Snapshot of the Homeland generation today

[sbarrera]

My blog post on the Homeland generation, in case you are not on the FB group and missed it. 

Original link: http://stevebarrera.com/growing-up-in-crisis-america/

GROWING UP IN CRISIS AMERICA

 June 4, 2019  Steve Comments 4 Comments

When one reads in online media about the generations that are alive today, it is most typically a story contrasting the Baby Boomers with the up and coming Millennials. Sometimes my generation, Generation X, gets a mention. In other blog posts, I have referred to the Silent Generation. You may even have read about the post-Millennial Generation Z, usually said to have been born starting some time in the late 1990s.

Clearly some generation must follow the Millennials, but I have my doubts about the Gen-Z concept. In the generational theory which I study, the next generation, still in childhood, is called the Homeland generation. This name was coined early in the century, around the time that the Department of Homeland Security was instituted in response to 9/11. The name evokes the idea of a country entering protective mode, and of a generation that is sequestered within it.


With the first birth year of the Homeland generation being 2005, the oldest of their members are just turning 14. What can we say about this child generation and their experience growing up in an America in crisis?

The Homeland generation has clearly been the beneficiary of the restoration of the American family that began when Millennials started being born in the 1980s. The era of rising protection of children has reached its apex; children are now completely ensconced within the family unit. You can see it online in social media with the endless stream of posts of happy families headed by Gen-X parents – and, increasingly, by Millennial parents.

Protective child nurturing has reached the point that there is are hints of concern that overprotection has gone too far. But despite memes extolling the free-wheeling child rearing of days past, there is little sign of the protection relenting. Instead, in a shift away from the way that Millennials were raised, Homelanders are being taught not so much that they are special and unique, as that they must learn to fit in and to get along with others. It’s a trend propelled by concern for the perceived negative consequences of being a social misfit in a time of rising suicide rates and mass shootings, or of standing out in an era of social media scrutiny.

Homelanders, in fact, are the first generation to have their entire lives documented on social media. It starts when they are still in the womb, with sonograms posted by excited expecting couples. Then comes a flurry of adorable toddler posts, capturing every precious moment. Once they hit school age, there is a mandatory start of the school year portrait for every grade from kindergarten on. My favorite indicator on social media of the centrality of family in American life, and the Homelander generation’s comfortable place within it, is the themed costume group photos that come out every Halloween.

It seems to me like Homelanders are always on exhibit. If not as the trophies of proud parents and grandparents, there are two prevalent ways in which Homelanders are put on display. One is the viral video featuring a toddler in some moment of discovery or precious and adorable behavior. Follow this link for a great example.

The other prevalent way that Homelanders are put on display is in the role of victims, as object lessons about the failures of our society. Movies like The Florida Project and Beasts of the Southern Wild portray young children in trying circumstances, on the economic fringes American life. Another example, What Maisie Knew, warns of the follies of the affluent and the damage that divorce and neglect do to a child.


The Homelanders who are truly on the fringes of American life are the undocumented migrants – their status raises doubts that they even belong to the homeland at all. The political left has made ample use of images of their tribulations to protest immigration policy. One photo of a crying toddler being processed by immigration authorities has become an iconic representation of these suffering innocents, caught on the edges of a fragmented society that is, with difficulty, trying to group itself back together.

In conclusion, the Homelander experience is reflective of the needs and priorities of their Gen-X and Millennial parents – to restore family stability, and to provide a controlled and safe environment for child nurture within a society that feels out of control and unsafe. With these goals in mind, children are being taught that rather than stand out, they should fit in. Rather than express emotions, they should manage emotions.

This is the opposite of how Generation X was raised half a century ago, at a time when family stability was not a priority, and parents sought to provide a free environment within a society that felt overly controlled and limiting. The reversal is a response by Gen-X, conscious of the failings their generation has faced as a consequence of lax parenting. Today’s parents will surely make there own mistakes, as all parents do, taking on what is the most difficult of all human endeavors. They will take things too far, and so set up the course corrections that will lead to another shift in how children are raised, for a new generation yet to be born.

To end this post on a positive note, here is a wonderful example of an adorable young Homelander viral video. These kids are our future.

[Hintergrund]

The last Artist generation often screwed up. Esp. their families.

[David Horn]

(06-12-2019, 08:55 PM)Hintergrund Wrote: The last Artist generation often screwed up. Esp. their families.

If you look at the few remaining Silents in public office, they are still overly cautious and more than a little disconnected … Even Nany Pelosi, the supposed guru of Congress.  Their time is ending, and they a bit baffled as to why.

