Generational perspective has an impact on how members within a generational group interact with members of society. With Generation X, their generational approach to going through life was driven by satisfaction with settling down and finding true love. In “Enter Hyperspace” (Coupland 53-59), Andy elaborates on his experience in a small, young magazine office in Japan as a result of his university’s half-year job exchange program. Within the story, Andy ends up having a one-to-one with the bossman of this office establishment, Mr. Takamichi. The two enjoy green tea in Mr. Takamichi’s room at the top of the building, and Takamichi ended up talking about the most valuable thing they both individually own. He continued the conversation into the fundamental role of wealth being portable, easy to move around with. In reflection to being a member of Generation X, Andy’s response to when he learned what Mr. Takamichi’s most valuable possession influenced a reaction to fly back home from the program early, inspired to find what inspired his personal drive in life, a parallel to how Mr. Takamichi integrated the value of most valuable possessions into their conversation. This brings to light how the general perspective of Generation X is inspiring the element of individuality and personal satisfaction in life value drives members of Generation X to seek a better lifestyle, a better state of life value for themselves. This can be comparable to the theme of societal pressures influencing how an individual decides to change their lifestyles for the better, such as Katniss from The Hunger Games and Bella from Twilight being used as the “plaything of powers she cannot control” (Greer 3). The political element is not necessarily the comparability between Greer’s claim and Coupland’s purpose of Andy’s experience with Mr. Takamichi, but the inspiration that came from being pawns of higher figures ignites the flame in Bella and Katniss to want a better life catered to their personal values in life. The value of what’s the most valuable for Katniss is her family’s safety, and Bella’s want to become a vampire. Both are different personal values, but together count as a significant value of self-growth and how they want to settle down with their lives.
Prof L
Sonya, I think you haven’t quite figured out where to tighten the focus yet: you summarize much of a chapter and connect it to Greer’s argument. Your sentence beginning “The political” is the closest you get, but I can’t fully understand the claim—if you used personal AND political as keyterms, would that help you clarify your thinking here?
Btw, Mr Takamichi is a strange figure in the book (the choice of most prized possession would require a significant discussion if one was going to mention it at all, since the image is likely chosen to sum up the Japanese attitudes about sexuality and American popular culture held by a certain generation of wealthy businessmen).