Based on your viewing of our screening of Thirtysomething as well as Feuer's analysis of the program--what role do you think yuppie guilt plays on the show and how is it represented?
Yuppie guilt plays a large role in the mood and plot of the show Thirtysomething, as it focuses on younger upper-middle class, White suburban families trying to transcend their status by talking about their status. In Thirtysomething, the Steadmans are very "aware" of their yuppie-ness and feel guilty about the privileges they have i.e. "yuppie guilt." They feel that they've sold out, which is evident through Michael's still-hippie friend who criticizes his move to unguarded consumerism, and through Michael's nightmares about selling out by utilizing his money to expand his advertising business. In reality, the generation of baby boomers are not sold-out hippies, but rather followers of whichever trend is most convenient at the time; for example, protesting the Vietnam War made sense at the time, but when that was no longer convenient, "growing up" and settling down into the comfortable niche of consumerism and financial stability became comfortable. However, this generation of baby boomers depicted in Thirtysomething were too young to even participate in the 1960s protests. Feuer writes in their article, "Yuppie Envy and Yuppie Guilt," that "Although the second half of the baby boom never had this history [of protest], it is invoked by these programs in order to harness liberal social sentiments for purposes of identification against yuppie greed" (67). This guilt and "whining" was depicted mostly in the Steadman family with their new home and loving marriage, who seemed to be the envy of the other characters on the show, until the end of the series, Feuer writes, when they were no longer enviable and the events became more depressing. In the end, the show proved that if the plot and the characters were depressing and "whiny," you were probably not a yuppie, but if they seemed like "real life" to you, then you were probably a yuppie.
While watching Thirtysomething, a lot of what you see from the main character, Michael. He himself is a yuppie – a rich, white person who was once a hippie. How do you know that he was once a hippie – or how can I imply that? Through the “nightmares” he faces when he is surrounded by hippies and there is even a part where his wife, Hope, and baby are portrayed as “hippies.”
Throughout the entire episode, Michael is suffering from “yuppie guilt” – the bad feeling you get from selling out into this world of consumerism. He now has a successful job but he is responsible for taking care of big business deals – and even faces the struggle of deciding whether or not to fire his secretary. Even though he has money, it is as if he does not want to spend it. He constantly complains about how much a “breakfast room” is going to cost and gets upset for so many reasons. Finally, his wife confronts him and chews him out for his whining. She says something along the lines of, “So we have money? What is wrong with that?” Basically she wants him to get over the guilt that he is feeling.
The episode of thirtysomething that we viewed dealt heavily with the idea of “yuppie guilt.” Yuppie guilt is the idea that one has essentially “sold out” into our consumerist and capitalist society and subsequently feels guilty for what that has afforded them. Hope and Michael Steadman, baby boomers and apparently former hippies/radicals now live a comfortable life, with Michael working in marketing and Hope staying home with their newborn daughter. In the episode we have viewed they had just purchased a house, and were agonizing about getting it suitable for a housewarming party. It is this conflict that incites the yuppie guilt, especially for the character of Michael Steadman. He has friends who are still attempting to “fight the good fight” while he sells out and works a cushy job. His biggest worry for much of the beginning of the episode is whether or not the breakfast room in his family’s new home will be exactly how he wants it, and renovated in time to impress acquaintances he is inviting to their housewarming party. The characters are certainly framed as “whiny” and in the grand scheme of things in this world, their problems are those of the privileged. It is here where the depiction of yuppie guilt comes into play, as Michael becomes increasingly bothered by the pettiness of his problems and his own preoccupation with that same pettiness. He has a nightmare where he is tried by incarnations of his friends and family assumingly as they used to be--hippies and radicals--and is found to be guilty of being a yuppie. The guilt is portrayed in a light that causes Michael to evaluate himself and his wants and needs. However, at the end of the episode, he and his wife break free of this “guilt” by coming to terms with the fact that they’ve grown up and now work and have money. Through this, “yuppie guilt” is framed in a way that makes being a yuppie in the end, not all that bad or villainous.
