Silent Generation

Ep. 55: Y2K Futurism

Y2K futurism is an aesthetic that emerged in the late ‘90s and early-2000s that consists of the color silver, consumer electronics, large sunglasses, and "blobjects." Its depictions of what the future could look like in the 2000s were utopian and optimistic, simultaneously celebrating the new millennium and the early internet. On this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan start by listing the key elements of Y2K Futurism before detailing the various ways the aesthetic materialized in the physical world, from Capri Sun ads to airport lounges. Amongst other things they discuss how the video game Space Channel 5 took the aesthetic in a campy and extraterrestrial direction, how the availability of CAD software in the design world led to popularity of blobjects, and how the artwork of Mariko Mori incorporated an impressive number of elements from the esthetic.
Links:Y2K futurism Pinterest board: https://pin.it/6KzgiZwZ3 Nathan’s Y2K Too Unlimited shirt postTerrell Davis Changed Digital Art Forever by Claudia CostaThe Untold Story of the Most Bonkers Sunglasses in Olympic History by Mahalia ChangGroove Is In The Heart by Deee LiteBreathe U In by Sipper & AdorePlaystation 2 condom adThe Cyberfrontier and America at the Turn of the 21st Century by Jeffrey R. CooperThe Y2K aesthetic: who knew the look of the year 2000 would endure? By Leigh AlexanderMiko No Inori by Mariko Mori
Artwork:Focus Dailies CM (1999)
Recorded on 1/5/2025

Ep. 54: Historic Preservation w/ Marquisdefacade [TEASER]

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration
 
This week Joseph and Nathan are joined by local architecture influencer Steve (otherwise known as Marquisdefacade) to discuss historic preservation. They begin by weighing the pros and cons of historic preservation before detailing how the historic preservation movement in Chicago succeeded (or failed) to preserve the neighborhoods of Old Town, Bronzeville, and Logan Square. Amongst other things they discuss how Logan Square Preservation uses “preservation” to advance their NIMBY agenda in Logan Square, how Jober’s Canyon in Omaha, NE got demolished despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and how 9 highrises and skyscrapers in Chicago could potentially become the Early Chicago Skyscrapers UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 
Links:
Marquisdefacade’s Instagram
The Marquisdefacade Podcast 
Historic Preservation - Treating the Symptom Instead of the Cause by Andrew Price
Housing experts say there just aren't enough homes in the U.S. by By Mary Louise Kelly
Glasner Studio Virtual Tour
The Architectural Record - 1907 (the article contrasting NYC and Chicago apartment buildings)
Proposed Tower In Old Town Gets More Brick, Warmer Colors, But Traffic Concerns Persist by Jake Wittich
Losing Track by J. W. Mason
WIN: Logan Square Preservation Raises Funds to Restore Church’s Stained Glass
Andy Schneider, President Of Logan Square Preservation, Running For 1st Ward Alderperson by Mina Bloom
Plan To Preserve Building Character On Milwaukee Avenue In Logan Square, Avondale Moves Forward by Ariel Parrella-Aureli
Historic structures are set to be demolished at Wells/Superior by Lukas Kugler
 
Artwork:
Photo provided by Marquisdefacade 
 
Recorded on 12/29/2024

Ep. 53: New Religious Movements

New religious movements are religions that are peripheral to a society's dominant religious culture, the earliest and most enduring example being Mormonism (which began in 1830). The majority of practitioners in new religious movements are recent converts and NRMs often get labeled the pejorative term “cult.” On this week’s episode of Silent Generation the boys explore how NRMs emerged in response to the problems of modernity by examining Mormonism, The Baháʼí Faith, The Enthusiastic Sobriety Movement, The People’s Temple Movement, The Rajneesh Movement, Twin Flames Universe, and Love Has Won. Amongst other things they discuss how NRMs appeal to people raised in the suburbs because of the communal living arrangements they offer, how federal interference is often the tipping point that leads to mass casualty events, and how Nathan’s brother once worked for a restaurant operated by an NRM.
 
Links:
What are New Religious Movements ft. Professor Eileen Barker
Death of a Scientologist by Tori Marlan
Hunter x Hunter Intro
Snowflake, Arizona LDS Temple
The Love Bomb by Daniel Kolitz
Wild Wild Country (2018)
Escaping Twin Flames (2023)
How ‘Twin Flames Universe’ leader pretends to be Jesus to create an abusive multi-level marketing scheme by Mallory Challis
Cult Info Since 1979 by the The International Cultic Studies Association
 
Artwork:
The Baháʼí House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois (1969)
 
