Jan. 6, 2024
By Zahara Chowdhury
Editor
As I scroll through TikTok and Instagram Reels, I watch the constant mockery of Generation Z’s representation in movies and shows. Unfortunately for screenwriters, I agree.
Gen Z is the demographic cohort after millennials and precedes Generation Alpha, and we were born between the late 1990s and early 2010s. We are characterized by our diversity, as we are currently the most racially and ethnically diverse age group in the United States, and one in five Gen Z adults identify as LGBT.
This generation is also known for its nativity on the Internet. It was popularized around 1995, just years before the first Gen Zers were born, and we are the first to grow up with digital technology ingrained in our daily lives. However, screenwriters often exaggerate our usage.
While we rely on our mobile devices, we are written as dependent on them. We use devices for various reasons, like communication and entertainment, but they do not dictate our lives or create social isolation. Instead of keeping this nuance, Gen Z characters are written as shallow for using social media. Gen Z is depicted as self-obsessed, only caring about the virality of a post or how we are perceived by our peers. Young people can be absorbed by social media but not to the extreme extent to which we are depicted. For example, 15-year-old Ellie Alves from the Netflix thriller series “You” uses social media as a vehicle to show her interests and authenticity, as many of us do.
Furthermore, the Internet is integral to our demographic’s identity. While we are not monolithic, this interconnection allows for similar ideologies, humor and mannerisms, and many of us indulge in the same TikTok trends or share similar political values. Through this cultural diffusion, references and slang become dated quickly. It is not enough for a writer to recall a TikTok audio that trended months before a show’s airing because it is outdated at that point, and writers should try referencing vaguer topics we all relate to, like historical events or slang that have stayed fashionable.
In the Netflix comedy-drama series “Ginny & Georgia”, the characters always say texting abbreviations out loud. Maxine Baker says, “Hunter Chen is v hot and v cool” in season 1, episode 3, which is something a Gen Zer would never say. Some behaviors exhibited on the internet stay on the internet. We do not carry them out in real conversations.
All of these pieces of media have younger creators, a queer and diverse cast, and do not try too hard to be relatable. They just are, because they listen to the younger generation’s voice.
Not all slang is created equally, though. African-American vernacular English is a dialect of English that originated from the southern United States and is commonly spoken by African-Americans who reside in urban areas. It has its own phonology, grammar conventions and vocabulary. Many words stemming from AAVE become popular with Gen Z, and writers will implement them throughout media, but they are often misused, as writers do not understand the syntax or context the word is used within. The NBC sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” aired “Gen Z Hospital,” a skit that mocked generational slang but was AAVE. It is harmful to present the vernacular as simply a younger generation’s lingo. TV shows and movies profit off and undermine African-American culture by framing it as a humorous phenomenon, which reinforces the racial stereotype that AAVE is lesser than American English.
While Gen Zers are also known for their satirical humor and pragmatic outlook on life, some media overdramatize this edginess, especially when characters go through conflicts. Many of us are realists but never as nihilistic as portrayed. Hazel Lancaster from the romantic comedy film “The Fault in Our Stars” has reasons for being so bleak, but this archetype cannot represent us all.
Many pieces of media have drama to serve as a conflict, but some Gen Z-centered media does this in a corny manner. In the Netflix teen romance comedy series “Tall Girl,” 16-year-old Jodi Kreyman is taunted for her tall height. At some point, two characters prank call Jodi, disguising their voice as her crush and asking her to the homecoming dance. After revealing their identity, the antagonist Kimmy Stitcher says, “Face it, Jodi, you’re the tall girl.” In reality, this is rarely something to be bullied for.
A lot of bullying tropes are overused and inaccurate. Most of us do not get embarrassing videos posted of us online, and our peers are not calling us ill-humored nicknames. Today’s teenagers do not act like the classic high school bully, and we laugh at the characters’ melodramatics.
Finally, much of Gen Z has progressive beliefs, but we are not canceling everyone all the time. Cancel culture usually only applies to celebrities or those in power. Many of our Gen X parents say offhand remarks at times, and while we grimace at this ineptitude, some scenes overplay it. In season 1, episode 3 of the HBO drama show “The White Lotus,” Olivia Mossbacher, an edgy sophomore in college, tells her parents they will be canceled for homophobic remarks when she is overstepping her boundaries, and, in reality, this rarely ever occurs. This trope is either done performatively or to mock cancel culture for older generations to laugh at. However, most of us have these conversations regarding celebrities and people in power, not our parents.
The writer’s room simply does not have enough Gen Z writers to encapsulate our experience as 52% of the television writer population is at least 40 years old. Only 18% are 20-30 years old. Without young people in the writer’s room, it is difficult to find accurate representation.
“Heartbreak High” and “Everything Now” are both Netflix shows related to Gen Z, and they navigate the modern-teenage experience very well with great depictions of love and identity. There is conflict, but there is also a found family. “Bottoms” and “Bodies Bodies Bodies” are movies with completely different genres, but they share a true Gen Z humor. All of these pieces of media have younger creators, a queer and diverse cast, and do not try too hard to be relatable. They just are, because they listen to the younger generation’s voice.
Some of my favorite Gen Z-related shows are niche pieces of media because of the lack of marketing or being produced by an indie company. Netflix and HBO will ensure their main shows are high-budget and promoted across platforms, but it is important to also look out for the lesser-known ones, as they are often far more authentic.
