By Ann Powers
Who is the voice of any generation? It’s a question that can’t be answered. Nor should it be, really. To choose one representative figure for a group that’s diverse in all ways but one contradicts the realities of race, region, gender, class and personal affinity.
As a forty-something white woman from Seattle who grew up on indie rock, I might choose Kurt Cobain as the voice of my generation. If I surveyed my friends, though, few would share my opinion. Danyel, who grew up in Oakland listening to hip-hop, would probably choose Tupac Shakur. My brother Patrick, who’s really into sports, vouches for Michael Jordan. Alex, a classical music critic, might choose someone whose work many of you don’t know: the composer John Adams. Rob, who was one of Microsoft’s first 100 employees, would say Bill Gates out of professional loyalty and Steve Jobs out of personal admiration.
Even that list contains more white guys than I’d like, mostly because even in our more liberated and (arguably) equitable times, women and people of color still hit glass ceilings as they climb to prominence. Then there’s the privileging of individual personhood. The Crimson White’s nicely argued final essay for this series, pitting Harry Potter against Mark Zuckerberg, glossed over a couple of truths: Potter’s a fictional character (created by a woman who’s not of your generation, but mine), and Zuckerberg’s user-powered interface, not his singular presence, make him notable. Such qualifications aside, it’s fun and useful to think about which famous folk best channel your own hopes and dreams. Your votes for this contest reveal the best fit for the voice of the current crop of students at the University of Alabama. Following that lead, I’m voting for Harry Potter to take home the big prize.
As a New College instructor, I’ve encountered many students who literally grew in tandem with “The Boy Who Lived.” Rowling smartly structured the books so that each got a little more complicated each time, so that the kids who were their first audience – you, the generation currently in college – would continue to feel just a little stretched by the experience. Unlike Facebook, which I can enjoy as much as you can, the Harry Potter series was created specifically for you. No younger readers will ever feel the same ownership of this artwork, the same kinship with its main characters.
For that reason, I choose Harry Potter as the Voice of Your Generation. Having done so, I urge you to grapple with this whole idea again, but come up with a chorus instead of a solo artist!
Ann Powers is a New College professor and a music critic for National Public Radio.
