American Idiot

Sadly, its been a while since I've been able to write a real blog post. So the next two are going to be reflections on the Broadway shows Cat and I went to see this semester. In December, to celebrate the end of the semester, we went to see American Idiot, based on Green Days' cd bearing the same title.

Description from the website:

An exhilarating journey of a new generation of young Americans, lead by friends Johnny, Tunny and Will, as they struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world, borne along by Green Day's electrifying score. When the three disgruntled men flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life, their paths are quickly estranged when Tunney enters the armed forces, Michael is called back home to attend familial responsibilities, and Johnny’s attention becomes divided by a seductive love interest and a hazardous new friendship.

Cat and I didn't have large expectations for the show, but wow. First of all, we were a mere five rows from the front of the stage. At least we had a small buffer between us and the "spit zone", because that's how into it all of the actors were. Second, thank you Broadway for having all shapes and sizes represented in this show. Fantastic message.

That being said, this show touched a nerve. This was about MY generation - Gen M, now 19-29 years in age. I realize that every generation has different challenges and markers. But here are some of ours as represented by the show and my own firsts in response to them.

First time a friend of mine attempted suicide - 8th grade

First time I cried over the potential death of my friends in the military - 10th grade

First time I knew I had friends using drugs - 9th grade

First time I knew I had friends that drank - 6th grade

First time I had a friend struggle with the questions that can arise from sex outside of marriage - 9th grade

First time I had a friend run to the city to follow their dreams, only to end up at home - 12th grade

First time I had a friend who cut - 11th grade

First time I had a friend arrested for their behavior - I don't even know

We are the generation marked by September 11th, Columbine, and tragedies. We've had violence in front of us our entire life, but we want something more. Something more then this. And when we can't find it or do it we turn to the above actions and behaviors at an early age. We are the future - so who is going to reach out to us instead of writing us off? Who is going to understand our response to struggle comes from something deeper?

Cat and I started to talk about how were part of a Gen M project but we never discussed any of the above topics. How can you know about us if you leave all of that out? You can't. It's time to move beyond the silence on these topics, the embarassment, because the messiness of our lives didn't just appear. We learned it by watching and responding to what is going on around us in a deep way.