Bernice Afriyie | Arts Editor
Featured image: Emily, pictured above, is one of the young adults featured in the documentary My Millennial Life that follows 20-something year olds as they brace the reality of unemployment. | Courtesy of My Millennial Life
Globally, horizons are closing in, and the cause isn’t global warming. For baby boomers, the educational and occupational possibilities seemed endless, but for today’s millennials, occupational prospects don’t seem to be so bright. Our horizons aren’t as bountiful as they may have been 50 years ago. The culprit is in part the structure of formal education, and the resulting thousands, maybe millions, of students and recent graduates struggle to find meaningful employment and maintain hope in a sluggish economy.
My Millennial Life follows five 20-something year olds as they navigate through post-secondary education, the job market and expectations versus the reality of Canada’s dismal economy. Writer, director, producer and film professor Maureen Judge shows millennials that they’re not alone and that the issue of unemployment is institutional and epidemic.
A veteran of documentary and film, some of her notable works include Unveiled: the Mother Daughter Relationship, Living Dolls and FLicKeR.
“I wanted to make sure, first of all, that this film wasn’t just me, that the voices in the documentary were the voices of the young people who were in it,” shares Judge.
The documentary provides viewers with various perspectives covering a range of experiences and emotions that millennials may be going through. Hope, Emily, Meron, Mark and Tim dispel myths associated with millennials that they’re lazy, dumb or uneducated. As the documentary opens, there has been a 58 per cent increase in the percentage of 25 to 29 year olds with post-secondary degrees or diplomas since 1981, yet nearly half of them are unemployed or have temporary or dead-end jobs. The problem is not young adults, but the disconnect between education, conversion and careers.
Judge was moved to create the documentary while reading about what was going on in Spain and Greece in regards to the high unemployment rate among 20-something year olds and wondering what the cause of this was. Shocked, Judge turned her scrutiny towards Canada and the United States and was puzzled at what future, if any, was left for millennials.
“At first I thought, of course, my children are special. It’s not going to affect them,” admits Judge. “This isn’t their life. But as I started talking to young people, having interviews and just going with them to work, I realized that of course my kids are of their generation, just like how I’m of my generation.”
Judge’s trigger for creating the documentary highlights an important point of discussion for millennials and older generations: the fact that there isn’t enough discourse happening between the two. Judge hopes that by providing young people with a canvas to tell their stories, more informed discourse will result in better odds for young adults.
“I’m a big believer in education and the more education the better […] But as a boomer, we really promised education, but with the education, we also promised jobs. We also promised promotion. We promised a whole lifestyle and the thing is, those expectations were given to my kids and everybody’s kids. Those expectations aren’t being met. They’re not not being met by young people; they’re not being met by us.”
My Millennial Life is broadcasted by TVO and offers students an honest opinion that their liberal arts programs may not be giving them. Interested students, educators and the general public can attend the free screening of the documentary on December 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Toronto Reference Library. Alternatively, the film is available for streaming on TVO’s website. Judge will be available after the screening for a Q&A session.