Yuppie guilt plays a large role in the mood and plot of the show Thirtysomething, as it focuses on younger upper-middle class, White suburban families trying to transcend their status by talking about their status. In Thirtysomething, the Steadmans are very "aware" of their yuppie-ness and feel guilty about the privileges they have i.e. "yuppie guilt." They feel that they've sold out, which is evident through Michael's still-hippie friend who criticizes his move to unguarded consumerism, and through Michael's nightmares about selling out by utilizing his money to expand his advertising business. In reality, the generation of baby boomers are not sold-out hippies, but rather followers of whichever trend is most convenient at the time; for example, protesting the Vietnam War made sense at the time, but when that was no longer convenient, "growing up" and settling down into the comfortable niche of consumerism and financial stability became comfortable. However, this generation of baby boomers depicted in Thirtysomething were too young to even participate in the 1960s protests.
ReplyDeleteFeuer writes in their article, "Yuppie Envy and Yuppie Guilt," that "Although the second half of the baby boom never had this history [of protest], it is invoked by these programs in order to harness liberal social sentiments for purposes of identification against yuppie greed" (67). This guilt and "whining" was depicted mostly in the Steadman family with their new home and loving marriage, who seemed to be the envy of the other characters on the show, until the end of the series, Feuer writes, when they were no longer enviable and the events became more depressing. In the end, the show proved that if the plot and the characters were depressing and "whiny," you were probably not a yuppie, but if they seemed like "real life" to you, then you were probably a yuppie.
While watching Thirtysomething, a lot of what you see from the main character, Michael. He himself is a yuppie – a rich, white person who was once a hippie. How do you know that he was once a hippie – or how can I imply that? Through the “nightmares” he faces when he is surrounded by hippies and there is even a part where his wife, Hope, and baby are portrayed as “hippies.”
ReplyDeleteThroughout the entire episode, Michael is suffering from “yuppie guilt” – the bad feeling you get from selling out into this world of consumerism. He now has a successful job but he is responsible for taking care of big business deals – and even faces the struggle of deciding whether or not to fire his secretary. Even though he has money, it is as if he does not want to spend it. He constantly complains about how much a “breakfast room” is going to cost and gets upset for so many reasons. Finally, his wife confronts him and chews him out for his whining. She says something along the lines of, “So we have money? What is wrong with that?” Basically she wants him to get over the guilt that he is feeling.
The episode of thirtysomething that we viewed dealt heavily with the idea of “yuppie guilt.” Yuppie guilt is the idea that one has essentially “sold out” into our consumerist and capitalist society and subsequently feels guilty for what that has afforded them. Hope and Michael Steadman, baby boomers and apparently former hippies/radicals now live a comfortable life, with Michael working in marketing and Hope staying home with their newborn daughter. In the episode we have viewed they had just purchased a house, and were agonizing about getting it suitable for a housewarming party.
ReplyDeleteIt is this conflict that incites the yuppie guilt, especially for the character of Michael Steadman. He has friends who are still attempting to “fight the good fight” while he sells out and works a cushy job. His biggest worry for much of the beginning of the episode is whether or not the breakfast room in his family’s new home will be exactly how he wants it, and renovated in time to impress acquaintances he is inviting to their housewarming party. The characters are certainly framed as “whiny” and in the grand scheme of things in this world, their problems are those of the privileged. It is here where the depiction of yuppie guilt comes into play, as Michael becomes increasingly bothered by the pettiness of his problems and his own preoccupation with that same pettiness. He has a nightmare where he is tried by incarnations of his friends and family assumingly as they used to be--hippies and radicals--and is found to be guilty of being a yuppie.
The guilt is portrayed in a light that causes Michael to evaluate himself and his wants and needs. However, at the end of the episode, he and his wife break free of this “guilt” by coming to terms with the fact that they’ve grown up and now work and have money. Through this, “yuppie guilt” is framed in a way that makes being a yuppie in the end, not all that bad or villainous.