[Marypoza]

(06-13-2019, 09:24 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(06-12-2019, 08:55 PM)Hintergrund Wrote: The last Artist generation often screwed up. Esp. their families.

If you look at the few remaining Silents in public office, they are still overly cautious and more than a little disconnected … Even Nany Pelosi, the supposed guru of Congress.  Their time is ending, and they a bit baffled as to why.

-- agree with you re: Ms Nancy but Bernie's still with it

[sbarrera]

(06-13-2019, 10:10 AM)Marypoza Wrote:

(06-13-2019, 09:24 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(06-12-2019, 08:55 PM)Hintergrund Wrote: The last Artist generation often screwed up. Esp. their families.

If you look at the few remaining Silents in public office, they are still overly cautious and more than a little disconnected … Even Nany Pelosi, the supposed guru of Congress.  Their time is ending, and they a bit baffled as to why.

-- agree with you re: Ms Nancy but Bernie's still with it

Bernie Sanders is generally seen as future-oriented; I think it is Millennial projection.

[sbarrera]

In a subsequent blog post, I reviewed the three films mentioned in the first.

http://stevebarrera.com/the-homeland-gen...n-in-film/

The Homeland Generation in Film
by Steve

In a recent blog post I mentioned three films featuring the Homeland Generation (b. 2005-202?). They are all great films which I enjoyed very much, and I thought I would give a little more detail and quick reviews about each one.

The first one is the best of the three films, 2017's The Florida Project. A young girl lives with her mother in a motel somewhere near Disney World. They are poor, getting by through means semi-licit or worse. Despite this life on the economic fringes, the girl finds joy in her simple life of carefree play with her friends. When trouble brews, the ragtag denizens of the motel generally look out for each other. The Magic Kingdom is there in the background, but what is the true paradise - the artificial construct of middle-class America, or the innocent heart of a child? This poignant film will make you wonder.

The next film is about a girl whose circumstances are even starker than living in a motel. In 2012's Beasts of the Southern Wild, a girl and her father dwell deep in the swampland of the Louisiana coast, part of an eclectic group of squatters in a community called "The Bathtub." Their impoverishment is just a backdrop for a tale that takes on mythic proportions and features some thrilling fantastical elements. When her life and home are disrupted, the girl must search for her past to find the courage to face her future. The movie ends with a note of confidence that, much like the child's imagination, seems out of touch with reality.

Finally, there is What Maisie Knew, also from 2012. This is a retelling of a story from the late 1800s that was written by Henry James, about a girl whose parents are divorced. They share custody, but are both irresponsible, and eventually the girl finds a safer haven in the guardians who are entrusted with her care. The movie changes the story a little bit, and is also set in contemporary times. As such, it presents an anomalous portrait of how children are raised today. The parents are acting like parents from the 1970s, not those of the 2010s. It's still a very touching film, and I thought it brought out some Homelander traits in the girl character, particularly her compassion for others.

Three films about Homelanders that are highly recommended. You may have noticed that they are all about girls. Where are the boys of this generation represented? Perhaps we will see those films in the future. I will write more about girls versus boys growing up in a future blog post.

[Skabungus]

Interesting.  So, as an Xer parent of two homelanders (one of each flavor) I can't remember the last time I saw a film made for/about adults.  Our trips to the theater are exclusively G and PG adventures.  I could list every film I've seen in the past 10 years, but suffice it to say over 50% have been animated.  I will say that as films made by the older generations to interpret, inform and instruct their young Homelander viewers, they capture well the message/mood of the times.  In just about every film I've seen the following themes are spelled out quite clearly:

1. Girl power!  Girls are just as intelligent, strong, and capable as any boy.

2. Boys that acknowledge and support girls end up winners.

3. Romance and pairing can be boy-girl, but it doesn't have to be.  Hell it can be cross species if you want.  The fact is there is much less emphasis on romance and pairing in children's films these days when compared to that of past decades.  The emphasis seems more on commradeship and having your partner's back in a fix.  RESPECT!

4. Zen lessons.  I kid you not.  It's not just the Kung Fu Panda series, it's everywhere.  

5. Family, friendship, simple pleasures lay at the heart of happiness.  Much emphasis on demonstrating how the pursuit of power and filthy lucre will rob you of these important treasures.

6. Family, friendship and pairings can take any form.

7. Disabilities are to be overcome, and not by a prosthetic limb (bionic man) but instead by accepting them, capitalizing on other strengths, and counting on your accepting and supportive commrades to help you through.

