Millennial movies: the low-key traumatic films responsible for a generation's paranoia

2. 'The Land Before Time' (1988)
Technically, a children's film. Spiritually, a grief seminar. This animated saga about orphaned dinosaurs was our gateway to intergenerational trauma. Littlefoot loses his mum in the first act, then wanders a desolate prehistoric wasteland learning hard lessons about death, scarcity and betrayal. For many, it sparked a lifelong fear of abandonment. That, and quicksand. 3. 'Brokedown Palace' (1999)
Two girls. One drug bust. Zero justice. This film was the sole reason entire school trips to Thailand were vetoed. Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale's sun-soaked holiday devolves into a Kafkaesque nightmare involving corrupt systems, filthy prison cells and years lost to legal purgatory. Millennial movies did warn us about drugs and terrified an entire generation into law-abiding submission. 4. 'My Best Friend's Wedding' (1997)
Presented as a romantic comedy, this movie is actually a psychological thriller where the protagonist ruins lives with shocking ease. Julia Roberts plays the deranged anti-hero whose 'grand gesture' is essentially emotional sabotage. Somehow, this got filed under "feel-good film" in DVD rentals, despite teaching us that even best friends are capable of Machiavellian manipulation. 5. 'When a Stranger Calls' (2006)
It was supposed to be a disposable horror remake, but to millennials babysitting for extra cash, this was a PSA with lasting effects. The line 'the call is coming from inside the house' wasn't just a jump scare but a foundational fear. Today, it continues to echo as a millennial threat disguised as a fun internet meme. Landlines became ominous, babysitting gigs felt like Russian roulette and houses with glass windows and a second floor? No, thank you. 6. 'The Devil Wears Prada' (2006)
Is it a fashion fairy tale or corporate horror with decked out in couture? Anne Hathaway's character spirals into a soul-crushing career path, sacrifices every personal relationship and learns that 'success' often looks like burnout in an expensive (not cerulean blue) coat. Millennials entered the workforce fully expecting to be emotionally razed for a vague shot at editorial glory. This is why we girlbossed so hard for expensive shoes and lattes. Thank goodness we're over that. 7. 'Final Destination' (2000)
This wasn't just a film—it was a permanent shift in consciousness. Every mundane moment became a death trap. Log trucks transporting logs? Never drive behind them. Tanning beds? Absolutely not. Shower cords? Dangerous. This millennial movie warned us that death is not only inevitable but also ironic, complicated and vindictive. Yet in true millennial fashion, we're still watching Bloodlines .
Millennial movies were all fun and games until someone was fired, imprisoned or orphaned. Yet, we walked out of those theatres with our spirits high because they played an upbeat pop song over the credits. The emotional whiplash was dizzying. But somehow, we accepted it—maybe even expected it. After all, if Sixpence None the Richer is playing while your life falls apart, is it really that bad?
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Barely a decade old and yet to turn a profit, the start-up is already in the world's top 10 EV company has attracted some of China's top young graduates to its headquarters in Guangzhou, where casually dressed staff sip flat whites and internet streamers sell cars live in the showroom.A brightly coloured slide taking employees from the top to the ground floor would seem more at home in Silicon Valley than China's industrial the relaxed atmosphere, Mr Gu says the pressure to offer consumers better cars at lower prices is "immense".The BBC was invited on a test drive of XPeng's Mona Max, which has just gone on sale in China for around $20, this price you get self-driving capability, voice activation, lie-flat beds, film and music streaming. Young Chinese graduates, we're told, see all these as standard features for a first car purchase."The new generation of EV makers... look at cars as a different animal," says David Li, the co-founder and chief executive of Hesai, which makes the Lidar sensing technology used in many self-driving cars. 'An EV makes sense for me' Young Chinese consumers are certainly attracted to top-of-the-range technology, but a huge amount of government spending goes towards making EVs financially attractive, according to the CSIS of the public receive subsidies for trading in their non-electric car for an EV as well as tax exemptions and subsidised rates at public charging perks drove Mr Lu to go electric two years ago. He used to pay 200 yuan ($27.84; £20.72) to fill up his car for 400km (248 miles) of driving. It now costs him a quarter of that. People in China also normally pay thousands for their vehicle registration plate - sometimes more than the cost of the car itself - as part of government efforts to limit congestion and pollution. Mr Lu now gets his green one for free."The rich drive petrol cars because they have unlimited resources," Mr Lu says. "An EV just makes sense for me."Another proud EV owner in Shanghai, who wanted to use her English name Daisy, says that rather than charge her vehicle at a station, she changes her car's battery at one of the city's many automated swapping stations provided by EV maker under three minutes, machines replace her flat battery with a fully charged one. It's state of the art technology for less than the price of a tank of fuel. The road ahead The government subsidies at the heart of China's EV growth are seen as unfair by countries looking to protect their car US, Canada and the European Union have all imposed substantial import taxes on Chinese the UK says it's not planning to follow suit - making it an attractive market for firms like XPeng, which started delivering its G6 model to British consumers in March, and BYD, which launched its Dolphin Surf model this month in the UK, and is available for as little as $26, should be music to the ears of Western governments that enthusiastically back the transition to EVs, which the United Nations calls "pivotal" to avert climate disaster. Several Western countries, including the UK, say they will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2030. No country is better placed to help make this a reality than China."The Chinese are thinking about a future where they manufacture just about every single car for the world. They're looking around saying, 'Can anybody do it better than us?'" says Mr Dunne."Leaders in Detroit, Nagoya, Germany, UK, everywhere around the world, are shaking their heads. It's a new era, and the Chinese are feeling very confident about their prospects right now."Despite the environmental benefits, there is still suspicion about what relying on Chinese technology could former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, recently called Chinese EVs "computers on wheels" that can be "controlled from Beijing".His claim that Chinese EVs could one day immobilise British cities was dismissed by BYD's executive vice-president Stella Li in a recent BBC interview."Anyone can claim anything if they lose the game. But so what?" she said."BYD pays for a very high standard of data security. We use local carriers for all our data. In fact we do it 10 times better than our competition."Nevertheless Sir Richard's concerns echo previous national security debates surrounding Chinese includes telecoms infrastructure maker Huawei, whose equipment was banned in several Western countries, as well as the social media app TikTok, which is prohibited on UK government for Sun Jingguo in Guangzhou, the message is simple."I think the world should thank China for bringing this technology to the world," he laughs. "I do."Additional reporting by Theo Leggett, international business correspondent in London.