Making History: Unforgettable Events

Illinois Senator Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States on January 20th, 2009. His election marked the first time that a minority has held office as Commander in Chief of the U.S.A. This is one of many historical events that will be associated with the iGeneration because of their vast support for the Obama campaign. As a whole, the history that has occurred in our lifetime closely resembles that of previous ages.

The War on Terrorism closely resembles the Vietnam Conflict of the 1970's because of its lack of support coming from Americans and the Presidential determination for victory. Even today, media coverage shows that there is dwindling support for the war and that popular American opinion is that the war has no purpose. The Obama victory almost resembles the election of John F. Kennedy to office because it marked the first time someone from their demographic had been elected as President. Also, the Recession we are currently going through is almost like the 1929 Stock Market Crash (to a lesser extent). All of these historical events can be found in pop culture, such as the Will.I.Am song titled, "Yes We Can", written about the ideals and vision of Barack Obama. The song "My President" by rapper Young Jeezy was written about the election of an African-American president (the song was aimed at the black demographic, probably those of the iGeneration based on the genre of the music). Media coverage of his inauguration was broadcast to record numbers of televisions around the world. Young Jeezy has even titled his latest album "The Recession" to take advantage of the fear of another depression. Another historical disaster, the Hurricane Katrina incident found its way into pop culture in songs, such as "Get Your Hustle On" by rapper Juvenile (music video depicts a post-Katrina New Orleans). Another song involving the disaster, "Minority Report" by Jay-Z, directly addresses the issue of post-disaster action and the lack thereof. Much controversy surrounded the lack of response by hurricane/disaster relief organization FEMA and the coverage of the event by FOX News. This generation has many different historical events that will be forever associated with us. What are some other historical events that you believe will be associated with us? How are these events portrayed through our media?