I’m not old, OK! Middle-aged, at best—or worst—or something! Leave me alone! My mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be. But I’m. Not. Old.
Only, sometimes I certainly FEEL old.
I work with this theatre company. Every summer, we do Shakespeare in the park. This year, after a Covid-forced shutdown in 2020, we’re doing The Tempest. I play Sebastian, and despite my desperate entreaties, they’re refusing to allow me to burst into a rousing rendition of “Under the Sea,” but that’s another story. I enjoy working with this group, but inevitably I find myself surrounded by considerably younger people. A lot of college students or recent college grads seem to end up in the annual troupe. In the past, it hasn’t bothered me that much, but this year, perhaps because I’ve lost a year to virtual house arrest, the younguns just seem that much younger.
I’ve found myself utterly bemused by their cultural references. I think the main source of dissonance has to do with the fact that these people draw much of their cultural capital from the internet—from YouTube and Tik Tok and the like. Like, they actually watch YouTube, as if YouTube is something you watch.
I don’t get this. YouTube isn’t shows. . .YouTube is just. . .I don’t know… random clips of more or less entertaining value… Like, I’ll go to YouTube if I’m looking for something in particular, like a music video or Colbert’s last monologue or reassurance that Trump actually won the last election! Make America great again!!! Who actually goes to YouTube for, like, destination programming? And then my castmates will make references to YouTube “celebrities” (or “YouTubers” as I’m told they’re called) as if I’m supposed to know what they’re talking about!
Don’t even get me started on Tik Tok.
Maybe I am old.
