{"id":1321387,"date":"2022-02-21T08:22:34","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T13:22:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1321387"},"modified":"2022-02-21T08:25:04","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T13:25:04","slug":"eric-spitznagel-gen-x-is-running-the-world-and-nobody-even-realized-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eric-spitznagel-gen-x-is-running-the-world-and-nobody-even-realized-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Spitznagel: Gen X Is Running the World \u2014 And Nobody Even Realized It"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feric-spitznagel-gen-x-is-running-the-world-and-nobody-even-realized-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1321387&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Last weekend\u2019s Super Bowl Halftime Show confirmed what most of us have known for a while. Generation X is winning the culture wars. It\u2019s not even close.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The pissing match broke out on social media not long after the epic performances by Snoop Dog, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Dr. Dre. It started when <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCNews\/status\/1493042017257066498\">NBC News tweeted<\/a>: \u201cSuper Bowl Halftime Show taps into millennial nostalgia.\u201d Many agreed, sharing <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ttv_Cherry\/status\/1493113317212057601\">inflammatory comments<\/a> like, \u201cWe needed this, Millennials. I love this for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gen-Xers were mostly unsurprised by the slight. \u201cThe erasure of Gen X is pretty wild because they\u2019re the generation that created hip-hop,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreeNewsome\/status\/1493086015648677892\">tweeted<\/a> filmmaker Bree Newsome.<\/p>\n<p>Another <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HiMyNameIsSeton\/status\/1493044315274330123\">joked<\/a>: \u201cBoomers taking all the money. Millennials taking all the credit. #GenXLife.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/superbowl-halftime-show.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/superbowl-halftime-show.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"There\u2019s not a millennial in sight as Eminem, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg lead the Super Bowl halftime show \u2014 only the latest cultural coup for unjustly maligned Gen-Xers.\" class=\"wp-image-21248023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/superbowl-halftime-show.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/superbowl-halftime-show.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/superbowl-halftime-show.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>There\u2019s not a millennial in sight as Eminem, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg lead the Super Bowl halftime show \u2014 only the latest cultural coup for unjustly maligned Gen-Xers.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Millennials trying to claim \u201990s-era hip-hop icons as their own is patently absurd, of course. Not only were all the performers (except for Lamar) Gen-Xers by age, but they were also making records when most millennials were in kindergarten. It\u2019d be like Gen-Xers trying to claim Bruce Springsteen as one of their own because he released \u201cBorn in the USA\u201d when they were in high school.<\/p>\n<p>But X-ers are used to being <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RicoGagliano\/status\/1086881150197362688\">ignored or forgotten<\/a>. When we get credit, it\u2019s for being outsiders \u2014 \u201cCoronavirus quarantine?\u201d one <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/think\/opinion\/coronavirus-quarantine-gen-x-was-made-boomers-gen-z-not-ncna1168021\">2020 headline<\/a> raved. \u201cGen X was made for this\u201d \u2014 but we\u2019re mostly dismissed as failures. As the New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2019\/05\/14\/style\/generation-xers.html\">noted in 2019<\/a>, \u201cGen X Is a Mess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, the opposite is true. We\u2019ve been slowly taking over the culture for years. 2022 is shaping up to be a big year for Gen-X nostalgia, from reboots of \u201cScream,\u201d \u201cParty Down,\u201d \u201cJurassic Park,\u201d and \u201cFresh Prince of Bel-Air\u201d to the return of Boba Fett and Gen-X comedy titans like Kids in the Hall and \u201cMr. Show\u201d with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.<\/p>\n<p>But this isn\u2019t about nostalgia. Gen-Xers aren\u2019t looking to navel-gaze at our past. We\u2019re celebrating our cultural victories.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/tom-brady.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/tom-brady.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"Gen-X athlete Tom Brady, 44, has dominated the news with his recent decision to retire.\" class=\"wp-image-21248074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/tom-brady.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/tom-brady.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/tom-brady.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Gen-X athlete Tom Brady, 44, has dominated the news with his recent decision to retire.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/jackass-forever-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/jackass-forever-1.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"\" Jackass Forever \/><\/a><figcaption>\u201cJackass Forever\u201d proved its cultural relevance by debuting at No. 1 at the domestic box office this month.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Paramount Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI think there\u2019s a quiet confidence in our generation that we were right all along,\u201d says John Moe, Gen-X writer and host of the podcast <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/depresh-mode-with-john-moe\/id1557803544\">Depresh Mode<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Artists like Rage Against the Machine, Pavement, Fugees, The Lemonheads, and Bikini Kill have all reunited and are touring this year to celebrate (and in some cases, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brooklynvegan.com\/the-lemonheads-playing-its-a-shame-about-ray-anniversary-shows-around-jawbreaker-tour\/\">play in their entirety<\/a>) their \u201990s-era albums. Even \u201cRent,\u201d that most Gen-X of Broadway musicals, is taking a 25th anniversary <a href=\"https:\/\/rentontour.net\/\">Farewell Tour<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese iconic albums are our trophies for getting everything right,\u201d Moe says. \u201cSo to go see them played live is a photo album, a trophy case, and a quiet shambling victory lap through history.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/beavis-and-butthead.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/beavis-and-butthead.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"Once derided, Beavis &#038; Butthead are now getting a new series and feature film on Paramount+, while being hailed for their \u201cbrilliant Zen simplicity.\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-21248110\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/beavis-and-butthead.