FEATURE
TO CLOSE THE
GENERATION GAP
ANTED
PEACE
BY ELIZA TAN
Barry is an ordinary bee . He makes honey in Honex Industries , follows a daily routine , and is a dutiful , obedient son . But his life takes a dramatic turn when he realizes that humans are stealing honeys from the beehive , and he quickly engineers a creative plan to fix this problem .
The only people against his mission are — his parents . Barry ’ s parents are nagging , closed-minded individuals opposed to anything and everything that challenges their conventional way of thought .
In order for Barry to discover his true identity , he has to reject the advice of his parents and define his own life purpose . The only person constantly by his side is his newfound friend Vanessa . His parents would eventually follow and realise the
fallacy of their ways .
As Bee Movie illustrates , the mainstream media seems to be fascinated with portraying parents as fumbling adults and teenagers as the enlightened ones . This shift to rebellion against authority and the rejection of traditional values , evident in today ’ s society , is summed up in the term “ generation gap ,” which stands for the differences in outlook and opinion between people of different generations .
Youth are told to keep their “ private ” lives out from the scrutiny of parents . Societal norms encourage us to make our friends our main rock of support because , well , our parents are still living in another generation and just “ won ’ t understand .”
Now , I don ’ t mean to diminish the importance of peer friendships at all ! But I urge you to ponder this question : Is the “ generation gap ” something that
22 ASIAN BEACON 48 # 1 December 2016 - January 2017