Remembering an icon from the "Me-Decade"

Last week, the 1980s arose from the dead. Tiffany did her thing in the Quad, her melodies whisking us to a pre Bar-Mitzvah era. And American chronicler Tom Wolfe hooked up here for an hour, a man whose legend status was cemented with his sensationalized book The Bonfire of the Vanities, a tale about the "Me Decade," where he role cast greed and power in New York. All this 1980s symbolism got me thinking. Who, or what, is the best icon of the eighties? What character captures the spirit of that decade in a way that relates to us? I'll help you narrow it down. It's not Magic nor Larry. It ain't Ronnie or Gorby. Not even Iceman or Maverick. And the winner (drum roll please): Michael J. Fox's notorious television personality, Alex P. Keaton. The prodigal son from Family Ties served as an idol to millions of young Americans. Granted, those who enjoyed his antics were usually pre-pubescent preppies climbing up the corporate ladder in grade school, but that shouldn't detract from the lure of Alex P. Keaton's likability and conviction. Here was a teenager who was going places. He was the typical product of the 1980s. It was a decade that produced an endless supply of aggressive, younger Americans eager to bask in the successes of unfettered capitalism, service-oriented work, and live by the mantra of enlightened self-interest. The era of Reagan was centered on economic virility and conservative values. He sauntered through the house in a suit and tie, spouting Reaganomics and causing girls to take notice at members of Young Republican clubs. Always dressed perfectly in his coat and tie, Keaton slept below a poster of William F. Buckley. His most prized possession was an autographed photo of Nixon, which he kissed every night before he went to sleep. He loved money, and made no bones about it. After Alex landed his first job on Wall Street ($75,000 a year), his father Steven, a PBS producer, asked: "Alex, that is a lot of money; it's very impressive. But don't forget to ask yourself this question: Will it bring you fulfillment?" His response: "Dad, it'll bring it, it'll clean it, and it will have it pressed for me in the morning." What a guy. None of this new age soul-happiness crap. This was a college grad that measured success by the size of his wallet. Explaining his earning potential to his sister, Alex compared himself to her boyfriend Nick, the starving-artist type: "Well, Mal, you know how much money Nick will make in his entire lifetime? I should pass him by Thursday." And people said the eighties died along with Meatloaf and the "disappearance" of cocaine from trading floors. Yet for all of Alex P. Keaton's charm, he could never survive on television today, even as a parody. I'm sure several of you are dreaming up letters to the editor right now that will succinctly capture Keaton's faults. But despite the natural list of complaints (probably sexist, definitely money hungry and only a role model for a select few), he is still a strong personality type that dominated that decade -- and still exists today. Placing Alex P. Keaton in his environment, Family Ties adeptly captured a growing generation gap between idealistic baby-boomers-turned-old and their capitalistic, conservative children. The producers also synthesized how time interacts with character. Alex's parents could never understand how they spawned him. Two grown hippies should not amount to one 19-year-old future investment banker. Furthermore, television and entertainment today haven't even attempted to define generational attitudes, whether good or bad, in their characterizations. Despite what some of you may think of Alex P. Keaton, he was a constructive guy. He loved politics, economics and his friends. He went to college and was going to work in a business (banking) that many people here aspire toward. Today's popular television shows display a world that revolves around relationships, not careers, goals or the larger social issues that shows like Family Ties or M*A*S*H defined for an entire country. The aggressive type-A television character intrigued by anything meaningful has all but disappeared. Friends would never broach issues of politics, economics or have the characters display any ambition like Family Ties. That would be way too risky. Instead, they focus on more important issues -- like Ross' new girlfriend, how Monica used to be fat and Phoebe's pseudo-retarded songwriting career. Our generation is stuck with horrible entertainment icons. At least Alex P. Keaton was about real things. In 10 years, who will people finger as the icon of the late 1990s? Will it be Chandler and Joey? Samantha from Sex in the City? If so, people will think that the nineties were mindless, a vacuum filled with small talk, surrounded by a callow culture. Better, maybe Jerry Seinfeld and his buddies will emerge as the victorious symbol. In that case, people can proclaim that the time of our adolescence is best summarized by a show that, as its producers smilingly admitted, was about nothing.

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