Coffee house banter is now Hollywood vogue

~ opinion~

With an ever increasing embrace of the unknown, Gen X drifts wide-eyed into the coming millennium with nothing more than a heady dose of alacrity.

While it is true that Gen X, ever the purveyors of cool, are quick to define themselves according to ãcurrentä trends, it is quite another matter when a collective thought-fad begins to seep into nearly every aspect of Gen Xers, personal expression.

Consider the rise into the mainstream of topics such as conspiracy theories and aliens, which are no longer limited to the quiet confines of coffeehouse conversations but have received the approving nod of the film industry.

This summer was peppered with films like Men In Black, Contact and The Fifth Element, which all contain plot lines revolving around aliens. Conspiracy Theory brought to light the growing fascination with government cover-ups.

One may speculate as to the origins of said ãconspiracy theoriesä and the like, but a simple look around is enough to realize their popularity from television to big budget movies. Indeed, the attraction of these themes stretches across a wide array from belief to business.

A ãselect and secretä worldview now has the advantage of Hollywood financing and the boon of a growing fan base. It is indeed a beautiful thing when backyard banalities have reached a point of validation through the silver screen, and, conversely, when rather mundane themes in film are reinforced by a willing consumer base.

While the impending ãweightä of the next millennium may or may not have anything to do with this, its gradual approach has seemingly intensified the attraction of intangible forces. Yet Gen X has found a new means of identification and attraction to the life in the last hundred years of the twentieth century.

Mundane? Perhaps. Then again, it might as well be another form of the paranoia of the authoritative, which is each generationâs right.

÷ By Stephan Donohue