Gen X TV : The Brady Bunch to Melrose Place

No generation eludes definition as much as ""Generation X"". Rob Owens opens with a history of network and cable television since the birth of Generation X, but goes on to explore the symbiotic relationship between television and this largely misunderstood age group. From the first megahit ""The Brady Bunch"" to today's ""Friends"", Owen unflinchingly describes the ""boob tube"" as the ubiquitous babysitter for millions of young people. Television, Owen maintains, consumes innocence as viewers encounter countless episodes of society's woes, from political strife and environmental decimation to everyday violence and crime. The peculiar television style of Gen-X sitcoms - sarcastic, quick and flashy - especially appeals to his generational cohorts, Owen states, for that is the perspective these Xers place on the world at large. Music television introduces still another aspect of visual cognition that reinforces such perceptions. And how do the Internet and online computer services fit into all of this? Since it first entered the mainstream in late 1993, the Internet has rapidly become a forum for anyone with anything to say about TV, music, and entertainment. Unlike twenty years ago, when ""Trekkies"" had to correspond by mail or attend conventions to share information, the mass technology of the nineties has made information the most plentiful and the cheapest commodity on the market. In fact, now network researchers and TV show producers actually solicit viewers' comments about particular shows online.