In large part I find the themes, characters and story lines to be quite uplifting and empowering on a whole number of levels.  Again, I'm looking at what today's films are telling Homelanders about the world, what is right, what is good and what they should do.  

Themes I see as holdovers from the past but which are still annoyingly persistent include:

1. Dad is a fucking idiot.  Yes, we are still stuck with the dad/husband being barely able to tie his own shoes, hopelessly reactionary and totally out of touch.  Now I understand that this is an old storytelling tool where the father represents tradition, caution and order, but what I'm talking about is far more than that.  We are still stuck with George Jetson.  The father in the animated flick entitled Brave, or the dad in the movie The Croods server as glaring examples.

2. Mom is the foundation stone of reason and the shield against the storm: which too often seems to be a storm created through father's ineptness.
Maybe I have a blind spot, but I see these tropes and holdovers from Silent and Boomer periods, and somewhat out of sync with the roles and child rearing practices of Xers and Millies.  

As my Homelanders age into the PG-13 and R viewing range I suppose I'll get to see what other adults watch and gain some perspective on what the film industry sees and communicates to adults.  In any case, it isn't likely to be as dark as Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, Children of the Corn, etc.  Ahhh those were the days.  I was totally unsupervised and saw all of them at the theatre when I was but a boy.

[sbarrera]

Great points, skabungus. I actually thought Brave and The Croods were both very enjoyable, but I see what you mean about how they depict men. Same with Frozen, in which the male characters are secondary and doofy (I'm thinking of the boyfriend and the snowman).

I don't have young children, so I have not watched a whole lot of kids' entertainment this century. Which movies do you think are the best ones?

[tg63]

Great observations.

One more that I'd like to add that I've seen a lot of in entertainment the past few years (not sure how prevalent it is in kids movies but it seems like it's a 7b on your list) ... any problem can be overcome if you want it enough; all you have to do is try, really try ... the flipside of this tho is that knowledge/skills/training aren't valued - you just have to want it really bad, whatever it is. I find this kind of disturbing - I feel that there is an inherent bias against training and skills that is evolving ... and I'm not sure why ...

[David Horn]

(06-19-2019, 06:11 AM)sbarrera Wrote:

(06-13-2019, 10:10 AM)Marypoza Wrote:

(06-13-2019, 09:24 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(06-12-2019, 08:55 PM)Hintergrund Wrote: The last Artist generation often screwed up. Esp. their families.

If you look at the few remaining Silents in public office, they are still overly cautious and more than a little disconnected … Even Nany Pelosi, the supposed guru of Congress.  Their time is ending, and they a bit baffled as to why.

-- agree with you re: Ms Nancy but Bernie's still with it

Bernie Sanders is generally seen as future-oriented; I think it is Millennial projection.

True, but let's also agree that Bernie has been beating this drum for decades.  I'm still not sure he wants to win the political battle, with all the baggage that comes with the job, or the philosophical battle for hearts and minds.  I lean toward the latter: driven to create change, not necessarily as the change agent.

[David Horn]

(06-19-2019, 10:10 AM)Skabungus Wrote: As my Homelanders age into the PG-13 and R viewing range I suppose I'll get to see what other adults watch and gain some perspective on what the film industry sees and communicates to adults.  In any case, it isn't likely to be as dark as Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, Children of the Corn, etc.  Ahhh those were the days.  I was totally unsupervised and saw all of them at the theatre when I was but a boy.

This is also an emerging trend, perhaps newer than Xer parents might endorse.  I was totally feral as a child, but also knew that I could go to any door and ask for help in a pinch.  In fact, I did just that when I fell through the ice into a creek in mid-winter.  I wonder whether that may return.  Stay-at-home parents are not uncommon these days, because work-at-home makes it easy (for some at least).  The real question: will the parents loosen their grips and trust their kids to be responsible?

[Warren Dew]

(06-09-2019, 03:13 PM)sbarrera Wrote: Clearly some generation must follow the Millennials, but I have my doubts about the Gen-Z concept. In the generational theory which I study, the next generation, still in childhood, is called the Homeland generation. This name was coined early in the century, around the time that the Department of Homeland Security was instituted in response to 9/11.

Which is an incredibly stupid name.  It's like naming boomers the "Pearl Harbor generation" because they were the ones born after Pearl Harbor.  I'll take "new Silents" or "gen Z" or "Quiet".

Actually Gen Z might be good:  we may think we're keeping them sequestered and safe at home, but in fact Gen Z is largely unsupervised on the internet because it's their native territory, which they know way better than their parents do.

The rest of your post is pretty much spot on.

