The Millennial Persona: Part II

If you are casting around (as I have been) for alternatives to Andy Sachs, Hannah Montana, and Harry Potter to epitomize the Millennial Persona, look no further. Joshua Glenn of the Boston Globe provides a comprehensive list of candidates by birth year from 1984-1993. His fresh takes on the subject include the observation that many of the icons of Gen M are actually throw backs to the fifties - think Nancy Drew, Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, High School Musical (a less edgy Grease). He also wonders at the sheer number of Millennial actresses called upon to play the role of 'princess':

I'm thinking of Lindsay Lohan ("Lifesize," in which a princess doll comes to life), Kiera Knightley ("Princess of Thieves," "King Arthur," plus every other role), Mandy Moore (supporting role in "The Princess Diaries"), Hilary Duff ("A Cinderella Story," plus she's sort of a princess in "Material Girls" and "The Lizzie McGuire Movie"), Amanda Bynes ("What A Girl Wants," also sort of a princess), Scarlett Johansson ("The Other Boleyn Girl"), and Michelle Trachtenberg ("Ice Princess"). Plus India Oxenberg on the reality show "I Married a Princess.

Glenn points out that many of the most successful TV shows aimed at young girls suggest princess-dom without the crown: Nickelodeon's "iCarly" is about a schoolgirl with a globally popular website, "Hannah Montana," Miley Cyrus plays an average kid by day who's a rock 'n' roll superstar by night. Are Millennials as insipid as these fictional princesses and fifties personas suggest? Until real life achiever Millennials emerge, we may have to live with these fictional personas.