I hope Tabitha doesn’t mind me posting this.
She mentions on her blog that these tasty snippets were actually overheard at the Ottawa festival this year. Should we talk about entitlement now and how it’s affecting our industry? Maybe I could enlist some readers to comment. Robbie?
Ha! Not sure what you want me to say Mike!
I was there the night that many of these quotes were born I am afraid. It was a bit like being at a Kevin Smith show, I kept expecting a guy dressed as Jesus to ask some questions!
I’m not sure these sorts of questions can be attributed only to the Y generation though. I think that every generation has those that want to find a way to stand out and try to impress those they admire. I’m pretty sure I have said some stupid things to famous people over the years.
Tabitha missed my favorite one of the night, Someone stood up to ask a question and proceeded to tell their life story for some time. Funny what the brain will do to you when you are nervous.
But you ask how it may be affecting our industry? It is but not in ways that we (old farts) may think. A sense of entitlement can work in your favor if you have the courage and energy to back it up. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron no? Every generation that comes into any industry in their 20’s has a sense of entitlement. We have all been there, or are there now, where we have felt that we can do better than those who are above us. Then we hunker down and prove it. It happens to everyone at some point. The danger of course is forgetting the lessons and not learning from others mistakes. Again this not exclusive to so called gen Y. It is a human condition.
I will say this, in the last ten years or so I have run across those that:
1. Have a sense of entitlement
2. Think they know better
3. Are not willing to learn from others
4. Are not willing to prove it.
Sadly these folk tend to last only a year or two before moving on to some other career.
I suspect the only difference now as to when I first started in animation is that there are many more people entering the industry. So it looks like there is more of those with this entitlement outlook.
When I was 19 starting out I think I was a real jerk. Now I just look like one.
I think it’s a whole cultural shift, not specific to animation.
While the myth of entitlement (“Anyone can be famous!”) has been around for so long, the Internet has introduced us to an environment where fame, recognition, and authority can happen in much finer degrees. There’s that part of our brain that gets enjoyment from recognition and approval, and is satisfied by having complete strangers saying “yes, you’re right! I agree with you”, or even “I hear you, but I think you’re wrong”. It just happens so much more now when we have millions more potential (and anonymous) listeners than we ever had.
… this post and this blog not withstanding, of course. 🙂
The first panel shows entitlement? Really??? It comes off more as the speaker making a value judgment.
I’m surprised there’s more than one female in the comic. Must have had a bumper crop out of the colleges a little while ago to have a 50/50 split 🙂
The first person was a kid on the festival bus. The other three were at Coraline. However these are not the worst questions I’ve heard! A few years ago Harrison Ford was in town for a Q&A about his embarassing movie “Firewall” and got himself completely intoxicated onstage with a bottle of red wine. Then some girl stood up and went on to tell her life story, then asked, “Mr Ford, I’m looking to get into acting, would you mind helping me out?? Can I give you my card??” He was already in a pissy mood, so his response was not pretty!