Quote:Another example, What Maisie Knew, warns of the follies of the affluent and the damage that divorce and neglect do to a child.

Clearly I need to write a book on managing to avoid a divorce for the sake of my children.

[sbarrera]

(06-27-2019, 11:24 PM)Warren Dew Wrote:

(06-09-2019, 03:13 PM)sbarrera Wrote: Clearly some generation must follow the Millennials, but I have my doubts about the Gen-Z concept. In the generational theory which I study, the next generation, still in childhood, is called the Homeland generation. This name was coined early in the century, around the time that the Department of Homeland Security was instituted in response to 9/11.

Which is an incredibly stupid name.  It's like naming boomers the "Pearl Harbor generation" because they were the ones born after Pearl Harbor.  I'll take "new Silents" or "gen Z" or "Quiet".

Actually Gen Z might be good:  we may think we're keeping them sequestered and safe at home, but in fact Gen Z is largely unsupervised on the internet because it's their native territory, which they know way better than their parents do.

The rest of your post is pretty much spot on.

Quote:Another example, What Maisie Knew, warns of the follies of the affluent and the damage that divorce and neglect do to a child.

Clearly I need to write a book on managing to avoid a divorce for the sake of my children.

Warren, how far back to you go in these forums? The name "Homeland generation" was coined on the old Fourth Turning forum; there is actually some debate about exactly who chose the term and when. The name was then adopted by Neil Howe (he uses it on his Lifecourse site and in his Forbes articles). 

But if you think it's a stupid name, that is certainly your right. But I do find it compelling that the use of the term "Homeland" coincides with the pressing issue of child refugees on the southern border.

[Bill the Piper]

(06-19-2019, 10:10 AM)Skabungus Wrote: 7. Disabilities are to be overcome, and not by a prosthetic limb (bionic man) but instead by accepting them, capitalizing on other strengths, and counting on your accepting and supportive commrades to help you through.

Any age has a way of mentally "coping with" disease. The Victorian stereotype was of an incurably ill person who's very pious, so death won't be much of a problem - he will go straight to heaven. The millennial saeculum stereotype is of someone who has so much willpower that the disease doesn't even matter. "Limits are only in the mind".
Of course, if you can heal a paralysed person, you do it, rather than preaching some "wisdom" like that.

[Marypoza]

(06-25-2019, 02:15 PM)David Horn Wrote:

(06-19-2019, 06:11 AM)sbarrera Wrote:

(06-13-2019, 10:10 AM)Marypoza Wrote:

(06-13-2019, 09:24 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(06-12-2019, 08:55 PM)Hintergrund Wrote: The last Artist generation often screwed up. Esp. their families.

If you look at the few remaining Silents in public office, they are still overly cautious and more than a little disconnected … Even Nany Pelosi, the supposed guru of Congress.  Their time is ending, and they a bit baffled as to why.

-- agree with you re: Ms Nancy but Bernie's still with it

Bernie Sanders is generally seen as future-oriented; I think it is Millennial projection.

True, but let's also agree that Bernie has been beating this drum for decades.  I'm still not sure he wants to win the political battle, with all the baggage that comes with the job, or the philosophical battle for hearts and minds.  I lean toward the latter: driven to create change, not necessarily as the change agent.

-- true. This consistency is why l trust Bernie 2 actually do the the stuff he sez he's gonna do. As opposed 2 the other candidates who are adopting Bernie's platform. Are they parroting Bernie 2 get votes or will they actually implement these things if they get elected

[Warren Dew]

(06-28-2019, 06:51 AM)sbarrera Wrote: Warren, how far back to you go in these forums? The name "Homeland generation" was coined on the old Fourth Turning forum; there is actually some debate about exactly who chose the term and when. The name was then adopted by Neil Howe (he uses it on his Lifecourse site and in his Forbes articles).
But if you think it's a stupid name, that is certainly your right. But I do find it compelling that the use of the term "Homeland" coincides with the pressing issue of child refugees on the southern border.

I was not on the Fourth Turning forums.

"Homeland generation" was adopted when people thought 9/11 marked the beginning of the crisis.  If it had - if the "war on terror" had proven to be as serious as WWII - then it would have been appropriate.  9/11 turned out to be a false alarm, though.

Child refugees don't mark the beginning of the crisis either.

