01 October 2008

History of Gentry and Yuppies

Or how Alex Keaton, Patrick Bateman, Cocaine, Gyms and Ronny Reagan changed Manhattan and the world. Article here.
...generally speaking, yuppie culture has become the culture, if not in reality, then aspirationally. The pods have pretty much taken over the world. The ideal of connoisseurship, the worship of brand names and designer labels, the pursuit of physical perfection through exercise and surgery—do these sound like the quaint habits of an extinct clan?

-Jay McInerney, 1984 author of: Bright Lights, Big City

2 comments:

VisuaLingual said...

From the comments:

"Older yuppies were getting AIDS & we did safe sex to the exteme where we just about only kissed & touched each other, never swallowed... I never really liked the way the older yuppies created bars with black walls & bad lighting, at least the younger yuppies or 90s whatever we were created bars with complimentary lighting & pleasant places to talk. The yuppies & us younger people helped make NYC a safer place. Many NYC streets were scary & one just never ever visited much less considered a safe place to raise kids, now, thanks to the yuppie urban pioneers, they are safe & beautiful... I believe that the yuppies were a positive force in NYC & came in just when the city needed them most."

At least they believe in complimentary lighting.

CityKin said...

^ I missed that gem.