#millennial cringe

[femmmie]

[bourtange]

closed the yelp tab after i saw a picture of the restaurant with a sign above the restroom saying "tinkletorium". please make this all stop

[safije]

People who made their whole personality about smoking weed are a good a example of millennial cringe.

[bloodclotbitch]

Just calling your cats any old thing 😒

[miyetko]

the yt commenters are insulting my dog

[sugarvampiearts]

I think the most bizarre criticism I have seen on animation twitter when it came to popular shows like Owl House and DE;PP is saying shit like “this feels like shit made for millennials lol”.

Dawg, how old do you think the people who made them are? No shit they feel like they were made for millennials because the people who made them are in their 30s!

And the worst part is that I see this thrown at queer creators, so it feels worse in a way idk how to describe.

Honestly, millennial hate is fucking stupid bc one day, gen z will get old and uncool and then gen alpha will make fun of us for being lame and old.

I honestly think animation twitter should die bc people on there have the collective IQ of a urinal.

[comicbookddr]

forever obsessed with ethans lego phone and 2010s 3D glasses

[flukeoffate]

A Millennial's Thoughts on Millennial "Cringe" and Gen Z culture with a cosplay slant...not negative, just obsevations from a person with no authority so you can ignore.

(This latest ADHD tangent brought to you by the latest Style Theory about Mustaches on Youtube... "Millennial Cringe" was mentioned and my brain spiraled...)

My world would be so different if I didn't embrace my cringe as hard as MeiMei in Turning Red. Most of my life has centered around cosplay and the people I've met within the hobby. With the rise of social media, cosplay and other 'nerd' hobbies gained mainstream acceptance, and Gen Z has mastered it! You embrace yourselves and you sing your own songs in life. That's great! I'm proud to see where you've come. This world expects you to be your authentic selves, no matter what that means. It's a wonderful thing to see. Sure, not everyone will embrace your authentic self, but it's best to know who loves the real you instead of the mask you show other people.

I'm genuinely not sure how many of the new cosplayers on the scene realize how much scrutiny the hobby received 20 years ago. Mainstream media, if it was ever referenced, had to introduce it like some strange culture from a distant land to boomer audiences, and the disbelief and confusion on the faces of the interviewers was....not unapparent, to put it mildly. When I was in middle and high school, my interest in anime and subsequently cosplay caused people to frequently question my metal health: She day dreams too much. She thinks she's a cartoon character. She MUST be drunk or on drugs. She must be depressed and seeking attention. No. I never thought I was a cartoon character. I was drug free because anime cost $40 for 2 episodes, but they way people treated me drugs might have been a relief. I wasn't seeking any attention except from friends with similar interests, and we built each other up as much as possible. Society was, at best, intrigued at my hobbies, and at worst, thought them the path to the devil. I was just unafraid to wear my interests on my sleeve. Unafraid wasn't right. More, I did it in defiance of their taunts. Like the mockumentary "Otaku no Video" (a boomer Japanese take on Cosplayers/Otaku), if people were going to ridicule me anyway, I was going "to become the OtaKing!!!" Or Queen in my case. I had more than a few moments where I leaned into their ridiculous accustaions, much like Wednesday Addams in the Netflix adaptation--embracing the rumor that she killed her classmate, instead of denying it.

Honestly I think the biggest difference between Millennials and Gen Z is the editing tools we grew up with. Gen Z was born with filters in the palm of their hand. Millennials were careless in their honesty. I don't like the filters. I'm tired of these constructed realities and AI stomping on artists. I'll leave my real, honest stupidity out there, because sometimes, that silliness is a tool to shape our world. Living your authentic self inspires the people around you, and they in turn inspire others. That's how the world evolves. You can't always be right. All people make mistakes and bad decisions. But what you choose to embrace and how loudly you live your truth matters.

Never discount what your authentic self can do to inspire, and never discount your ability to do harm, even in the simplest of tasks and conversations. Even if you misstep, as I frequently have and probably will do again, you will find that those actions had bigger consequences than you imagined. The difference between a good and bad person (for me) is how they chose to use either their powers of inspiration and discouragement. Most people have no clue how powerful those abilities are, and some who knowingly use it for evil. Good people seek to inspire and help, in my opinion.

There are a few key, important changes to this timeline I know I have made by living my truth--at least one has touched a large number of the current generation in an unbelievable way, and because it's so silly, I dare not share it. I have no proof. But in my heart I keep it as a shining light because I know it inspired a person, who inspired a person, who in turn inspired great things. FlukeOfFate isn't just my screen name. It's my life philosophy.

My advice to Gen Z? Laugh loud over stupid shit. Love hard. Dance wildly. Cry if you need to. Lift up your friends, they may need your support more than you think. Make REAL Art. Wear what you want. Learn everything you can from verified sources. Go to the library. Speak your truth. It might become Gen Z cringe in a few years, but it will inspire the next generation, one way or another.

There are big problems in this world compounded by a hundred generations of drama, and for your children it will be more of the same, in new ways. I personally think that cringe is only cringe when you've forgotten how to live. I think Millennial cultre has inspired Gen Z. and Gen Z has even inspired Millennials in a big way too. Thank you for that. Humanity can only evolve as far as the next generation can dream.