Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
WhenFriendsdebuted on NBC in 1994, members of the media often described it as a Generation X show.
Yet that label, weirdly, never gets placed on it.
Which feels very Generation X. I mean, could thatbeany more Gen X?
There are actual reasons, beyond the usual Gen X marginalization, that help explain why this has happened.
Kauffman echoed that sentiment: Generation X weve never used that word, on purpose.
Their clothes are clean, unlike Ethan Hawke, who wore the dirtiest things inReality Bites.
It wasnt just a case of baby boomers trying to keep the Xers down, though.
Matt LeBlanc: I dont like it as a label.
Ive heard it used as lazy, unfocused, drifty.
But were one of the first generations to really care about the environment.
Jennifer Aniston: Its almost an insulting comment.
It has nothing to do with this show.
Matthew Perry: The buzz word around here in the beginning was,Dont mention that.
But 11 years aint a generation, folks.
(Today, the accepted definition of Generation X isAmericans born between 1965 and 1981.)
But X stuck.Friendsdid, too.
The jokes onFriendscould be sarcastic and snarky, but the shows heart was fundamentally warm.
Whatever Gen X was supposed to be,Friendsdidnt quite feel like that.
OnceFriendsbecame a huge hit, it was marked even less often with that dreaded X.
Not only were young people watching it, everyone was watching it.
The generational association faded.
But make no mistake,Friendswas a Gen X show.
(Our understanding was also too limited by whiteness, as wasFriends.
Which, essentially, is another way of saying its a very Gen X show.
Sure, none of us actually lived in large rent-controlled apartments like Monica and Rachel did.
Romantic relationships developed between some of the Central Perk regulars, of course.
That was also reflected in other shows specifically aimed at or about Xers, likeMelrose PlaceandLiving Single.
The family backgrounds of several characters onFriendsalso reflected the Xer experience.
(Ross and Monica, as brother and sister, are an obvious exception to this.)
Phoebe really wanted to be a singer-songwriter but worked as a masseuse to double-check she had cash.
Phoebe: Then Ive already seen this) and a reference to Joanie loving Chachi.
The friends ofFriendsgrew up in the 70s and 80s, and the series reminds us of that constantly.
When we keep looking atFriends, over and over, what were really looking at is Generation X.
It actually still resonates.
