Real Name: Aprill Brandon Gender: female Date of Birth: June 20, 1981 Member Since: September 28, 2007 Last Signed In: September 04, 2008 Profile Views: 3256 Blog Views: 10100 It ain't easy being a dude today Palin's daughter and the Juno Effect Hierarchy of hotness The Mid-Wife Crisis Ready to feel old? Peeved Potter apostles protest producers' postponement Uncork that bottle, baby... Transgender singer duets with himself Rocky Horror remake? Say it ain't so... Can't keep up with your online life? September 07 October 07 November 07 December 07 January 08 February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 
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Empire Records vs. The Empire Strikes Back
One thing about pop culture, there will always be movies made that help define a generation. My grandma had "Breakfast at Tiffany's," the Boomer's had "The Big Chill," Generation X had "High Fidelity" and Generation Y had "Napoleon Dynamite." But what I find most interesting about these cult movies is that people who are not in a movie's particular generation generally hate it. For example, when "Reality Bites" first came out, I couldn't get enough of it. I loved it. My mother absolutely loathed it. Couldn't stand it. She told me to watch the movie again when I was older and I'd understand why she hated it. Well, here we are, however many years later, and it is still one of my favorite movies. And by the same token, I never quite got her love of "Valley of the Dolls." But even though we may never truly "get" each other's generational movies, that doesn't change the fact that there are movies out there that get "us." That get our generation and what we are all about, including the good, the bad and the ugly haircuts. Being that I am right inbetween Generation X and Generation Y (if not in year of birth, then at least by how I feel) my picks for the movies that helped define my generation (which I refer to as Generation XY) are: Reality Bites Empire Records Garden State Foxfire (with a young Angelina Jolie) High Fidelity The Goonies Clerks Mallrats Heathers Rent Trainspotting Kids I'd also like to give a shout out to the TV show "My So-Called Life," which truly defined what it was like to be in high school in the mid and late 90s. Other generational movies I love (but aren't necessarily about my generation) include: St. Elmo's Fire The Outsiders Dazed and Confused Almost Famous Animal House The Rocky Horror Picture Show So what do you think? What are your picks for movies that helped define your generation?
9 comments from 8 users
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posted by
wendymiller22
on Jun 24, 2008 at 10:47 PM
Nice blog, Aprill! I absolutely love Empire Records. My favorite movie of all time. I know that I'm about to stretch the word "classic" for these movies, but we will never forget Clueless ("As if!") or Wayne's World ("Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt.") Who will ever forget their rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody? Classic. posted by
AprillBrandon
on Jun 24, 2008 at 09:48 AM
"Fast Times at Ridgemont High!" How could I forget? (Hangs head in shame) I love that movie. And I'd also like to throw this one out there: Otter: Ah, she broke our date. Boon: Washing her hair? Otter: Dead mother. posted by
Rebecca
on Jun 24, 2008 at 09:45 AM
THE BREAKFAST CLUB You had the brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal... "So academic clubs aren't the same as other kinds of clubs." "Ah... but to dorks like him, they are. What do you guys do in your club?" "Well, in physics we... we talk about physics, properties of physics." "So it's sorta social, demented and sad, but social." More quotes (When my mom went back to college to get her counseling certificate she had to watch THE BREAKFAST CLUB and write a paper about it for one of her psychology classes. When I was in college psych majors had to watch A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.) posted by
Riverboat
on Jun 24, 2008 at 01:23 AM
My generation was divided between rockers and cowboys. I don't know what the cowboys were watching, but as far as my circle of friends was concerned, it was A Hard Day's Night. Although it was ahead of our time, we were Beatles fanatics, and if that doesn't define a generation, nothing else does.
posted by
SugarMagnolia
on Jun 23, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Chris - how do you do an emoticon for such deep belly laughter?? HAHAHAHA :D That is indeed priceless! Words of wisdom. And furthermore - Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? HELL NO!! posted by
ChrisCobler
on Jun 23, 2008 at 09:18 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests - we did. [winks at Dean Wormer] But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen! posted by
SugarMagnolia
on Jun 23, 2008 at 07:28 PM
Okay, must tell you, Aprill, that the DEFINITIVE movie for Generation X is.........(drum roll)......."Fast Times at Ridgemont High"!!!! YES YES YES! I also have fond memories of some of the movies that overlapped mine and my parents' generation, as we were quite close together, chronologically speaking....."Tommy", "Wild in the Streets", "Easy Rider", "A Clockwork Orange", "Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb)", "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Rocky Horror Picture Show"(okay, truth be told, more MY thing than my folks'), and "Animal House", which to this day, if it is on TV, dad's a-watchin' and acting like it's the first time he has ever seen it. Belushi slurping up that green jello just never gets old. I remember, actually, all the brat pack movies were quite popular in my high school years, but for some reason, I just really never got them. Although I do confess to a certain fondness for "The Breakfast Club". I swear, every girl (including yours truly) tried that Molly Ringwald lipstick trick. Confess, YES YOU DID!!!! We ALL did!!!! Seems like "Pretty in Pink" and "Sixteen Candles" haven't seemed to age as well. "St. Elmo's Fire" has seemed to age pretty well, though. If you're talking TV, then my shows were "Family Ties", "Cosby Show" and (oh, dear, it pains me to admit it), "Alf". SIGH. I remember the nighttime soapers being on, like "Dynasty", "Falcon Crest", "Dallas", but never was into them. Can't forget "Miami Vice" and the advent of MTV, "Friday Night Videos", when videos were really new...but, I must STOP or I will get way too carried away... But yes, for now and always, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" RULES!!!! Awesome! Totally AWESOME!!!! Gnarly, DUDE! posted by
mimi312
on Jun 23, 2008 at 05:51 PM
I am not sure why I feel compelled to share this but: In 1978, I was a freshman in high school in a little town in North Texas. My 2 brothers and I were in CYO (Catholic Youth Orgainization) There were only about a dozen or so of us Catholics in this town. Somehow or another, my oldest brother convinced our "sponsor" that "Animal House" was a nature film and we should go see it as a group..... yeah --- poor Mrs. Gahmer. I don't think she has ever forgiven my brother!!!! However, it was a really funny movie, and to this day I still laugh at John Belishi's "ladder" scene. My favorite movie of all times that I will watch over and over again though is "Blazing Saddles"! posted by
pilot
on Jun 23, 2008 at 03:48 PM
Well, I suppose though i really liked the Big Chill, and that while a teenager in high school, there were Elvis movies, and hot rod and surfing movies on the marquees, if any thing truly changed my life and redirected or redefined who I became, I would have to include Monterrey Pop, Easy Rider, and Woodstock near the top of the list. And as an afterthought, I don't doubt that the amazing "Harold and Maude", with a killer soundtrack by Cat Stevens, probably lent itself to creating my sense of the bizarre.......
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