Adversity of Gen Z Youth
For my final project, I focused on displaying the progression of Generation Z, Youth born in the years between 1997 to 2012 (Dimmock), with an illustrated poster scanned from a drawing I made that would show marginalized Gen Z youth’s upbringing and progress on how our generation has a very different outlook on our world and it’s future. Being born into a world built for disaster; The Iraq war, Global Warming, Civil Unrest, Heavily Divided Government etc. I posted my project around my city, San Francisco, and on my personal social media. On this poster I included a QR code that directed a viewer to a document with organizations they can donate, follow, and volunteer there is also an email I created for any questions the audience might have. I also include articles to read, including some of our own articles we learned in class, and social media accounts that work for marginalized youth. Organizations like The Trevor Project or AAPF (The African American Policy Forum) and articles we learned in CLass like “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and “College Made Them Feel Equal. The Virus Exposed How Unequal Their Lives Are.” The New York Times, by Nicholas Casey.
Being Gen Z myself, I have been continuously ranting on how messed up our world is today and how it was made that way by the past. We have this responsibility now to fix everything when it seems impossible. That frustration within various forms of expression really helped me come up with my idea and sketches for a poster that illustrates struggle but also hope. I did this by making a gradual effect in my poster or art by showing Gen Z grow up. In the Middle we see three young women of Generation Z displaying 3 emotions that depict generation: Sad, Angry, and Strong, as well as Halos around their heads to symbolize our Generations as Angels that will fix the problems past generations have put on the world. We see these women using their technology to illustrate our advantage of technology, and posters behind them to display how the youth use their power. Above them we see young leaders that represent the new generation or heavily support the youth like the U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Climate Change activist Greta Thunberg as a sign of hope. Surrounding them with fists and hands holding to show how if we come together progress can be made. And at the bottom, we see fire and images of our growing up, like War, Political tension, President Trump, Global Warming, etc. to display adversity we have endured.
I chose this message for this Kresge class because the words Power and Representation, are really what classify and define our generation. With youth using their power of growing up on technology to fight for Black Lives Matter, Immigration Injustices, Climate Change, Trans-rights, etc. and even without technology we see our youth in the streets demanding to be heard. And with our past assignments we watched or read in this class, like “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Adichie, Gen Z really highlights how there isn’t one and those with less of a voice, have stories that need to be heard. And we see I think art, especially on a poster spread around my area, is a really productive way to catch people’s attention and impact my community. I think when many, like me, take a second to admire any art that may be spread across a lamppost or wall, it’s message always seems to root into my subconscious, I hope that will be the same from my audience. And encourage them to participate in helping the youth grow up strong with ease.
Sources:
Dimock, Michael. “Defining Generations: Where Millennials End and Generation Z Begins.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 28 July 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/.
Steed, Daryn, et al. “The Global Events That Separate Millennials from Generation Z.” The Signpost, 8 Jan. 2020, www.signpost.mywebermedia.com/2020/01/08/the-global-events-that-separate-millennials-from-generation-z/
