Portrait of the Millennial

I realized, while watching Veronica Mars and Kyle XY, two different portraits of the millennial generation were being painted. Granted, these two shows focus on different age groups, their depictions vastly vary.

ABC Family does exactly what they sought out to do, please and entertain parents and children at the same time. On the one hand you engage children because of the mystery of a teenager who can access the majority of his brain, doesn’t know where he came from, and doesn’t have a belly button. Throw that in everyday life where teens always talk or partake in sexual acts, teen viewers can’t help but feel engaged. Parents on the other hand have a different mindset. As Neil Howe mentions in his book, Millennials Rising, the millennials are the most protected generation. Parents watch this show to have their fears acknowledged and use it as an opportunity to speak with their kids about sex, alcohol, and family values. It’s hard to ignore the fact that for a majority of this episode every teen we encounter is doing something wrong; except for the girl playing the piano. Many Gen X’ers think that our generation is more amoral and obsessed with sex as Mr. Howe mentions. However, he gives many examples of how the previous generations all engaged in the same “deviant” acts as well.

Veronica Mars on the other hand represents the millennials as the millennials would portray themselves. Instead of acting as a Public Service or After School Special for teens, Veronica Mars doesn’t seek out the approval of parents. First being featured on UPN, if I recall correctly, they were targeting teens viewers and not parents. The shows dark lighting and mysterious nature aren’t meant for adults to sit down with their kids and say, “see if you drink than you’ll be face down in your own vomit, the cops will try to arrest you, and you’ll have to sneak back home.” Instead we have teens partying at friends houses, being slipped roofies, and not being able to turn to adults because of multiple reasons. Problems maybe we feel we have to be weary of and know how to deal with, when parents aren’t there. This show has many layers that pit teens against teens, adults against adults, teens against adults and vice versa. All of this partaking in the dark twisted world of Neptune, the portrait is truer to how millennials see themselves, and how Mr. Howe, has described them in Millennials Rising.

This brings us back to the question of, who is painting the portrait? ABC created Kyle XY to serve as a family show, where parents and children watch characters go through topics that resemble what they are going through. On the other hand, UPN provides entertainment for adult and teenager crowds that don’t need or want to be spoon fed lessons of do’s and don’ts. These two differences change the style and approaches to topics that both address the millennial and Gen X generations.