Recorded on 12/25/2024

Ep. 52: Hunting Fashion

This week Joseph and Nathan examine the various aesthetics that have come out of hunting fashion. They begin by discussing how shooting and hunting in the United Kingdom are leisure activities that have historically only been available to the most wealthy, and why British clothing associated with the activity looks more formal and more conspicuous than its American counterpart (such as red fox hunting coats). The boys then go into a deep dive of how hunting camouflage developed out of military camouflage before detailing why it's worn so often by everyday people in the United States. Amongst other things they discuss how buffalo skins worn by Native Americans during buffalo jumps are an early example of camouflage, how the Harris/ Walz campaign released a camo campaign hat in response to Chappel Roan’s Midwest Princess tour camo hat, how high-visibility blaze orange is more liberal-coded than hunting camo, and how deer aren’t able to see high-visibility blaze orange because they are red-green colorblind.
Links:
Hunting fashion Pinterest board: https://pin.it/60F92bfWP Ep. 37: Male Desire w/ Charles Livingston [UNLOCKED]The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions by Thorstein VeblenGentlemanly Pursuits: Hunting & Shooting Attire by J. A. ShapiraDressed to Kill: A History of British Sporting Fashion by Kim CadyWhat to Wear Game Shooting by Alan PaineThe Density Divide and the Southernification of Rural America by Will Wilkinson Tim Walz Struggles With Shotgun At Pheasant Hunt, Gets Mocked Elusive deer spotted wearing high-vis jacket in Canada: ‘Who is responsible?’ by Leland Cecco Blaze Orange Regulations for Every State by Teri Williams Can Deer See Blaze Orange? by Lindsay Thomas Jr. 
Artwork:Origin unknown
Recorded on 12/22/2024

Ep. 51: Futurism [TEASER]

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration 
 
Futurism was an Italian art movement focused on speed, technology, and violence that began in 1909 after Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published the Manifesto of Futurism. Italian Futurists thought that their nascently-industrialized country was developing at a slow pace due to the weight of Italy’s past and they wanted to break free; artists like Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Luigi Russolo, and Tullio Crali depicted “futuristic” subjects like cars, trains, and airplanes in dynamic ways that challenged existing cultural conventions. On this week’s episode of Silent Generation Nathan and Joseph analyze Futurism using an urbanist lens. Amongst other things they discuss the problematic link between Futurism and Fascism in post-WW1 Italy, the Cubo-Futurist style of the short lived Russian Futurist movement, the absurdity of Futurist food, and the beauty of Tullio Crali’s Aeropittura paintings of airplanes and aerial landscapes.
 
Links: 
Futurism Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/futurism/ 
Manifesto of Futurism by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Scene of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's accident, 15 October 1908
Screenshot from Italian Futurism: Speed, dynamism, and the fight at La Fenice
Manifesto of Futurist Woman by Valentine de Saint-Point
Italian Futurism, 1909–1944: Reconstructing the Universe
Boccioni Recreated
Recreating Boccioni's striding sculptures from 1913
How Italian Futurism Influenced the Rise of Fascism by Jad Dahsan
When Futurism Led to Fascism—and Why It Could Happen Again
What Is Russian Futurism? by Anastasiia S. Kirpalov
Kseniya Boguslavskaya
https://www.tulliocrali.com/en/ 
Crali and Aeropainting (Tullio Crali: A Futurist Life)
Lingotto factory in Turin
Modernist Architecture in Eritrea
Artwork:
Before the Parachute Opens (Prima che si apra il paracadute), 1939 by Tullio Crali
 
Recorded on 12/9/2024

Ep. 50: Modern Masculinity w/ Gent Z

How is modern masculinity different from classical masculinity? This week the boys are joined by local menswear influencer Gent Z to discuss how men in the modern era intentionally refine their masculinity through self improvement. Amongst other things they discuss what the end goal of self-improvement should be, what male role models they personally look up to, and what they think about the idea that there is a “crisis of masculinity.” 
 
Links: 
How to Build New Habits by Taking Advantage of Old Ones by James Clear 
 
Artwork:
Paul Newman photographed by Stewart Stern, 1973

Ep. 49: McBling

McBling is a mid-2000s aesthetic characterized by tacky displays of wealth, celebrity culture, fake tans, and bleach blonde hair. According to Vogue magazine it emerged in “2003, following the American invasion of Iraq, and ended with the onset of the Great Recession in 2008.” McBling arose organically in popular culture and was only later identified as an aesthetic by the Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute, and this is the first Silent Generation episode to cover an aesthetic identified by their organization. Amongst other things on this week’s episode, the boys discuss how the term McBling first came out of a poll in a “post-Y2K” Facebook group, how Gen Z’s interpretation of McBling favors Von Dutch too heavily, how the mid-2000s reality TV show Bad Girls Club captured the McBling zeitgeist, and how TikTok accounts like Bronzedupbrat are making McBling reach record popularity in 2024.
 
