When in 1989
Fernando Arrabal
pronounced on TVE that
millennialism is going to arrive
, in reality he did not know and nobody expected that it would be in March 2021. It was not the end of all humanity, only that of a generation.
Because
Zelda Barnz
, 19 years old, and
Genera + ion
have definitively sealed the decline of the
millennial
hegemony
.
Now the speech belongs to Generation Z, those born in the late 90s and early 2000s have killed the father and taken power.
"It is very important that our generation be given the opportunity to tell our own stories. Often these series are very nostalgic for the high school stage, people watch them because they want to remember their teenage years, and that is rare to see when you're in high school. "
Zelda Barnz is the voice of the
zeta
asking for space and the 16 chapters of her
Genera + ion
series
, which from today opens the first three chapters in Spain through HBO, is the manifesto.
A girl giving birth in a bathroom, her friend looking for a solution on her cell phone, a teenager masturbating in front of the computer and tasting his own semen, a young
queer
black man
with a navel top strolling in front of the whole institute.
That is the cover letter of the new
teen
fiction
, emerged from the mind of a 15-year-old girl in a summer camp - and brought to the screen under the direction of one of her parents
Daniel Barnz
and the production of
Lena Dunham
- , who has come to compete with
Euphoria
as the new adolescent phenomenon.
The beginnings at age 15
"I had realized about a year ago that I was bisexual and I thought it was time to tell my parents so I sent them a letter. 'This is all I'm doing at camp, everything is fine. I'm bisexual. He loves you, Zelda. 'From that moment my parents and I began to have conversations about sexuality and identity and the spark of this larger conversation emerged about how this differs in our generations, "explains Barnz to Papel about a fiction that begins today in Spain the first part of its first season, which throughout 2021 will show the second and that the true "reality" of
postmillennials lands
.
And, at the center of that reality, identity, sexuality, diversity and the "acceptance" of the
LGTBIQ +
concept
.
"Generation Z is especially open and we want to see ourselves faithfully represented, there cannot be a series about us without
queer
people
in the center because it simply would not be real," says its creator, who continues: "
Genera + ion
focuses on
queer
characters
very different from others in the past. Their sexuality is a big part of who they are but it is not their complete personality, many are gay, but their sexuality is not the only thing that defines their narratives. "
The question is simple: teenagers in a high school in
Anaheim
, Southern
California
, being teenagers in 2021. "We chose Anaheim because it did not seem real to us to have many characters who define themselves openly
queer
in a small town. It had to be a place with more population and that our characters will experience the rejection of their community for being
queer
. Anaheim is relatively conservative and big enough to show that reality ", details Zelda Barnz, who will finally bring her series to television under the direction of one of her parents, Daniel
A sexual script with his father
But how does a teenage girl write a script based on "personal experiences" about sexuality with her father?
"At first, there were a couple of awkward moments, it was strange to write a script together with explicit material. Then we got to a point where we understood that we had to be honest with each other and that paved the way for more honest communication in our life in general (...) Much of my life has inspired
Genera + ion
, but there is also a lot of fiction ".
A fiction in which the profiles of the actors take on great importance, fleeing from the
previous
teen
series model
.
"We wanted this to look authentic and it's hard to do that with 27-year-old actors or models posing as 16-year-olds, we needed teenagers to feel like teenagers," says Zelda Barnz.
No
John Travolta
or
Olivia Newton John
playing schoolboys in their late thirties, twentysomethings living their own lives on camera.
This is how
Chloe East
,
Uly Schlesinger
,
Justice Smith
,
Lukita Maxwell
,
Chase Sui Wonders
or
Haley Sánchez appeared
.
A diverse and racialized casting, just what its creator proposed, and whose names will end up sounding along with those of
Zendaya
or
Hunter Schafer
as the future - already present - of the audiovisual industry.
"I just hope that the kids of my generation see this and feel truly represented on screen, that they feel accepted, loved and that they can see themselves as they really are."
As has already happened with
Euphoria
or
We are who are
, the two great recent HBO teen series.
With one difference: now it is they, the
Zetas
themselves
, who are going to decide what to talk about.
Because, let's not forget,
millennialism
is dead.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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See links of interest
2021 business calendar
Atlético - Athletic, live
PSG - Barcelona, live
Liverpool - RB Leipzig