Book Review — X Saves the World by Jeff Gordinier
Jeff Gordinier reminds the media how Boomers and Millennials aren’t the only members of the generational spectrum who warrant attention
As I continue studying the highs and lows of each of America’s eight named generations, I enjoy learning about the multilayered dynamics that have played out from one decade to the next. This made me excited, as a Millennial from the younger half of the “Xennial” microgeneration, to dive into a literary journey about Generation X — my proverbial “big bros” and “big sisters.”
GenXers are often said to be “the forgotten generation.” Picking up on this conflict as far back as the early-aughts, writer/editor Jeff Gordinier — whose work has appeared in publications such as The New York Times and Esquire — penned a paperback love letter to his generational peers at the onset of The Great Recession.
Published in 2008, X Saves the World: How Generation X Got the Shaft but Can Still Keep Everything From Sucking dives into the vast sea of social upheaval that explains why Gen X can be so cynical and snarky. Gordinier adds in a tertiary subtitle: “The Manifesto for a Generation That’s Never Had Much Use For Manifestos.”
WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
Gordinier is a rhythmic wordsmith who has an incredible flair for storytelling and visualization. His mastery of knowledge when it comes to music, cinema, economics, classical literature, and American history forms a rich broth of mental tang. He succeeds in laying down some harsh realities as to why Generation X was at the front of the line when it came to younger generations who’ve gotten a raw deal over the course of the past half-century.
Why do GenXers hate being defined? How has this generation grappled with the shit sandwiches that have been served up by Richard Nixon and the nine Oval Office “chefs” who’ve succeeded him? Reading through Gordinier’s jaded outlook on life should give anyone a glimpse into pessimism’s staying power in America.
STYLE / FORMAT
Gordinier packs his irreverence into 170 pages combining personal memories and monologues with entertainment history and commerce-based analyses. Following a “Disclaimer” and an “Introduction” that’s practically a full chapter onto itself, he divides the rest of the book into three massive chapters. Chapter One and Chapter Two each have adjoining “mini-chapters” attached to them. An “Acknowledgements” section (followed by an index) brings up the rear.
If you read X Saves the World alongside of Philip Bump’s The Aftermath, it’s especially illuminating. Both of these men are GenXers; however, Bump uses objectivity to study the generation that came before theirs, whereas Gordinier idealizes their shared generation almost as though he’s trying to give himself an ego boost.
Introduction — entitled “Check Your Head,” the author broaches how Baby Boomers tend to receive aggrandized credit for spearheading trends such as consumerism, self-help, and overall life wisdom. One example of this was Newsweek’s mid-aughts series: “The Boomer Files.” Referencing pop culture, Gordinier points to Ryan Gosling’s character of Dan Dunne in the 2006 film Half Nelson, whose parents accused him of being a disappointment for failing to save the world. Then, Gordinier juxtaposes that stigma with the media’s obsession over Millennials who love trends and instant gratification. In the same way he generalizes Boomers as being greedy and short-sighted, he accuses Millennials of being oversexed with short attention spans.
He criticizes society’s objectification of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan — speaking to Gen X’s fear of athazagorgaphobia (the fear of being forgotten). That fear was embodied by Molly Ringwald’s character of Samantha Baker in the movie Sixteen Candles. While Gordinier admits that Generation X has probably become oversaturated as a term, he praises how the art and creativity found in Doug Coupland’s eponymous book embodies his generation well. Thus, he encourages GenXers to embrace the moniker — even though it gets exhausting to constantly have to read about nostalgia from the 1980s and 1990s. That latter gripe from him seems a bit oxymoronic, since Gordinier had just claimed that his generation doesn’t want to be forgotten (yet, he bashes the very nostalgia that would keep his generation visible within the zeitgeist).
Gordinier invokes the sense of belonging that Gertrude Stein facilitated by naming the Hemingrebels (when she called them “the Lost Generation”) or how Joan Didion characterized the Traditionalists (when she called them “the Silent Generation”). Near the end of the 1990s, he cites how Coupland observed Gen X beginning to grow obsolete as a cohort itself. Along with that fear of forgetting, Gordinier cautions us to never stop being mindful of social ills that include coerced patriotism in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. GenXers have endured an increasing pressure to conform to yuppie culture, much in the same way many Boomers pivoted from hippie lifestyles to conspicuous consumption. He rallies his generation (Xers) to launch into stealth mode rather than succumbing to the notion of “paying dues” when there’s no real payoff for them to realistically expect.
Chapter One (1A) — entitled “Quick First-Person Tangent,” Gordinier recalls a fascinating anecdote where he and his friend Phil had played a game to entertain themselves while working at a Laguna Beach ice cream shop during the summer of 1984. Their social experiment saw them blasting different genres of annoying music from the store’s speakers, trying to see if any specific tunes might dissuade beachgoers from purchasing their trendy waffle cones. No matter what music he and Phil put on, business kept booming. People wanted those waffle cones!