Links:
McBling Pinterest board
The Consumer Aesthetic Research Institute
McBling CARI description
The original McBling Facebook Group
Evan Collins’ McBling “joke” post
Brittney Spears’ half Y2k/ half McBling outfit
The second poll in the McBling Facebook group
What Is McBling and How Is it Different From Y2K? by Abrigail Williams
McBling on Google Trends
The Antisemitic History of Early 2000s Fashion Brand Von Dutch by Sam Miller
Paris Hilton changing her voice to sound more feminine
Paris Hilton’s “stop being poor” meme
Bad Girls Club Tanisha slamming pots and pans in season 2
Bad Girls Club Judi Jai breakfast cereal fight in season 7
The Y2K Attitude Era - A Cultural Middle Finger
How do you stay so authentically 2000s? by Bronzedupbrat
4Chan mannerisms displayed by Boxxy
The McBling Subreddit
Trashy McBling Spotify playlist
NGSUNC by Ayesha Erotica
Do I Look Like a Slut by Avenue D
OlderBrotherCore Tiktok
McMansion Hell
 
Artwork:
Paris Hilton
 
Recorded on 11/17/2024

Ep. 48: Online Dating w/ Breanna [TEASER]

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration 
This week Joseph and Nathan are joined by Breanna, a Silent Generation listener who works as a software engineer for a major online dating company, to discuss online dating. They detail the early history of online dating (such as how the first person to develop a computer based dating service was a working class British woman named Joan Ball) before sharing their experiences with online dating websites and apps such as Match.com, Hinge, Tinder, Okcupid, and The League. Amongst other things they discuss how dating apps replaced ELO algorithms with Gale-Shapley algorithms, how a recent study found that NYC was the worst major US city for dating, and how Chicago attracts “coastal dating app refugees” who seek an easier dating market. 
 
Links:How heterosexual couples met graphThe Mother of All Swipes by Mar HicksWhitney Wolfe, founder of dating app Bumble, has had quite the year. She just can’t discuss parts of it by Todd C. Frankel Hinge’s newest feature claims to use machine learning to find your best match by Ashley CarmanTowards a statistical physics of dating apps by Fabrizio OlmedaThe Uncanny Swipe Drive: The Return of a Racist Mode of Algorithmic Thought on Dating Apps by Greggory NarrNot My Type: Automating Sexual Racism in Online Dating by Apryl Williams and Kendra AlbertRace and Attraction, 2009 – 2014 from Oktrends NYC is the ‘worst’ US city for dating by Asia GraceRiver Page Grindr TweetHot Gays, Body Image, & Comparison by Hellvetika What is the dating culture in Chicago like? Reddit postAsian gay immigrant looking to relocate to Chicago from LA? Reddit post
Artwork:First boot in 17 years, all on 90’s equipment
Recorded on 11/10/2024

Ep. 47: Pokémon

Pokémon is the highest grossest media franchise of all time, but has it declined in quality? On this week’s episode Joseph and Nathan use Pokemon as a case study to talk about gamer culture, nostalgia, and fandoms more broadly. After breaking down the history of Pokémon into three booms and one bust, the boys detail what they like about the franchise (Ken Sugimori’s artwork, HM moves, and their favorite Pokémon) and the things they dislike about it (competitive Pokémon play, shiny hunting, and legendary Pokémon). Amongst other things they discuss how Poliwhirl almost became the main mascot for the Pokémon franchise, how Pokémon became uncool in the mid-2000s, how the designs of Pokémon became rounder and cuter over time, and how a terabyte of information stolen from Game Freak’s servers (dubbed “the teraleak”) recently leaked to the public.
Links: Pokémon – from bugs to blockbuster by Simon ParkinPoliwhirl: The Mascot You Never KnewPokémon Trainer Norm MacDonald“Pokémon” on Google TrendsPokémon Go - Vaporeon stampede Central Park, NYCTarget Pokémon card scalper stampede videoKen Sugimori’s artwork for the original 151 PokémonOh Wow, The Best Pokémon Card Art All Comes From The Same Person by John WalkerHow Pokémon's Art Style & Design Has 'Evolved'Generic Pokémon Design by Generation What Would Gen 8 Pokémon Look Like in Gen 1? (Part 2)The Evolution of Pokémon DesignPokemon Gold & Silver beta PokémonGorochu’s back spriteProject Bauer/ Pokemon Movie 24Palworld vs. Pokémon Comparison: Just How Similar Are the Designs? by Joshua YehlPokemon Sword and Shield Controversy and 'Dexit', Explained by Casey DeFreitas & Matt KimTaechichu’s YoutubeRegi NoisesVictreebel Scream 
Artwork:Charizard Pokémon Carddass artwork by Ken Sugimori 
Recorded on 11/3/2024

Ep. 46: Copenhagen [TEASER]

Full episode available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SilentGeneration 
Why did Joseph go to Copenhagen last week? Did he bike around a lot? How many hot dogs did he eat? How was Malmo, Sweden? These are some of the important questions Nathan asked Joseph on this week’s episode. 
Artwork:Street photo Copenhagen ... Summer and sun by Ivan NaurholmAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Recorded on 10/27/2024