Defining Generation X: Malcolm-Jamal Warner

When The Cosby Show debuted in 1984 Malcolm-Jamal Warner was 14 years old and playing the Cosby's son Theodore Huxtable known as Theo.  It is hard, unless you were there, to know just what a big deal The Cosby Show was in 1984.  It ranked as the number 3 show in it's first season.  Would then be the number 1 show for 5 straight years before fading at the end.  During that time the audience got to watch Theo go from being a 14 year old to a young man in college.  What made Theo such a great character were two things.  Let's talk about that and how it has helped to define generation X.  

One of the things that made Theo such a great character was Malcolm-Jamal Warner himself.  He was a very talented actor creating a screen character that kids his age and adults could both relate to.  He was cocky and scared.  He was nervous but a braggart.  He was representing the idea of a black, upper middle class young man in NY in the 80's and into the 90's.  It was a tough time for our country and especially places like NY.  We hear today talk about crime rate, but in 1988 at the peak of The Cosby Show the crime rate was an actual problem in the country.  In 1988 the crime rate in New York City was 10,529.1 per 100,000.  In 2024 that number was 1,079.0 per 100,000.  See what I mean by real problem compared to what we hear today.  

Why is this important you ask?  Well because things weren't going too well in the country.  The rich were getting richer.  Crime rate had climbed to insane highs.  Drug addiction, racism, AIDS, there were a lot of things boiling up.  You had the growth of heavy metal and bands like Metallica.  You had the growth of hip hop and bands like Boogie Down Productions.  The world was changing quickly, in 1989 Do the Right Thing would be released.  In many ways Theo represented for the country what a young black man could be.  Yes he was privileged but that didn't matter as much because he didn't act privileged.  He acted like a young man trying to figure his way out.  

Some of this was obviously the writers of the show and their plan for Theo, but Malcolm-Jamal Warner pulled it off.  There is a reason he would have a long successful television career.  He could act and he could create relatable characters.  

OK we've touched on one aspect of why Theo's such a great character and we've hinted at the other, so let's talk about it in more detail and why it matters to defining generation X.  

Theo was a flawed character.  He wasn't good or bad.  He wasn't always right or always wrong.  He didn't become a punchline.  Theo was genuine.  He felt like somebody you could know and be friends with and talk to and he would listen.  He could get a joke and laugh along at something silly.  And as much as we all liked Theo and rooted for Theo he still struggled.  He struggled to be the kind of man he wanted to be.  He struggled to be honest and caring.  He struggled academically and athletically.  In many ways what Theo was, was just an average person trying to get along.  Again I don't think this is possible if not for Malcolm-Jamal Warner as he breathed that character.  

I was struck by how odd it felt to hear that Malcolm-Jamal Warner had died and realize I was really saddened by it in a way I hadn't expected.  Generation X is at an age now where we have lost friends and close family.  But there are those people in your life who hold a close place because they always seemed too nice and easy going and could enjoy life.  Those are the hard ones to lose because it feels like a bit of youth is taken away when they go.  We are not young and we have been witness to a lot and our youth is gone.