Boomer and Gen X Financial Advisors Learn the Hard Way That Younger Colleagues and Clients Find Austin Powers “Not At All Groovy”
Still binge watching old movies? Be careful about discussing them at work-social events – Including the Zoom happy hours that have been popular among many firms during the peak months of the pandemic.
Classic comedy films that might have been viewed as entertaining – if risqué – to Boomers and Gen X’ers have proven to be downright triggering to Millennials and Zoomers.
In a recent call-out to WSR’s financial advisor registered readers, the Austin Powers franchise emerged as a frequent source of pop culture discord between the generations.
While comedian Mike Myers’ outrageous and raunchy spoof of the 1970s version of James Bond might be hilarious to Boomers and Gen Xers, members of these generations reported very negative feedback from their Millennial and Zoomer colleagues and clients about the films.
Here are the top six negative reactions received by Boomer and GenX financial advisors about the film franchise from Millennials and Zoomers:
- Steve in Chicago, Illinois: When I mentioned to a younger colleague that I thought the Austin Powers films were pretty funny, my colleague told me, “I really didn’t like the whole Fat Bastard character. It’s basically body shaming.”
- Jennifer in Hartford, Connecticut: A Zoomer client once mentioned to me that they didn’t enjoy the Dr. Evil character because she felt like it was “glorifying terrorism.” She added, “For me, the films are not at all groovy.”
- Becky in Austin, Texas: A Millennial colleague once said to me, “Why is Austin Powers described as a ‘swinger’? He’s not a swinger, he’s just sex-positive. Using the swinger term is the equivalent of male slut-shaming.”
- Jackson in Portland, Oregon: A Zoomer colleague mentioned to me that he had recently watched the first Austin Powers film. When I asked if he enjoyed it, I was told that android women with machine guns in their breasts made him feel as if the film was saying females who stand up for themselves are deadly.
- Elise in Atlanta, Georgia: I was really surprised to hear a Millennial client mention that the Austin Powers films promoted animal cruelty. When I asked why she had that point of view, the client referred to the following Dr. Evil line: “You know, I have one simple request, and that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads!”
- Andrew in San Jose, California: I have a Zoomer client who strongly objects to the Austin Powers franchise because of the Fat Bastard character. In his view, the use of the word bastard is offensive because “it shames somebody who doesn’t have a hetero-normative family background.”
Do YOU have an intergenerational pop culture fail story that you’d like to share with us? If so, email us at info@wealthsolutionsreport.com!
James Miller is a Contributing Editor & Research Analyst at Wealth Solutions Report. He can be reached via email at ContributingEd@wealthsolutionsreport.com
