Lifestyle
A Call for Millennial Complaints Draws an Enormous Crowd
It started when Erika Mackley, a 34-year-old art director from Detroit, posed a tongue-in-cheek question to users on X: “i don’t want to hear your most boomer complaint. what’s your most millennial complaint?”
A “boomer complaint” is a concept that has floated around for a while. Typical ones might include people not working as hard anymore or everyone using their phone too much. Ms. Mackley’s post this week, aimed at a younger generation, prompted a mix of gripes and jokes, with posts about bringing heels back to the club, the golden age of comedy films (think “Horrible Bosses” and “Step Brothers”) and a longing for the return of television shows with 24-episode seasons.
“Everybody’s ringtone should still be a 30 second cut of their favorite song in terrible quality,” wrote Dom Pappagallo, 27, an actor from Boston.
As fellow millennials flooded Ms. Mackley’s replies it became clear that members of her generation were nostalgic for a relatively recent past that already felt far away, when large social issues like misinformation, fragmentation and artificial intelligence seemed less prevalent. And for an era in which social media was a place for harmless banter and fun.
Most of the responses — which were hardly limited to actual millennials — did not reach back to the 1990s, but rather to a prepandemic society, when technology seemed more user friendly and personal finances seemed more manageable.
Some mentioned inflation, with one user commenting on the desire for both avocado toast and a house, referring to a trope of almost a decade ago that said millennials would never be able to afford the latter if they kept buying the former. Others yearned for the days of cheaper Ubers, Chipotle bowls and concert tickets.
Many complaints focused on technology and digital media, drawing attention to just how much the world of social media has changed since millennials were coming of age.
The post came at a time of upheaval in the world of social media. Since Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, the platform, now called X, has undergone seismic changes. Facebook has removed fact-checking as Mark Zuckerberg pushes the concept of “masculine energy.” A.I. has transformed how people consume content online. And on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a federal law that effectively bans TikTok in the United States starting next week.
But the replies to Ms. Mackley looked back further than the current troubles.
Tristan T.A. Hill, 36, a film director from Los Angeles, joked, “The fall of buzzfeed and society collapsing really go hand in hand.”
He remembered when, between 2016 and 2018, BuzzFeed was his go-to source for funny content, and sometimes news, with it all packaged in a millennial’s voice. Now, he said, with “everyone having their own social media and everyone being their own content influencers, it just created a lot more noise.”
“And then with the A.I. stuff, you don’t even know what to trust anymore,” Mr. Hill added. “The misinformation is going crazy.”
Shaelyn Avalon, a 28-year-old singer in Los Angeles, whose millennial complaint was about QR codes at restaurants, commented on the increased segmentation of social media.
“Group think has been a lot heavier on social media the past couple of years,” she said, which to her feels different from when she first created a YouTube channel in 2013.
According to X’s metrics, Ms. Mackley’s post soliciting complaints was seen more than 50 million times.
“Our generation kind of drew the short stick a little bit,” she said in a phone interview. “I’m in my 30s. We’re getting older and it seems like, compared to our parents, we’re not where we’re supposed to be. A lot of the responses I saw were, ‘We’re probably never going to own a home’ and ‘We’re working these insane hours.’”
A “millennial complaint,” she said, is “about not being able to get ahead,” with a dose of humor. “Millennials seem to process things through memes.”
Inflation and rising costs have been dampening morale, and perhaps a post like this drew so many replies because people are yearning for a time when things felt easier and more relaxed. Every generation is wary of changes, and now, with most millennials over 30, it’s their turn to express their grievances, Ms. Mackley said.
Ms. Mackley said she felt nostalgic reading through the responses, including one comment about the decline of flash games. “I remember going on Nickelodeon’s website and playing the ‘Hey Arnold!’ game growing up,” she said.
“People were reliving their youth and their pre-30 days,” Mr. Hill said of the responses, adding that he often reminisces on times when people danced more at parties and when going out was less expensive.
“I’m just not able to do the things that I thought were so much fun back then because there’s more restrictions and it’s more expensive to be outside now,” he said. “I always have friends that joke it costs $100 to leave the house.”
Ms. Mackley said that though she feels like “things are going downhill,” she wonders: “Is it just because I’m getting older?”
“The older generation always feels that way, right?,” said Cathy Carr, 63, a writer from Montclair, N.J. whose “millennial complaint” was about ghosting. “I mean, my father felt that way about us.”
Lifestyle
In ‘No Other Choice,’ a loyal worker gets the ax — and starts chopping
Lee Byung-hun stars in No Other Choice.
NEON
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NEON
In an old Kids in the Hall comedy sketch called “Crazy Love,” two bros throatily proclaim their “love of all women” and declare their incredulity that anyone could possibly take issue with it:
Bro 1: It is in our very makeup; we cannot change who we are!
Bro 2: No! To change would mean … (beat) … to make an effort.
I thought about that particular exchange a lot, watching Park Chan-wook’s latest movie, a niftily nasty piece of work called No Other Choice. The film isn’t about the toxic lecherousness of boy-men, the way that KITH sketch is. But it is very much about men, and that last bit: the annoyed astonishment of learning that you’re expected to change something about yourself that you consider essential, and the extreme lengths you’ll go to avoid doing that hard work.
Many critics have noted No Other Choice‘s satirical, up-the-minute universality, given that it involves a faceless company screwing over a hardworking, loyal employee. As the film opens, Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) has been working at a paper factory for 25 years; he’s got the perfect job, the perfect house, the perfect family — you see where this is going, right? (If you don’t, even after the end of the first scene, when Man-su calls his family over for a group hug while sighing, “I’ve got it all,” then I envy your blithe disinterest in how movies work. Never change, you beautiful blissful Pollyanna, you.)
