When We Have Shuffled

1

When We Have Shuffled Off This Mortal Coil
generational influences upon visions of the
afterlife in film
2
Goals of the Presentation
To examine in some detail the peer
personality of the existing cohorts
To test the predictions of Strauss and Howes
Generations theory with respect to attitudes
toward the afterlife
3
1925-42
1901-24
1982-??
1883-1900
1961-81
1943-60
4
(No Transcript)
5
Born 1883-1900 Age in 2000 100-117
Character Reactive (KierseyRational)
Product of poor parenting and child exploitation
at the turn of the century
Adolescence characterized as rowdy, vulgar,
mercenary, streetwise, opportunistic
Came of age with the horrors of trench warfare,
prohibition, emphasis on achieving affluence
Affluence during middle years eroded by the Great
Depression
Poorest elderly group in the 20th C.
Primary group responsible for traditional high
elderly suicide rates
6
Peer personality prediction
View life from the Kiersey Rational perspective

Chaotic, unpredictable
Distrust/disrespect of authority
Ability to respond successfully through personal
resourcefulness
Talent for strategy see the big picture,think
what to do to achieve long-term goals
7
(No Transcript)
8
Born 1901-1924 Age in 2000 76-99
Character Civic (KierseyGuardian)
Youthful years spent in the Great Depression
Came of age during World War II
Post-war young adulthood marked by unprecedented
growth in college attendance, family building,
and home ownership
Elderhood characterized by more affluence
and government support than any previous cohort
Healthiest, wealthiest, and most involved
retirement group in history
More gender role stereotyping than
subsequent generations
Primary group responsible for decline in elderly
suicide rate--likely will resist assisted suicide
9
Peer personality prediction
View life from the Kiersey Guardian perspective
Rule-bound, problem-directed
Respect and support for authority
Respond with teamwork to serve the greater good
Talent for logistics coordinating
things,working as a team to achieve goals
10
Here Comes Mr. Jordan, 1941
Carousel, 1956
Heaven Can Wait, 1943
Predictions Rule-bound, problem-directed Respec
t and support for authority Respond with
teamwork for the greater good
11
(No Transcript)
12
Born 1925-1942 Age in 2000 58-75
Character Adaptive (KierseyIdealist)
Domineering, overprotective parenting
Adolescent years generally free of tumult
Married, parented, and began employment early--qui
ckly outpaced parents in education and home
ownership
Most affluent mid-life group in history
Korea was their war
Active in Civil Rights and Feminist Movements
Major group responsible for the recent decline in
suicide rates in mid-life
Will probably mediate the dialogue
about physician-assisted suicide
13
Peer Personality Prediction
View life from the Kiersey Idealist perspective
Equable, universal, see all sides
Respect and support for tolerance, fairness
Strength in diplomacy
Talent for diplomacy see all sides,work for
compromise
14
Deconstructing Harry, 1997
Monty Pythons The Meaning of Life, 1983
Flatliners, 1990
Predictions Equable, universal, see all
sides Respect and support for tolerance,
fairness Strength in diplomacy
15
(No Transcript)
16
Born 1943-1960 Age in 2000 40-57
Character Idealist (KierseyArtisan)
Received indulgent, permissive parenting
Began the thirty-year SAT score decline
Reacted against existence of many social ills
Created greatest youth rebellion of 20th C.
In young adulthood, protest replaced by yuppyism
In middle adulthood, idealism merged with
materialism to form the Bourgeois Bohemian
(Newsweek, April 3, 2000)
Began infamous growth of adolescent suicide,
continued into young and middle adulthood
Resist aging and giving up control--will likely
lead the call for physician-assisted suicide
17
Peer Personality Prediction
View the world from the KierseyArtisan perspective

