Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration 

Christopher Lasch identified narcissism as the dominant pathology of the Baby Boomer generation in his seminal work The Culture of Narcissism and suggested that prior and future generations of Americans would also exhibit collective pathologies. What is the dominant pathology or ideology of the Millennial generation? On this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan are joined by their friend Bobby to present evidence that said ideology is nihilism. They examine the causes of Millennial nihilism (The Great Recession, 9/11, New Atheism) and the effects that nihilism has had on Millennials (“cutting off your family” discourse, distrust of authority, the proliferation of sexwork, and the increasing number of deaths of despair). Amongst other things they discuss what generation they personally identify with, how nihilism has been slowly accumulating from generation to generation, and how both Rick and Morty and Everything Everywhere All at Once use the idea of multiverses to create worlds in which nihilism is justified. 

Links:

The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch

The Revolt of the Elites by Christopher Lasch

“Optimistic Nihilism” Tiktok Video

The Nihilism of Generation X is an Artifact of Privilege by Shane Burley

The End of History and the Last Man by Francis Fukuyama

“I’m tired of living through historic events” meme

The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ in the Age of #StopAsianHate and Millennial Nihilism

Recorded on 7/21/2024