What is a Xennial, exactly?
If you were born somewhere between 1977 and 1983 like me, there’s a good chance you’ve never quite felt at home in either generation you get grouped into. Too young for Gen X yet too old for millennials, we belong to a “micro-generation” that didn’t even have a name until 2014, when writer Sarah Stankorb coined the term “Xennial” for GOOD Magazine.
Looking back on the moment years later, Stankorb wrote, “It’s strange, having a public but evidently forgettable claim to fame.” The term stuck anyway. It’s now recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary, and Merriam-Webster has been tracking its rise in everyday use for years.
Xennials remember life before the internet, and exactly when it arrived
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What makes Xennials different from the generations on either side isn’t just their birth years. It’s the way they grew up analog and came of age as things went digital. Here’s the ultimate, era-by-era list of the movies that shaped them. If you’re Xennial like me, do you agree?
The VHS-era classics that defined Xennial childhood
VHS tapes were the heart of every Xennial’s movie-watching childhood
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Poltergeist (1982) — Yes, this was a scary movie, but it had a lot of heart, wasn’t very gory (one face scene notwithstanding), and had a captivating story. You really care about the family at the center of this film. It’s the suburban haunted-house movie that made an entire generation a little leery of swimming pools and static on the TV screen.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) — This sentimental flick is about an adorable alien who is found and protected by children. It quickly stole our hearts. Nearly every Xennial had some E.T. merch, and my family owned the movie on VHS years before we actually owned a VCR. I think it’s the greatest alien film ever made; it really holds up even now.
The NeverEnding Story (1984) — Artax in the Swamp of Sadness broke more childhood hearts than any film has a right to. To be honest, I’m still a bit traumatized. The rest of the movie was wonderful, and as a bullied kid, I just loved the ending. My sister Holly and I watched it over and over again. I know we weren’t alone.
Return to Oz (1985) — Filmmakers had no problem heaping trauma via cinema on Xennials throughout our childhood. The Wheelers scared me way more than any horror film ever did. Return to Oz is darker and weirder than the 1939 original, this one gave an entire generation genuinely unsettling nightmares about both The Wheelers and Princess Mombi taking off her head. Fairuza Balk is fantastic as Dorothy Gale, and I actually love this one better than the original.
Back to the Future (1985) — What’s not to love about Back to the Future? It has Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, a DeLorean, and a time-travel plot every kid spent recess trying to explain to their friends. I was a little too young for it when it hit theaters, but I came to love it as a teen in the 1990s.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) — Here’s the ultimate “skip school and seize the day” fantasy. Ferris takes the day off and hilarity ensues! Since I loved skipping school to avoid the misery and bullying, I thought this was just a fabulous film.
Labyrinth (1986) — David Bowie stars in Labyrinth in impossibly tight pants and a puppet-filled maze. This movie was so endearing, yet it was also a formative, slightly confusing experience for many. The soundtrack to this movie is amazing and underrated, and I highly recommend listening to it now.
Stand by Me (1986) — Based on a short story by Stephen King and directed by Rob Reiner, Stand by Me is the ultimate coming-of-age movie for 1980s kids although it was set in the 1960s. It revolves around four kids who set out on a morbid mission but discover a lot about themselves and each other. It’s still the definitive movie about the last summer of childhood before everything changes.
An American Tail (1986) — “Somewhere Out There” is permanently lodged in the Xennial subconscious. I remember singing it loudly in my room over and over again. An American Tail was an epic animal tale about a very young mouse named Fievel Mousekewitz who gets lost from his family on their way from Russia to America.
Saturday afternoons at the video store
A trip to the video store was the highlight of every Xennial weekend
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Beetlejuice (1988) — Tim Burton’s weirdness hit exactly right for a generation raised on the slightly macabre. It had a stellar cast full of icons of the 1980s, too.
Do The Right Thing (1989) — Spike Lee produced, wrote, and directed Do The Right Thing, and he also acted in it. The independent comedy-drama captured so much about that specific place, culture, and time over the course of a story set in a single, hot summer day.
Troop Beverly Hills (1989) — Here’s a scrappy cult classic about a Beverly Hills mom turned Wilderness Girls troop leader that never got the credit it deserved on release. Shelley Long’s comedic timing is incredible as always in this film.
Home Alone (1990) — This is the movie that made Macaulay Culkin the ultimate Xennial child star. Watching Home Alone is a holiday tradition that’s still on repeat every December. (I personally love its sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, even better than the first one, so I recommend not skipping the sequel to this one.)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) — This movie made every kid on the playground reenact the liquid-metal T-1000. It was an action movie that pre-teens and young teens found captivating, and I still remember the day we rented it from our local Blockbuster.
