"Nobody knows how to be a grown-up anymore. Adulthood as we have known it has become conceptually untenable."
'The Death of Adulthood in American Culture' by A O Scott. The article everyone's talking about (today, at any rate). It's very interesting, though -- I think -- wrong. How and why it's wrong will take a bit of unpacking, so I'm parking the link here until I've a bit more time.
My friend Pam Thurschwell expressed her reservations on this essay over on facebook: "it seems like there are some very basic concepts missing here. Isn't adulthood is an economic construct which is disappearing because fewer and fewer people can afford it? (Look, more childlike artists in the creative economy! More people living at home with their parents!) Isn't adulthood the problem, not extended childhood? "
ReplyDeleteThese storyfied tweets also constitute a very interesting response to this essay: https://storify.com/JeetHeer1/a-o-scott-and-death-of-adulthood-a-close-read
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