Chapter 1B — entitled “In Bloom,” the author expands Chapter One by recalling how Gen X kids in the 1980s flocked to Prague as part of the expatriate movement. Less than a decade later, they struggled to find employment following the stock market crash of 1987. Indicative of GenXers’ love of music, Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video gave way to the popularity of the Lollapalooza festival — which ultimately mainstreamed alternative music. He likens the vibe of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the characterization of Virgil “Cooler King” Hilts, Steve McQueen’s renegade character in 1963’s The Great Escape. Additionally, Nirvana’s entire album Nevermind channeled the aura of The Velvet Revolution in the Czech Republic — sending a message that change and progress were possible without creating a utopia.
This Nevermind revolution was short-lived, and the author claims its music was supplanted by that of N’Sync and artists from American Idol (although Gordinier conveniently overlooks the irony of how so many of those musicians happened to be GenXers themselves). Even as Xer musicians persisted, women from their generation such as Tori Amos, Bjork, Sinead O’Connor, Mary J. Blige, Courtney Love, and Liz Phair redefined how female singers could express themselves. Gordinier estimates that Boomers outnumber GenXers by a ratio of 70 million to 46 million, and, while he admits that the boundaries of Gen X are up for debate, he prefers the range of 1960–1977 to define who is a GenXer. He emphasizes how many Xers knew that claiming to “change the world” would be only setting themselves up for disappointment; they assumed their peers who ushered in reality TV and personal computer usage might merely be dismissed as progenitors of short-term fads.
Gordinier also explores Richard Linklater’s 1991 movie Slacker; it served as a model for GenXers observing and rewriting the rules. Such artistic innovation would soon be realized by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Beck. In the case of Kurt Cobain, the Nirvana frontman cared more about the art itself than the attention. Gordinier then tears apart Woodstock ’94 as a half-baked effort from try-hards (Boomers) attempting to pass along commodified hippie wisdom to their successors (GenXers). The author credits Xer filmmakers for defying the three-act structure and featuring characters who broke out of psychological trances. Czech Xers inspired American expatriates with anti-kitsch charm personified by the 1991 song “Wind of Change” or Milan Kundera’s book The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The dot-com boom, on the other hand, caused many GenXers to become entranced by capitalism — following the lead of Marc Andreessen, Jerry Yang, and Dave Filo. But when that bubble burst in mid-2000, those Xers lost everything and relived the 1991 recession of their young adulthood. This is why films such as Fight Club and Being John Malkovich have so much appeal to GenXers — it’s the vicarious fantasy of getting to be someone else rather than suffering for ancestors’ mistakes.
Chapter Two (2A) — entitled “Idiots Rule,” Gordinier identifies the artistic rise of Britney Spears as having signaled a new era of optimism, conformity, and groupthink symbolized by bubblegum pop music. He berates Millennials as having bought into that façade, while mocking Boomers for gushing over their Millennial children — seemingly eager to watch them “change the world.” Gordinier observes how boy bands had a clean-cut image that parents felt they could trust. He then makes a ridiculous analogy where he likens Charlie Bucket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to GenXers — whereas Charlie’s selfish peers supposedly represent Millennials. This is a bizarre metaphor, followed up by the author’s insistence that Paris Hilton is a top role model whom Millennials seek to emulate. Then, he cites a Jean Twenge study of 16,000 Millennials that allegedly reveals Gen Y to be largely composed of narcissists — without looking deeper. Never mind that Twenge herself is a sell-out who openly embraces reductionism.
Gordinier profiles Janice Min, a GenXer who edits U.S. Weekly and is disappointed in (and dejected by) her own generation. Min shares Gordinier’s belief that Millennials are too voyeuristic and self-promotional; however, Min also views herself as having sold out, as a GenXer, using a veneer of almost scientific resignation. Gordinier documents how Lauryn Hill — whom he greatly admires — faded as a music star with the advent of bubblegum pop. He chalks this up to a temporal allegory for Gen Y supplanting Gen X. He views the popularity of American Idol as having signaled a stagnation in music. Then, he goes on a weird rant recalling how he’d observed Boomer tourists in Las Vegas enjoying entertainment shows and looking old. According to Gordinier, Dennis Hopper is delusional and Boomers talk too much about The Beatles. He caps off the chapter by painting a superficial portrait of the Vegas show LOVE as yet another excuse to bash Boomers as a group.
Chapter 2B — entitled “Intermission,” the author discusses the feud between yuppies and slackers, with Boomers seemingly embodying the former while GenXers are represented by the latter. This “subchapter” is largely an excuse for Gordinier to list off the negative stereotypes associated with yuppies. Although Chapter Two was where Gordinier’s narrative really went off the rails, Subchapter Two_B serves as a transition to marry the author’s negative prejudices with his positive preferences.
