THE EASTWOOD PARK

fiction

Scene: Seraphina Youthrose sitting beside her stepmother, Mildred Sagewood, on a park bench in Eastwood Park. They enjoy the euphonious sound of street singers and the morning chirping birds, engaged in a lively conversation about the upcoming movies and television series that they would spend their afternoon relishing over.

Seraphina Youthrose (gazing across the road towards the violin player): I wonder if I would spend my time similarly if I could play an instrument. I’d definitely play the violin, or maybe the piano, nope definitely electric guitar.

Mildred Sagewood: Hard to choose, isn’t it? Each instrument holds a different timbre even when playing the same note. All the gorgeous melodies are just so soulful and insightful. You know, when I was younger, I used to be in a band. Music was the source of life in our time, Sting, Billy Joel, The Bangles, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Shania Twain, Prince, and others, it was practically impossible to breathe without their mellifluous sound filling my ears. I do sometimes wonder whether your generation still listens to these singers.

Seraphina Youthrose: Maybe, depending on the kind of family and friends we grew up with. Do you think these singers were famous all over the world or was it similar to how it’s now with every region having its own type of music and singers?

Mildred Sagewood: Well, the ratio of singers from different cultures has increased with the escalation of technology. The more instruments and equipment they could get their hands on, the more they were likely to produce. Mexican music, South Asian music, K-pop, and Folk music, are more known around the world in our current times and of course, it helps that there are several platforms where creators can express their emotions through dance and music.

Seraphina Youthrose: Genuinely, I think that the increase in various cultural music acquaints us with a change of subject regarding lyrical choices besides romance and heartbreak. Especially since many artists cover issues that are considered taboo in your time. A few American singers and songwriters explore the effects of mental and emotional health, especially depression, anxiety, self-acceptance and several social issues.

Mildred Sagewood: Ah, yes what’s her name, the blonde, with black goo coming out of her eyes, the one who needs God’s help more on demonic possession than depression.

Seraphina Youthrose: That would be Billie Eilish, although there are several artists that are considerably less going towards looking like no face or venom. Like Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Naomi Judd, etc. Their vulnerability and introspective lyrics have resonated with our youth, promoting conversations questioning previous generations and their lifestyles.

Not to mention how the global phenomenon K-Pop has transcended language and cultural barriers along with conveying messages of self-love and mental health awareness.

Mildred Sagewood: In my time these concepts were prohibited to be freely discussed, disabling us to express any emotion except positivity and love, although in our time we had several songs relating to world wars and problems on more of a global level, not something people focus on in your generation. (She added mockingly).

Seraphina Youthrose: I guess not, but even then, mental and emotional health has taken a toll on our youth for long enough and it’s best to break the cycle of us being unheard.

Scene: As their conversation concerning generational differences between Generation Z, Baby Boomers and Generation X went on, a silvery harsh voice cut in to set forth the remarkable idea of the difference of movies and television between our current youth and their parents.

Simultaneously their heads turned to locate the source of the voice to find a young boy sitting with his grandmother, striking up a new question from Mildred about what if the media of expression changed.

Seraphina Youthrose: Movies, yes, our original topic of discussion, how do we humans manage to stray so far away from our goals?

Mildred Sagewood: Satan’s minions at work again of course.

Seraphina Youthrose: Of course, well, stepmother, tell me what the movies were about in the mid to late 1900s.

Mildred Sagewood: Well, movies are a completely different topic, I mean ours were either about love or meeting an enthusiastic scientist with Einstein’s hair to go back in time and accidentally becoming your own father. But we did have several beautiful romance and classical movies. The movies in the 1980s to ’90s depicted a more innocent and simpler time, you know.

Seraphina Youthrose: I suppose, but several filmmakers have changed their dynamics of subplots and have started to address different cultures and social problems. Although both are quite vast, it’s pleasing to our hearts and minds to find these common problems being faced by the youth of diverse backgrounds caused by a line of generational trauma. Do you remember the movie ‘Turning Red’, along with discussing the difficulties of Asian descent children, it also talked about the societal problems a young female encounters as she faces puberty. With vivid colour and joyful music, the sagacious movie ‘Encanto’ delved into the uniqueness of choosing your own path in the chance of losing your loved ones but also calling out on the elders that put the weight of the world on us and expect us to follow in their footsteps. For several, it was the forcedness of arranged marriages or being worthy of love only when living out the life expected of us by our elders. The delightful and inspirational movie ‘Coco’ by Pixar gracefully explores the themes of family, remembrance, and celebration of Mexican culture through their subplot of the ‘Day of the Dead’. Even the movie ‘Spiderman: Across the Spider-verse’, inquired into the feeling of isolation and making difficult choices that don’t always agree and please everyone especially when we are young, or that, as Miles Morales demonstrated, making our own pathways instead of only concentrating on the sadness of one. Not to mention the miraculous spider woman on her motorbike! Who wasn’t only pregnant but also a person of colour.

Mildred Sagewood: (she giggled at her stepdaughter’s enthusiasm while circulating again towards the idea of simplicity in her time): Yes, of course, I guess the audience in my time preferred simple and cheerful movies. You know, like When Harry met Sally or ‘Pretty in Pink’. Although we did have a variety of exquisite action films, such as ‘Commando’, ‘Raiders’, ‘Rocky’, ‘Rocky 2 and 3 and 4’, Oh, and quite a few of those Batman movies.

Seraphina Youthrose: I guess every time period has their genres accustomed to their social values and beliefs, the ’90s had better songs whereas we have better movies. (Both of them nodded as if they were on a game show listening to the host ranting about some absurd joke.)

Mildred Sagewood (as she lifted her wrist to check her watch, it was almost a quarter past one): Well, it’s almost time to go, do you want to get your usual from the hotdog stand before we leave, with extra mustard and a drop of ketchup? (They could smell the delicious scent of fat and grease.)

Seraphina Youthrose: Sure! but can we get double hotdogs this time, all that talk really feels like running. But in your brain. Except it tired you out as if you actually ran.

Mildred Sagewood: Yeah right. Like I could run at this age.

End scene: As they walked towards the hotdog stand and Seraphina ordered her hotdog, they walked into the sunset with a joyous expression only given by food.

*The writer is the winner of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay, Gold Finalist (Ageism and generations). She can be reached at zainabwaqar281@gmail.com