He gets canned, and can’t seem to find another job in his beloved paper industry, despite going on a series of dehumanizing interviews. His resourceful wife Miri (Son Ye-jin) proves a hell of a lot more adaptable than he does, making practical changes to the family’s expenses to weather Man-su’s situation. But when foreclosure threatens, he resolves to eliminate the other candidates (Lee Sung-min, Cha Seung-won) for the job he wants at another paper factory — and, while he’s at it, maybe even the jerk (Park Hee-soon) to whom he’d be reporting.
So yes, No Other Choice is a scathing spoof of corporate culture. But the director’s true satirical eye is trained on the interpersonal — specifically the intractability of the male ego.
Again and again, the women in the film (both Son Ye-jin as Miri and the hilarious Yeom Hye-ran, who plays the wife of one of Man-su’s potential victims) entreat their husbands to think about doing something, anything else with their lives. But these men have come to equate their years of service with a pot-committed core identity as men and breadwinners; they cling to their old lives and seek only to claw their way back into them. Man-su, for example, unthinkingly channels the energy that he could devote to personal and professional growth into planning and executing a series of ludicrously sloppy murders.
It’s all satisfyingly pulpy stuff, loaded with showy, cinematic homages to old-school suspense cinematography and editing — cross-fades, reverse-angles and jump cuts that are deliberately and unapologetically Hitchcockian. That deliberateness turns out to be reassuring and crowd-pleasing; if you’re tired of tidy visual austerity, of films that look like TV, the lushness on display here will have you leaning back in your seat thinking, “This right here is cinema, goddammit.”
Narratively, the film is loaded with winking jokes and callbacks that reward repeat viewing. Count the number of times that various characters attempt to dodge personal responsibility by sprinkling the movie’s title into their dialogue. Wonder why one character invokes the peculiar image of a madwoman screaming in the woods and then, only a few scenes later, finds herself chasing someone through the woods, screaming. Marvel at Man-su’s family home, a beautifully ugly blend of traditional French-style architecture with lumpy Brutalist touches like exposed concrete balconies jutting out from every wall.
There’s a lot that’s charming about No Other Choice, which might seem an odd thing to note about such a blistering anti-capitalist screed. But the director is careful to remind us at all turns where the responsibility truly lies; say what you will about systemic economic pressure, the blood stays resolutely on Man-su’s hands (and face, and shirt, and pants, and shoes). The film repeatedly offers him the ability to opt out of the system, to abandon his resolve that he must return to the life he once knew, exactly as he knew it.
Man-su could do that, but he won’t, because to change would mean to make an effort — and ultimately men would rather embark upon a bloody murder spree than go to therapy.
Lifestyle
Austin airport to nearly double in size over next decade
AUSTIN, Texas – Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will nearly double in size over the next decade.
The airport currently has 34 gates. With the expansion projects, it will increase by another 32 gates.
What they’re saying:
Southwest, Delta, United, American, Alaska, FedEx, and UPS have signed 10-year use-and lease agreements, which outline how they operate at the airport, including with the expansion.
“This provides the financial foundation that will support our day-to-day operations and help us fund the expansion program that will reshape how millions of travelers experience AUS for decades to come,” Ghizlane Badawi, CEO of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said.
Concourse B, which is in the design phase, will have 26 gates, estimated to open in the 2030s. Southwest Airlines will be the main tenant with 18 gates, United Airlines will have five gates, and three gates will be for common use. There will be a tunnel that connects to Concourse B.
“If you give us the gates, we will bring the planes,” Adam Decaire, senior VP of Network Planning & Network Operations Control at Southwest Airlines said.
“As part of growing the airport, you see that it’s not just us that’s bragging about the success we’re having. It’s the airlines that want to use this airport, and they see advantage in their business model of being part of this airport, and that’s why they’re growing the number of gates they’re using,” Mayor Kirk Watson said.
Dig deeper:
The airport will also redevelop the existing Barbara Jordan Terminal, including the ticket counters, security checkpoints, and baggage claim. Concourse A will be home to Delta Air Lines with 15 gates. American Airlines will have nine gates, and Alaska Airlines will have one gate. There will be eight common-use gates.
“Delta is making a long-term investment in Austin-Bergstrom that will transform travel for years to come,” Holden Shannon, senior VP for Corporate Real Estate at Delta Air Lines said.
The airport will also build Concourse M — six additional gates to increase capacity as early as 2027. There will be a shuttle between that and the Barbara Jordan Terminal. Concourse M will help with capacity during phases of construction.
There will also be a new Arrivals and Departures Hall, with more concessions and amenities. They’re also working to bring rideshare pickup closer to the terminal.
City officials say these projects will bring more jobs.
The expansion is estimated to cost $5 billion — none of which comes from taxpayer dollars. This comes from airport revenue, possible proceeds, and FAA grants.
“We’re seeing airlines really step up to ensure they are sharing in the infrastructure costs at no cost to Austin taxpayers, and so we’re very excited about that as well,” Council Member Vanessa Fuentes (District 2) said.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Angela Shen
Lifestyle
After years of avoiding the ER, Noah Wyle feels ‘right at home’ in ‘The Pitt’
Wyle, who spent 11 seasons on ER, returns to the hospital in The Pitt. Now in Season 2, the HBO series has earned praise for its depiction of the medical field. Originally broadcast April 21, 2025.
Hear The Original Interview
Television
After years of avoiding the ER, Noah Wyle feels ‘right at home’ in ‘The Pitt’
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