Thanks to Pin Herman, Generation X has grown up, his new documentary reminds you
About X Gen X is a tough, often forgotten generation, and a million memes, and a million we are also our indifferent generation (for example, you say to our will, I don’t care). The whole “we drink from the hose and ride bikes alone until it gets dark” thing absolutely shaped many kids who were quickly independent and resilient in the 1980s. But we are also one of the first generations to truly be Babysat on TV, which played a huge role in the lives of millions of lawless Latchkey Kids.
Until I watched Pee-wee as himself, the new two-part documentary about Max’s life and career of Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman), which made me feel so lucky that we were lucky to have a role like Pee-Wee in the mainstream, and that some people might be weird – and for that matter.
Pee-Wee’s weirdness is evident in his movies and on the TV of Pee-Wee Theater. This is an eternal boy in a gray suit, living alone, his bike is his bike, and he screams whenever he tells a secret word. Due to Pee-wee, I often run out of Scotch tape at home because I use it to extend my face to some weird skin mask and bend my nose. The character seems to be someone who can live the fantasy life of every child, and that is the initial attraction. His stupidity is ambition.
But what the documentary is clear about how meaningful Pee-wee’s choice is, especially when creating the theater of his CBS Saturday morning TV show Pee-wee. It’s a show that goes out of its way to play important roles (including the Law & Order stars S. Epatha Merkerson and Laurence Fishburne who appear in the document) and creates an inclusive environment with unusual and quirky environments. Nothing is accidental. Natasha Lyonne, who appeared on the show as a kid, said that “it feels like myself.” I think this kind of thing that allows embracing others may not think is “normal” is one of the reasons our generation has identified a lot of genres in the genres that name states: choose music, independent Movie, underground comedy. These things already exist, but ours is the generation that marks them.
How many other children’s TV shows perform hermaphrodite disco star Grace Jones in the Christmas special? (Specially also appeared in Charo, Joan Rivers, Kd Lang, Cher, Oprah Winfrey and Little Richard, trying to create multiple entertainment for generations. Muppets also does this in a softer way. …You can do the opposite, you can do whatever you want.”
He added: “I just put a lot of stuff in the theater of piss, and I thought ‘Why not?’” This includes things like piss dance in high heels and a wedding ceremony between myself and a bowl of fruit salad. (What is even more fascinating is that while these things were considered alternatives at the time, they were not under scrutiny and did not inspire the rebound in such a way that might be today.
Pee-Wee Herman is an actor’s performing arts creation who chose to appear in public later in his career. This is because Paul Reubens never allowed anyone to know him and his creative process (he regrets it in the movie), and we didn’t know how intentional and subversive his work was at the time.
Reubens died while still completing the film’s interviews in 2023, and he struggled to give up his creative control of the document – seeing him express his victory and regret in these interviews is bittersweet without seeing the complete product. I’m a peeing kid, but after watching the documentary, I’m grateful that it was done even after Reubens’ death. It’s a necessary book to repeat your career; without it, I don’t even know if I would realize his impact on many of us little weirdos.
