4
The Boomerang | Summer 2021
BUBBLE Reality Bit? by Stanley Ward Perhaps it’s escapism for an earlier time, or just faux nostalgia induced by my required reading list featuring David Foster Wallace, Chris Kraus, Ethan Hawke smoking cigarettes, and also the segue into the main body of this article. Reality Bites opens with a typical generation X graduation speech from charismatic valedictorian Lelaina (played by Ryder) roasting the 80-hour work week and their parent’s obsessions with BMWs and sports sneakers. Very 90s zeitgeist of solipsistic bohemians not getting jobs, being surprised about this fact, and in true 90s fashion, But this trope of graduates realising a degree isn’t necessarily the golden ticket to success is a bit overplayed.
"Covid has taught us that best laid plans often go awry, and the security we know is fragile and should be enjoyed and relished rather than ironicised" It feels like our generation expects the inverse; everyone knows a degree does not lead you
not that naïve. And we’re more realistic – with many of us shouldering considerable amounts of student debt, and (for anyone making the jump to Amsterdam, or any other major city) ridiculous amounts of rent, it feels like most of us would be happy enough with somewhere to live, and a way to get paid. If anything, Covid has taught us that best laid plans often go awry, and the security we know is fragile and should be enjoyed and relished rather than ironicised. With Reality Bites’ gen Xers now the people who our graduating classes’ valedictorian speech will dismiss the middle-class creature comforts in the same way. It’s always dangerous to try and paint a picture of a generation, as such a reducbehind the conceit there may be a kind of truth: the class of 2021 is pretty realistic, and no-one is gonna be able to pull a fast one on us. Irony feels like a hallmark of the decade of Seinfeld, and I think it’s fair to say that whilst we can still see Ethan Hawke as a smouldering and grungy antihero, we’re much less ironic. As pointed out by John Baskin in the New Yorker, our generation is being shaped by completely unironic momentous social movements. He uses the recent Black Lives Matter protests as
an example, but you could also include environmental movements such as Extinction Rebellion as examples of unironic and sincere cultural movements that focus on the collective, rather than the more self-conscious and introspective David Foster Wallaces of the 90s and Charlie stories about what it means to be a person, these stories often tend to be about what it means to be a white man. Whilst as a white man, this is perfect and relatable, it might be for the best to have a less solipsistic cultural landscape.
"Our generation is being shaped by completely unironic momentous social movements" So where does this leave us? We exist with the paradox of high hopes for social justice whilst being (hopefully) educated enough to know that achieving such justice is going to be an uphill struggle. Some of us believe we can change the world, but don’t believe we’ll ever own our homes – if that’s even something that’s important anymore. So where do we sit as the generation with high hopes and low expectations? To quote the end of Winona’s valedictorian speech, I don’t know.
Simonabike: Life on Two Wheels by Simon Alvarez Belon
a moment to rejoice on the last three years on this beautiful campus. This often prompts reminiscent speeches about the experiences we have all shared (which to be frank, given the broad composition of our student body don’t go beyond James Kennedy’s introweek speeches where he talk of late-night voltaire sessions, disastrous bar nights, and arduous crossings of the pebbled quad, these speeches forget to mention a key yet unappreciated - element that has shaped all of our lives in our time at UCU: Utrecht’s bike lanes. *cue eye-rolls from my friends* Look, I know that coming from someone whose only personality trait besides having facial hair is liking bikes, this seems redundant. Nonetheless, I genuinely think that the experience of being on a bike is one that connects all of us at UCU*. Think about it, from day 1 of intro-week, having a bike proved essential if you were to truly make the most of our wonderful city! And so, I’m sure that throughout the past three years
there are some things we have all experienced whilst on two wheels. Hopefully, reminiscing on these times brings some appreciation to the privilege it is to have such a wonderful city to cycle in. Let’s start at the beginning. What better way to be initiated to Utrecht’s bustling cycling ecosystem than the exhilaration of navigating your way back to campus with your introweek sibling on the back of your bike after the pub-crawl? I mean who hasn’t experienced the elated, almost out-of-body experience of hopping on your rusty and faithful old Gazelle after a few-too-many beers to enjoy sweeping through the streets at speeds unimthe alcohol on your lower limbs. Or the utter in their true element: biking, whilst carrying a crate of beer, with an umbrella in one hand, and the hand of their ’schatje’ in the other?! We can’t forget the often unappreciated comfort of knowing you can hop on your bike for a last minute run to Culture Boat or Gall en Gall on a Thursday night, or the revitalizing joy of bathing in the last golden sun rays as you bike back from the Krommerijn after enjoying a day of bathing in the bacteria-infested waters.
Illustration © Summer Gadd
The end of my UCU career is slowly creeping into view and so, my goal of having written for the Boomerang before graduating brings me before my keyboard in a last-minute attempt at having some material evidence that I was a contributing member of the UCU community. For all
Of course, it’s not always fun and games. We’ve all gotten soaked to the bone on a dreadful Jumbo run in search for some garlic bread, or had a puncture on your way to an important meeting. Most of us will have probably gone mad desperately looking for our bike in Utrecht Central’s massive parking space and some will have probably gotten their ride stolen once or twice (only to replace it for a 10$ bike purchased by some sketchy dude on Voorstraat, thereby participating in the circular market of stolen bikes).. But nonetheless, we cycle on: because it’s fun, convenient, and free. Article continues on page 5