[pbrower2a]

(06-30-2019, 06:14 PM)Warren Dew Wrote:

(06-28-2019, 06:51 AM)sbarrera Wrote: Warren, how far back to you go in these forums? The name "Homeland generation" was coined on the old Fourth Turning forum; there is actually some debate about exactly who chose the term and when. The name was then adopted by Neil Howe (he uses it on his Lifecourse site and in his Forbes articles).
But if you think it's a stupid name, that is certainly your right. But I do find it compelling that the use of the term "Homeland" coincides with the pressing issue of child refugees on the southern border.

I was not on the Fourth Turning forums.

"Homeland generation" was adopted when people thought 9/11 marked the beginning of the crisis.  If it had - if the "war on terror" had proven to be as serious as WWII - then it would have been appropriate.  9/11 turned out to be a false alarm, though.

Child refugees don't mark the beginning of the crisis either.

My first thoughts on 9/11 were "Pearl Harbor". Even so, the Pearl Harbor attack had happened as America had largely resolved the domestic crisis (the Great Depression), but the international crisis (America could no longer ignore the evil designs of Hitler and Tojo) was far from resolution.

Soon after the Pearl Harbor attack the United States government had practically shut down the consumer economy that was just beginning to pick up and transform the United States into a fearsome military machine. Americans may have wanted peace, but if they didn't get peace they would settle for victory. In two and a half years the United States would stab the Demonic Reich in the back -- on D-Day. In four years Hitler and Mussolini would be in Hell and Tojo would be in custody.

9/11 was still a Third Turning event. The President told us to go shopping and to travel. He fostered a real-estate bubble. That's not what FDR did. Any civilian spending beyond the bare minimum would be to facilitate military production. Private investment would be welcome -- so long as it produced weapons for the Arsenal of Democracy. Elite indulgence? A real-estate hustle? Forget it!

On 9/11, the  Pearl Harbor attack was only sixty years in the past. Sixty years after a Crisis event is usually still only a Third Turning,  even if the Degeneracy that leads to a Fourth Turning. The Double-Zero Decade was quite degenerate, to put it tamely. 

Crisis Eras often begin with financial panics -- the Panic of 1857 that darkened the American mood, the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, and an economic meltdown that by the autumn of 2008 suggested a replay of the Crash of 1929. Stay tuned. Donald Trump is a Crisis in himself.

[David Horn]

(06-30-2019, 06:14 AM)Marypoza Wrote:

(06-25-2019, 02:15 PM)David Horn Wrote:

(06-19-2019, 06:11 AM)sbarrera Wrote:

(06-13-2019, 10:10 AM)Marypoza Wrote:

(06-13-2019, 09:24 AM)David Horn Wrote: If you look at the few remaining Silents in public office, they are still overly cautious and more than a little disconnected … Even Nany Pelosi, the supposed guru of Congress.  Their time is ending, and they a bit baffled as to why.

-- agree with you re: Ms Nancy but Bernie's still with it

Bernie Sanders is generally seen as future-oriented; I think it is Millennial projection.

True, but let's also agree that Bernie has been beating this drum for decades.  I'm still not sure he wants to win the political battle, with all the baggage that comes with the job, or the philosophical battle for hearts and minds.  I lean toward the latter: driven to create change, not necessarily as the change agent.

-- true. This consistency is why l trust Bernie 2 actually do the the stuff he sez he's gonna do. As opposed 2 the other candidates who are adopting Bernie's platform. Are they parroting Bernie 2 get votes or will they actually implement these things if they get elected

Elizabeth Warren is the only other candidate with a long history of advocacy on similar issues, and the only one to actually get results. Will she win? It's too early to know, but Bernie seems less and less likely a candidate. He's right on the issues, but has the age issues to deal with. I doubt the youth vote will be affected, but the swing votes from the 40+ crowd will be. Eventually, the pragmatic Dems (i.e. the cowardly lions) will 86 him and Biden to boot.

In any case, it's going to be bloodbath … perhaps a fatal one for whoever finally wins the nomination.

[Warren Dew]

(07-02-2019, 05:08 AM)David Horn Wrote: He's right on the issues, but has the age issues to deal with.

He's only a year older than Biden.  Or do you think the issue is that he looks older, rather than his actually being older?

[David Horn]

(07-02-2019, 03:18 PM)Warren Dew Wrote:

(07-02-2019, 05:08 AM)David Horn Wrote: He's right on the issues, but has the age issues to deal with.

He's only a year older than Biden.  Or do you think the issue is that he looks older, rather than his actually being older?

No, Biden has age issues too.  In fact, Trump is beginning to have them as well.  The only advantage Trump has over the others: his supporters are his age.  

Reagan got a pass on age.  In 2016, Trump got one too, but this time feels different.  We'll see.  2020 is right around the corner.