The world is what you make it
Rejection of others rules
Youthful drive to right all perceived wrongs,
later imploding into self-centered,
materialistic goals
Talent for tactics do what works in the moment
18
What Dreams May Come, 1999
Made In Heaven, 1987
Heaven Can Wait, 1978
Predictions The world is what you make
it Rejection of others rules Youthful drive to
right all perceived wrongs later imploding into
self-centered, materialistic goals
19
(No Transcript)
20
Born 1961-1981 Age in 2000 19-39
Character Reactive (KierseyRational)
grew up in a time of Kinderfeindlichkeit (German
term describing a society-wide hostility toward
children)
1960s Birth Control Pills
1970s Abortion
Homicide rate against children under four more
than doubled
Crime rates, drug and alcohol abuse, teen
pregnancy, sexual abuse
1980s Peak Divorce Rate
Continued increase of adolescent suicide rate
begun by Boomers
This generation is commonlyknown as Gen X or
Xers
Plateau of young adult suicide rate (if theymade
it to adulthood, one thing they definitely have
is survival skills!)
21
. . .1968 . . .one of the highest-grossing
movies of the year featured a baby
RosemarysBaby. . . . Over the next ten years,
child demons proliferated across American
moviescreens The Exorcist, Exorcist II,
Damien, Omen, Omen II, Omen III, Its Alive!, It
LivesAgain, Demon Seed , Children of the Corn,
etc., etc.. Even when the film children of the
1970s were not slashing and hexing parents,
they were pictured as hucksters (Paper
Moon),prostitutes (Taxi Driver), molls and
racketeers (Bugsy Malone), arsonists (Carrie),
spoiled brats(Willy Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory), or abandoned articles (Kramer vs.
Kramer). Neverin the age of cinema before or
since have producers and audiences obsessed over
such a thoroughly distressing image of
childhood. Compare this with the children
featured in the Disney. . . Films of the 1950s
bright, well-meaning kids whom adults respected.
. . . Or compare. . . With the cuddly-baby
antidotes that began to appear in the
mid-1980sRaising Arizona, Three Men and a
Baby, Baby Boom, and Parenthoodall featuring
tots audiences felt like bundling in their arms
and protecting. This was no coincidence. The
13er Xer childhood years, roughly from the
mid-1960s throughthe early 1980s, defined an
era of unremitting hostility toward children.
Adults of fertile agedoubled their rate of
surgical sterilization. The number of legal
abortions per year rose tenfold.Birth-control
technology became a hot topicas did the cost and
bother of raising a child, seldom an issue when
Boomers were small. Net tax rates for childless
households remained steady, while rates for
families with children rose sharply. The child
poverty rate grew, while the poverty rate for
those in midlife and elderhood fell. Tax revolts
cut school funding. . . . Theproportion of
G-rated films fell from 41 to 13 percent, and
Walt Disney Studios laid off cartoonists.The
nation financed a growing share of its
consumption by piling up federal debt and other
unfunded liabilities whose greatest burdens,
adults realized, would someday fall of small
children. The English language has no single
word to describe what happened to the childs
world in Americathrough the Consciousness
Revolution of the late 1960s and 1970s. The
Germans do. They call it Kinderfeindlichkeita
society-wide hostility toward children.
--Strauss and Howe, pp. 97-98
? Back to 13er slide
22
Peer Personality Prediction
View life from the Reactive/Rational perspective
Chaotic, unpredictable, dangerous
Distrust/disrespect of authority
Survival skills in spades--reliance on personal
resourcefulness
Talent for strategy see the big picture,think
what to do to achieve long-term goals
23
Bill and Teds Bogus Journey, 1991
Spawn, 1998
Down to Earth, 2001
Predictions Life (death) is chaotic,
unpredictable, dangerous Distrust/disrespect of
authority Survival skills in spades--reliance on
personal resourcefulness
24
The Green Pastures, 1936
If you get a chance to see this film, note
thatit reflects Reactive or Rational
generationalexperience as wellthe Generational
Cyclecoming back around.
Note difference in experience for adults and
childreneven though they are in heaven,it is
NO fun for the children
Final noteif you do see this film, please
notethat is it extremely old and VERY
politicallyincorrect for modern sensibilities
(racial stereotypes)
25
G.I.s rule-bound universe
Boomers create your own universe
Summary
13ers EXPECT hell, but dont ACCEPT it
Lost even heaven is lacking, for children
Silents see all sides
26
(No Transcript)
27
Born 1982-present Age in 2000 0-18
Character Civic? (KierseyGuardian)should be,
if the cycle is repeating as StraussHowe predict
Child-friendly zeitgeist riding a powerful wave
of protective concern
Lowest child/parent ratio ever-- tend to be
wanted children
Right-to-life movement
Parents and schools held responsible for
childrens behavior/performance, reversal of
30-year SAT decline
Divorce rate decline
28
Peer Personality Prediction
View life from Civic/Guardian perspective
Life is rule-bound, strong sense of right/wrong
Regain respect for rules and authority,
leadership abilities
Will come of age in our next great
(environmental?) crisis our next
hero generation
Not enough movies by this generation to test
hypothesis yet.
29
When We Have Shuffled Off This Mortal Coil

generational influences upon visions of the
afterlife in film
Now go to the class web site and thoughtfully
consider the thought questions for the three
films you have seen, representing the G.I.,
Boomer, and 13er/Xer Generations.