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HOW TO TELL X FROM Zzz

WEARS

Gen X: Old jeans, ironic Phantom of the Opera T-shirt (Slacker), greasy hair, goatee if male, “wacky” nylons and Doc Martens, if female
Gen Zzz: Permanent expression of careworn angst because of baffling nature of the Universe

LIVES

X: In parent’s house, but it’s only temporary until recording contract kicks in
Zzz: In suburban community with brood of money-sucking yet essentially life-affirming rugrats (We Don’t Live Here Anymore)

WORKS

X: In dead-end McJob at Gap or Burger World (Reality Bites), while playing in crazy grunge band on Friday nights
Zzz: In the District Attorney’s office (Thirteen Conversations), but listens to Coldplay at weekends

DRIVES

X: A battered ’56 Ford
Zzz: Gas-guzzling guilt-inducing and (in the case of Crash) eminently car-jackable SUV

READS

X: Heidegger’s Being and Time in local café (Reality Bites). Otherwise just watches I Love Lucy repeats.
Zzz: The Death of Ivan Illyich by Tolstoy (We Don’t Live Here Anymore), then bores companions to death with personal musings on the essence of truth

SAYS

X: (Sneering) “I’d like to live forever, but only for a little while” (Stephen Dorff in SFW)
Zzz: (Whining) “I want what everyone wants. To experience life, to wake up enthused, to be happy.” (John Turturro in Thirteen Conversations)

BLAMES

X: The parents. “Everybody’s parents f**ked them up. Rich kids’ parents gave them too much, poor kids not enough. Too much attention, not enough attention. They either left them or they stuck around and taught them the wrong things.” Jesse (Ethan Hawke) in Before Sunrise
Zzz: Urban planning. “In any real city you walk. People brush past you, people bump into you. In LA, nobody touches you. We’re behind this metal and glass.” Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) in Crash.