My Generation

Dir: David Batty

2018

**

There is absolutely nothing special about Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’ ‘documentary’ My Generation, it is simply a work of nostalgia and a trip don memory lane for those of a certain age. There are countless documentaries out there that capture every aspect of the swinging sixties, My Generation however is far broader, delivered by Michael Caine in the sort of manner most baby-boomers adopt to talk down to anyone younger than them. Caine speaks with such 60’s stars as David Bailey, Roger Daltrey, Marianne Faithfull, Paul McCartney, Mary Quant and Twiggy but we hear only snippets of conversation without any context, how the conversation started or how it was concluded. I’m not sure all involved are friends, indeed I have read several interviews over the years to suggest the opposite is true,  but here they loosely reminisce about places they used to hang out, parties they attended, people they knew and actions they took in order to become successful. Is this a true depiction of the 1960s? I don’t know, I wasn’t alive, but I suspect not. No, this is the 60s through the eyes of those who became successful during this time. History is written by those that win, I’m not saying anything featured isn’t the truth but I do know that the 60s weren’t all peaches and cream for most people. While I will always applaud those who get up and make something of themselves the fact that the baby boomers had far more opportunity then any other generation is unsurprisingly overlooked. The talk of rebelling against their parents I found distasteful at times as there was little understanding that their generation went through a war – I’m sure they would have loved the opportunity to enjoy themselves but they were busy working hard, fighting overseas or dodging bombs on the streets of London. How square of them. I’ve heard the stories from that generation about how they played on old bombsites and had to endure rationing but the reality is that they never went without. Those that did were working too hard and didn’t have the opportunity to attend fancy parties. My Generation is a load of old stars who boast about how they took on the elite and the old establishment and became the new elite and the new old establishment. You might enjoy the film for all of the old archive footage of London before they cleaned it up in the 80s but you will have to endure a belly-full of condescending, patronizing and a reminder that these people are superior to you. It’s the ‘we didn’t have a telly when we were your age” lecture you received as a child but with pretty pictures. The baby boom generation were no more creative and no more brilliant than any other generation, they just happened to come after a war and at a time when colour television was becoming more readily available. Drug taking is discussed but we are lead to believe the interviewees (the survivors) took drugs responsibly, or in Caine’s case, not at all. They still seem to overlook that the main reason why the generation before them were so damning of their behaviour was down to their arrogance and their sense of entitlement. This is a history lesson from people who need a history lesson. They hated it when their kids turned into punks in the late 80s and couldn’t see that what the punks were doing was exactly the same as what they were doing, the only difference being the clothes and the music (and the money). The punk have also now sold out. I’m hoping my generation will break the cycle but millennials are letting themselves down somewhat. That said, I totally see how they are screwed. The ‘My Generation’ lot did nothing to better the country, if they had the 1970s wouldn’t have been so bad. This is an exercise in self gratification and self congratulation for a bunch of people who only did whatever they did out of self interest. Their self-entitlement is now bigger than ever. Read the reviews on IMDB by people who ‘were there’ and you’ll find many of them state that the youth of today ‘won’t get it’. You might have guessed by now (if you’re still reading) but I have a problem with the baby boom generation. I find I have more in common with my grandparent’s generation than them and I remember my grandmother saying much the same before she died. Anyway, the 60s. some good, some bad, lots of colour etc but if you want to know more, there are countless other documentaries available that are more focused and less broad. To regard any of it as some sort of revolution is absurd but it is full of pretty nostalgia - but nothing more.