Generation X encompasses those who were born in the period stretching from approximately 1965 to 1980. The idea of a shared generational experience makes for an easy conversational shorthand, but it belies the complexity of the disparate realities of those who share a common birth era and in many instances not much else. What defines this supposedly cynical and disaffected generation? And, more importantly, who is doing (or gets to do) the defining? Demographers? Historians? Sociologists? Cultural producers? Those who are ostensibly a part of it? And why does it matter? Through intensive study of the ways this generation is depicted and contested in film and culture, we will grapple with these questions and others through various lenses including: representation, industrial concerns, auteurism, politics, gender, class, aesthetics, and genre. The class combines lectures, discussion, presentations, and writing assignments. Required weekly screenings.