CBS' Survivor offers an irresistible gimmick this season with two teams that battle against each other for the last person standing to win $1 million: Millennials vs. Gen Xers.
Basically, the narrative throughout the 90-minute premiere was that millennials are spontaneous and creative, but wildly irresponsible. And Gen Xers are very thoughtful and careful, but maybe too slow.
"This division goes a lot deeper than just old versus young," host Jeff Probst cautioned. "[These are] two very different philosophical approaches to life."
The premiere seemed quite anti-millennial, using a series of tropes regularly used to bash the generation, from entitlement to laziness. One scene showed that even though there was a storm brewing, the millennials preferred to goof off in the ocean than build shelter. As a result, they spent a freezing night in the rain. Later, though, they beat the Gen Xers to win the immunity challenge.
Here are some of the most cliche millennial tropes used throughout the premiere: (Survivor is defining Gen Xers as born between 1963 and 1982 and millennials as being born from 1984 to 1997. Sorry, people born in 1983, you're nothing.)
• Millennials are too restless and immature to stay in one job.
"My generation, it's all about doing what you want to do, and I've done a lot," boasted 24-year-old Taylor, ticking off his jobs: Beekeeper, beer brewer, snowboard instructor. "I'm definitely a Peter Pan type. I'll never grow up."
• Millennials do not have real jobs.
"I play video games online for a living. And as an adult, you're constantly told: 'Grow up. Stop playing. It's not a game," said Mari, a 31-year-old from Los Angeles. "But I want to make my entire life about playing."
• Millennials live with their parents forever and let them pay for everything.
"I'm surprised at the 25-year-old kids that live at home and play video games all day," said Sunday, a 45-year-old youth pastor with four children.
• Millennials are coddled.
"We didn't always get a trophy to win. Only the winners got a trophy," said Paul, the oldest contestant at 52.
• Millennials are lazy.
"They don't work for anything. Everything is handed to them," CeCe, 39, said, while the millennial team looked very offended.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on CBS.
Style on 09/27/2016