what “wrong or illegal” is. These kids have no sense of their own sovereignty or autonomy. The fact that they see no need to fight for that is terrifying.
Yeah who do they think was occupying wall street and petitioning the Sopa bill? Young people are constantly using social networking to join together and fight issues. This documentary is all about agism. Darn the kids with their MTV and hippity hop music. You should know better Gosling than throwing your entire generation under the bus.
This is brilliant! How often does Collider go political?! Such a great article, I agree this looks like condescending simplified drivel – a symptom of the problem not a cure (that hash tag in the title makes my skin crawl!)
All delivered in voice over by one of the many moron celebrities who tweeted that Kony2012 debacle! Maybe Ryan Gosling will lend some personal insight into hacktivism…?
*slacktivism.
Well, he came off looking like a hack so maybe it’s appropriate…
Gosling didn’t tweet anything about Kony2012, some twitters and facebook pages that are pretending to be him did though.
I’m not gonna comment on the content of the movie til I see it.
Wow, Matt. I actually agree with you for once. This–this is awkward. Umm…good job…
I could talk about this all day but I’ll try to keep this short.
I’d definitely have to watch the film first before I criticize it just so I know exactly what stance they take but I think it’s interesting that they’re getting a lot of opinion from young people about their own apathy. Makes it seem less like old people saying things were better before.
I think it’s crazy to say social media ruined social activism. I don’t think the people who think liking a page on facebook are the same people who would have taken to the streets in the past just doing something easier. They’re the people who probably wouldn’t have done anything and they’re still doing practically nothing, except maybe increasing awareness. Which is slightly better than nothing.
I think the title using a hashtag in front might actually be parodying twitter activism though, saying that this is what activism is becoming, like the author here. At the same time it’s not hurting getting the name of this movie out there and if it is at all inspirational, then it’s good that people hear about it. Whether or not I agree when I see it, I’d like to see what this is all about. I’m sure some others will too which is good for a documentary these days.
Reminds me of the late 80′s and early 90′s where you’d hear politicans talking about bands of “super predators” roaming the streets looking to do, uh, super predating?
See #fuckingstupid@rollmyeyes.com
*Webpage cannot be displayed*
you B.S.ed me
Get it Matt. Grouping or lumping all of us together as what seems to be a “lazy, apathetic generation” doesn’t seem right in my mind. Also I would like to see more about the “great generation”, In my mind they caused and are causing most of today’s Issues, this new generation just hasn’t matured or most aren’t even old enough yet to do anything about it.
I agree with most of your article, except with the fact that social media has ruined social activism.
In the recent times lots of protest around the world have been organized and structured through social media. The revolution that made fall dictatorships in North Africa last year was all orquestrated through Facebook.
I’m from Spain and the 15M Movement ,which was a precursor for Occupy, used Twitter as a main platform for organization, information and divulgation.
I seriously think that these events are mayor cause why now lots of governments want to stablish a control over the contents shared in social networks, cause they’re realising their power is enormous.