Generation X: A social movement toward cynicism

In the past twenty-five years Americans have shifted from modern values of reason, science, and progress, to postmodern values of cynicism and relativism. Due to the different social climate and the ubiquitous mass media, Generation Xers--those born between 1960 and 1980--are the first to be socialized from infancy to possess postmodern values. Because of this dramatic shift in values, Generation X can be viewed as an intellectual or cultural social movement, in the sense of a social movement being a collective change in values over time. This study examines the differing values of Generation X by comparing their values to that of Baby Boomers and by examining the rhetoric of the two groups. The difference in rhetoric is examined by analyzing and comparing the lyrics of two popular musical groups--the Rolling Stones to represent Baby Boomer values and Pearl Jam to represent Generation X values