(06-16-2021, 08:45 AM)Ghost Wrote: Even though this is an unpopular opinion (especially on typical generation talk subreddits and websites), 2017 didn't have any 1T features at all. Trump's presidency and the Charlottesville riots are simply unthinkable in a 1T.
"having some features of a 1T" and "being 1T" are very different.
I'm referring first and foremost to the rise of "cancel culture," which really became a powerful force in 2017. 1T is a conformist era. The 1T way is "follow the new rules of society or be ostracized from society, your choice." During a 1T, you stay in your lane, know your place, don't rock the boat...or face the consequences. There are absolutes which are (or "should be," according to the society) obvious to everyone, and if they're not obvious to you, then "something is wrong with you." Things are clearly, unambiguously, and unchangeably right or wrong, and little distinction is seen between questioning the society's views and attacking them.
As for Trump's presidency and Charlottesville being unthinkable in a 1T - that's the whole point. These 1T features began to emerge as a reaction to those events. Every turning is simultaneously both a result of and a reaction to the one before it. A 1T has an innocent and quiet culture not just because of the changes that occurred during the prior 4T but also because of the memory of it. A 4T is traumatic for all involved, even if it has a victorious ending. After it's over, society wants nothing to do with intensity of any kind, and is very quick to shut it down if it threatens to appear. For example, watch horror movies. Those from the 1950s are almost guaranteed to be pathetic by today's standards. They intensify during the passionate 2T, reach their maximum during the cynical and jaded 3T, and then weaken again during the 4T as real life begins to become plenty horrifying enough.
2001, a very artistic hero and/or a very heroic artist