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/beavis-and-butthead.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/beavis-and-butthead.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Once derided, Beavis &#038; Butthead are now getting a new series and feature film on Paramount+, while being hailed for their \u201cbrilliant Zen simplicity.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">MTV<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/scream-reboot.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/scream-reboot.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"The Gen-X horror flick \" Scream \/><\/a><figcaption>The Gen-X horror flick \u201cScream\u201d still thrills; the latest sequel has raked in more than $100 million at the box office since its January opening.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Paramount<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theringer.com\/2022\/2\/9\/22925140\/alice-in-chains-would-history\">According to Nielsen<\/a>, the top 10 mainstream rock radio songs of the 2010s \u2014 from 2010 to 2019 \u2014 are all from the \u201990s. They\u2019re Gen-X staples like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Stone Temple Pilots and Sound Garden. For all the Boomer and millennial bragging about their superior music \u2014 please, God, I can\u2019t watch <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/16\/beatles-doc-brings-us-back-to-that-shared-place-we-once-belonged\/\">another hour<\/a> of the Beatles farting around in the studio \u2014 they\u2019ve clearly all been listening to Xer music instead.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s even happening with once-derided Gen-X pop culture. \u201cJackass Forever,\u201d the latest sequel by the injury-seeking Gen-X stuntmen now in their 40s and 50s, has been called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/film\/2022\/feb\/06\/jackass-forever-review-pranksters-return-is-strangely-poignant\">strangely poignant<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.esquire.com\/entertainment\/movies\/a38965901\/jackass-forever-review\/\">exactly what the world needs<\/a>.\u201d Beavis &#038; Butthead, who are getting a new series and feature film <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/05\/beavis-butthead-are-returning-creator-mike-judge-says\/\">on Paramount+<\/a>, are now hailed for their \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NocturnalDesign\/status\/1431074217584328709\">brilliant Zen simplicity<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/bel-air.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/bel-air.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"The &#039;90s classic \" Fresh Prince of Bel-Air \/><\/a><figcaption>The \u201990s classic \u201cFresh Prince of Bel-Air\u201d is returning to television in the new reimagining, \u201cBel-Air.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Kwaku Alston\/Peacock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/kurt-cobain.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/kurt-cobain.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"According to Nielsen, the top 10 mainstream rock radio songs of the 2010s \u2014 from 2010 to 2019 \u2014 are all from the \u201990s. They&#039;re Gen-X staples like Nirvana.\" class=\"wp-image-21248174\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/kurt-cobain.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/kurt-cobain.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/kurt-cobain.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>According to Nielsen, the top 10 mainstream rock radio songs of the 2010s \u2014 from 2010 to 2019 \u2014 are all from the \u201990s, including Nirvana.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">FilmMagic<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>We used to be dismissed as idiots with no taste, but in hindsight, we were ahead of our time.<\/p>\n<p>Gen-Xers aren\u2019t actually the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2019\/05\/14\/style\/generation-xers.html\">forgotten middle children<\/a>\u201d that the media often makes us out to be. In 2022 alone, the biggest pop culture stories are about whether Dave Chappelle (48 years old) <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/10\/25\/dave-chappelle-addresses-closer-netflix-special-controversy\/\">has opinions<\/a> that are too controversial, if Joe Rogan (54) <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/02\/04\/joe-rogan-is-back-at-spotify-and-responds-to-backlash\/\">should be canceled<\/a>, if Tom Brady (44) <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/02\/07\/tom-brady-you-never-say-never-on-possible-nfl-comeback\/\">should retire<\/a>, and why Kanye West (44) is having such a <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/02\/14\/why-no-one-should-date-kanye-west\/\">public meltdown<\/a> over his wife dating a millennial.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For a so-called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/forbesagencycouncil\/2018\/11\/14\/the-forgotten-generation-lets-talk-about-generation-x\/?sh=27d6307576d5\">forgotten generation<\/a>,\u201d the world sure does talk about us a <em>lot<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-usual-suspects.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-usual-suspects.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1024\" alt=\"To paraphrase a 90s movie made by Gen X-ers, \u201cThe greatest trick Generation X ever pulled was convincing the world we didn\u2019t exist.\u201d\" class=\"wp-image-21248193\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-usual-suspects.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-usual-suspects.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/02\/the-usual-suspects.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>To paraphrase a \u201990s movie made by Gen X-ers, \u201cThe greatest trick Generation X ever pulled was convincing the world we didn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The truth is, we have Keyser S\u00f6ze\u2019d the world. We were running the whole show and nobody realized. And yes, I\u2019m referring to \u201cThe Usual Suspects,\u201d a movie written (Christopher McQuarrie, 53) and directed (Bryan Singer, 56) by Gen-Xers. To paraphrase S\u00f6ze\u2019s most famous line, \u201cThe greatest trick Generation X ever pulled was convincing the world we didn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Eric Spitznagel is the Executive Editor of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aarparrow.com\/\"><em>The Arrow<\/em><\/a><em>, a digital newsletter from AARP created by and for Gen-X men.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last weekend\u2019s Super Bowl Halftime Show confirmed what most of us have known for a while. Generation X is winning the culture wars. It\u2019s not even close.\u00a0 The &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1321387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1321387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1321387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1321387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1321387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}