Afterthoughts

Before going on with that previous prediction, I have to acknowledge Steven Soderbergh as another young Xer with a distinctive style who was making a name in the film business - and five years earlier.

I realized it while watching a bit from “Frozen” where an “Are you ready?/I was born ready” exchange occurs. In Ocean's 13, of course,  this is spoofed by having Andy Garcia say it - then Clooney rolls his eyes as he walks away. Similar deconstructions happen in Oceans 11 and other films, which suggests that it’s a common thread - unfortunately, I haven’t seen Sex Lies and Videotape to say that it happens there. That it was a popular indie with an unusual focus is enough on its own for me to say it was a precursor to what came later.

I’m also realizing that I’m unlikely to predict HOW the next Civics will change the world. There’s nothing obvious about the attributes of these Xer filmmakers that makes it clear where anything derives from the generation. Maybe - MAYbe - you could say that Reactives are Bad, they know they are bad, and the ability of making hit men et al relatable was about externalizing their own recognized Bad-ness. (Whereas in Goodfellas or The Godfather, there was more of a "these actually are NOT people like you or me" point of view.) A cursory consideration of Boomer, Silent and G.I. films and filmmakers is similarly unhelpful. Any forecast to that depth might have to take into account the state of the industry, of technology, the moment (and catalysts) of recent Turnings, et cetera.