My Girl (1991) — Here’s a movie that’s endearing with just the right sprinkle of comedy and a heap of tragedy that destroyed us. Vada Sultenfuss is such a great character, and Anna Chlumsky gives an unforgettable performance.
Father of the Bride (1991) — Steve Martin and Diane Keaton are magical to watch as the parents of the bride. Kimberly Williams-Paisley made her debut in this movie that made her forever a star. It’s the movie that had us all dreaming about the ideal wedding.
Gas Food Lodging (1992) — Allison Anders is one of the greatest directors of all time, and she paved her own path in independent cinema in the 1990s. Gas Food Lodging is a beautifully written, directed, and acted movie about a single mom and her two daughters. It doesn’t get nearly enough credit for shaping the decade’s coming-of-age genre.
Jurassic Park (1993) — More than a hit, Jurassic Park was a cultural event. Tom Pollack, chairman of Universal’s motion picture group at the time, said “Films of this stature come along only once in a decade” as the movie raced toward $700 million worldwide, according to a 1993 UPI report. It became the highest-grossing film ever made until Titanic dethroned it four years later, according to Variety’s retrospective.
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) — Robin Williams was so extraordinary, and he brought so much heart to Mrs. Doubtfire. The child cast was also superb and so was Sally Field playing hte children’s mother. They all somehow made a divorce movie feel like comfort viewing.
The golden age of the mall movie theater
Opening weekend at the mall multiplex was a Xennial rite of passage.
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Dolores Claiborne (1995) — If ever there was a movie that captured the pain of what it’s true like to survive trauma and abuse, I think it’s Dolores Claiborne. Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh both deserved Oscars for their incredible acting in this movie. It’s so much more than a mother-daughter thriller, and it’s riveting to watch from start to finish.
Clueless (1995) — Alicia Silverstone shined in Clueless, and so did the supporting cast including the wonderful Brittany Murphy. It defined a decade of slang, fashion, and plaid.
Scream (1996) — Written by Kevin Williamson, who would soon see massive success with Dawson’s Creek, Scream reinvented horror for a generation raised on slashers and irony in equal measure.
The Sweet Hereafter (1997) — Atom Egoyan’s devastating small-town drama is a remarkable movie with a standout performance by Sarah Polley. She also sings in the film and on the soundtrack, and I’ve been wanting more songs from her ever since.
Titanic (1997) — Did ever Xennial see this over a dozen times at the cinema, or was that just me? I’ve been following Kate Winslet’s career ever since this movie came out. With Titanic, James Cameron created a movie that will last forever and is still just as captivating to see today.
Practical Magic (1998) — With the long-awaited Practical Magic 2 about to his theaters in September, it’s a great time to re-watch the original Practical Magic. Based on Alice Hoffman’s novel of the same time, Practical Magic was directed by the multi-talented Griffin Dunne, and its story of magic and sisterhood will always have a place in the hearts of millions of girls who grew up with it It also has a killer soundtrack and the kind of cozy-autumn atmosphere that still gets the movie rediscovered every October.
The Matrix (1999) — This is the film that rewired how an entire generation thought about reality, action choreography, and sunglasses. Keanu Reeves shines as the star of this movie and really makes us believe the whole world the film invites us in.
Growing up (and moving out) on DVD
Owning movies on DVD was a milestone of Xennial early adulthood.
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Fight Club (1999) — Here’s a film that launched a thousand dorm-room posters and philosophy-major arguments.
Almost Famous (2000) — This movie made Kate Hudson a star and captured all our Xennial hearts. It’s a love letter to music and growing up, and the supporting cast really make the film memorable.
Legally Blonde (2001) — Could there be a more lovable Gemini vegetarian than Elle Woods? The new prequel show, Elle, is a hit on Amazon Prime, with Reese Witherspoon as an executive producer who was heavily involved in the production. Legally Blonde holds up so well, and I recommend watching it before delving into the prequel show.
Why Xennial nostalgia keeps going viral
What ties these movies together isn’t just a shared release window. It’s the specific, in-between way Xennials experienced them: first going to the cinema, renting before streaming, rewinding before rewatching, and growing up as the very technology that eventually changed movies forever was first introduced. That’s probably why Xennial movie nostalgia keeps resurfacing online years later. There’s something special about remembering exactly what it felt like to watch them for the first time.
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