----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Covey writes: "I'm a bit confused by this "Generation X" topic. Aren't "X" films a subset of a generic category that is already in place--that of so-called YOUTH FILMS? If this is not the case, what criteria is used to define RUMBLEFISH (which was mentioned) as an X film when it was released before the general use of the term and stars many young men who qualify as "tail-end" baby boomers, and is directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a book by S.E. Hinton? Might this argument work better if you examined what defines an X film and how such a film might differ from the vast array of preexisting youth films? Jon Lewis's recent Routledge book might be of some help too. Have I somehow missed the original definition of a Gen X movie?" And what about retro-X movies? I understand the kids these days are still wild about that James Dean! --Don Larsson, Mankato State U., MN