Chapter Three — entitled “I Will Dare,” Gordinier talks about embarking upon the 2006 Poetry Bus tour from Montana to Seattle. This gave him the opportunity to spend time with Joshua Beckman and Matthew Zapruder, two renowned GenXer poets. He credits Generation X with utilizing blogs to elevate their old print-based zines; in a similar vein, they pioneered YouTube to elevate the old indie record distribution model. Gordinier identifies watershed moments in GenXer entrepreneurship that included Chad Hurley and Steven Chen selling YouTube to Google — or Saturday Night Live’s “Lazy Sunday” sketch going viral on YouTube. These moments demonstrated the power of Gen X along with the early indie feel of YouTube itself.
Gordinier contrasts the music that’s emerged from American Idol with a list of his own favorite musicians (on Page 121). He rattles off a lot of supposed “lasts” in regard to Gen X — how GenXers were allegedly the “last” generation to have done this-or-that. Unfortunately, many of these conclusionary milestones Gordinier attributes to Gen X (between Pages 124 through 128) were also experienced by many Millennials from Gen Y. He lists Google, Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, and Wikipedia as having all been created by GenXers — which is a valid point. But he venerates Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, South Park, The Onion, and a host of other comedians whose “humor” have been proven questionable in the years since this book was published. Gordinier profiles Fritz Haeg’s “Sundown Schoolhouse” and edible front yard — which is actually a captivating section, and I wish the author had devoted a whole chapter to these types of more purposeful innovators in the mold of Haeg.
Next, he cites Cameron Sinclair’s philosophy that interpersonal changes are more effective than broad-based movements. Gordinier praises Barack Obama’s political style, defining Obama as a GenXer. This is dubious when compared to Philip Bump’s book The Aftermath, in which Bump blatantly defines Obama as a Baby Boomer. In my view, President Obama falls within the “JonesGen” microgeneration in which there’s an overlap between the youngest Boomers and the oldest Xers. Then, Gordinier lobs another weird analogy at readers: He visualizes a fictional spa owned by a youthful Moby, who hosts a haggard Paris Hilton there. Later, he praises Tim Westergren’s musical entrepreneurship along with Scott Heiferman’s founding of Meetup. Gordinier closes out the book by contrasting the work of prolific author Henry James with that of funk musician James Brown.
I have to respect Gordinier’s passion for his taste in music, literature, and other pop culture markers on behalf of his generation. Obviously, Gordinier himself would acknowledge that GenXers themselves will have diverse tastes…with those of some individuals in his cohort differing from his own. But he has a powerful grasp on a myriad of key images that have inspired every corner of Xer culture.
On the other hand, Gordinier does his narrative a disservice by doubling down on his ridiculous caricatures of Boomers and Millennials. It’s one thing if he wants people to think twice about romanticizing either of these two generations that sandwich his own — but Gordinier writes about his own generational cohort with such flagrant vanity that he risks turning his GenXer voice into its own unbearable stereotype…akin to the smirches with which he tags Boomers and Millennials.
He lays it on really thick by constantly revisiting visages of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton as examples of vapid Millennials — yet, both of these women fall within the “Xennial” microgeneration (an overlap between the youngest of Gen X and the oldest of Gen Y). Also, given what we now know about how Spears was terrorized by her biological family as well as by the American media, Gordinier’s criticisms of her do not age well.
It should be acknowledged that, within the “Disclaimer” at the beginning of X Saves the World, the author tries to place a lampshade on his own obvious biases and tendency to overgeneralize. However, much like in the “Introduction” (specifically, Page Four) of Justin Baldoni’s book Man Enough (where Baldoni preemptively denies trying to weaponize “wokeness” — but then proceeds to do exactly that in the subsequent chapters), Gordinier’s attempts at making light of the generalizations he’s gleefully constructing end up sounding like a case of “The author doth protest too much, methinks.”
If you filter out the hyperbole from the genuine set of fond memories the author draws upon, there’s a lot to appreciate amidst Gordinier’s recollections of GenXer culture. Unfortunately, he consumes his own narrative by sounding like a hypocritical beast throwing stones from within a glass house. As much as Gordinier rails against disdain and coddling from elders toward youngsters, he seems poised to do the same to his own Gen Z kids by spitting “Okay, Zoomer!” at them, someday, if they ever try to make fun of his Gen X sentimentality.
Of course, I’m a Gen Y kid — so if it seems to you as though I’m taking Gordinier’s commentary personally, you’d be right. But can you blame me? Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of ageism…not even Jeff Gordinier himself. In a roundabout way, I think what he’s trying to say is that no single generation should have to be burdened with “saving the world.” It should be something that we all do together. If my suspicion is correct, here, then his chosen title for this book was intentionally meant to be ironic. While there is a ton of value to gain from many of the author’s insights, at least half of Gordinier’s execution leaves a lot to be desired.
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