History Main / Yuppie

* The 1986 song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzTV4r9n8L0 "Yuppie Drone"]] by The Pheromones is a satiric review of all the annoying characteristics and cliches that made yuppies so hated during the 80s and 90s.

Since they seemed similar upon first glance, it was easy to confuse a yuppie with [[PreppyName a preppy]]. However, there was one key difference between the two: yuppies were [[NouveauRiche new money]] while preppies were OldMoney. There was also some slight overlap between the yuppie and the SelfMadeMan except that the latter grew up lower-class in economically stressful circumstances while the former grew up middle-class in comfortably stable surroundings.

* ''Film/AmericanPsycho'': just like its source novel, the film is set in the world of New York investment banking, with most of its characters either affluent and soulless office workers or bohemians.

* The antagonist in ''Film/WaynesWorld'' is Benjamin, a handsome young TV executive with a swanky apartment in the big city, a cool car, and good taste in wine and suits. He goes up against the [[SlobsVerusSnobs slobby metalhead protagonists]] for creative control of their TV show and the love of Cassandra.

* ''Film/NationalLampoonsChristmasVacation'': The Griswolds' contemptuous next-door neighbors, Todd and Margo Chester, are yuppies who often suffer collateral damage caused by the many misfortunes Clark creates during the film. However, they are both so shallow, smug, self-absorbed, and hipper-than-though (they find Christmas "dirty and messy and corny and cliched"), that it's hard to feel sorry for them.

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* The Meachums from ''Series/IronFist2017'' all have the look and feel of the typical '80's yuppie. They are a rich family that run [[Characters/MCUCompaniesRandEnterprises Rand Enterprises]] with the Rand Family gone (until Danny shows up, alive and well). Both Harold and his son Ward both wear three-piece suits and combed-over hair that fits the look and are different flavors of CorruptCorporateExecutive.

Yuppies grew up in {{Suburbia}} as the children of middle-class or working-class parents but had a tendency to [[CulturalCringe distance themselves from their upbringing]] due to the [[StepfordSuburbia cultural, political, social, artistic attitudes, and tastes attached to it.]] A [[{{Flanderization}} common (but not always applicable) stereotype]] about yuppies was, in their youth, [[CulturalRebel they rebelled]] [[DefectorFromDecadence against the materialism and conformity]] of [[TheGenerationGap their parents]] and joined [[NewAgeRetroHippie the 60s counterculture]] only to later [[FormerTeenRebel re-enter mainstream society]] and [[SellOut embrace]] -- [[BecameTheirAntithesis to an even greater degree]] -- many of [[{{Hypocrite}} the same vices they condemned their parents for indulging in.]]

Yuppies grew up in {{Suburbia}} as the children of middle-class or working-class parents but had a tendency to [[CulturalCringe distance themselves from their upbringing]] due to the [[StepfordSuburbia cultural, political, social, artistic attitudes, and tastes attached to it.]] A [[{{Flanderization}} common (but not always applicable) stereotype]] about yuppies was, in their youth, [[CulturalRebel they rebelled]] [[DefectorFromDecadence against the materialism and conformity]] of [[TheGenerationGap their parents]] and joined [[NewAgeRetroHippie the 60s counterculture]] only to later [[FormerTeenRebel re-enter mainstream society]] and [[SellOut embrace]] -- to an even greater degree -- many of [[{{Hypocrite}} the same vices they condemned their parents for indulging in.]]

Despite their material wealth, it was common in [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructive works]] to have yuppies facing failure in their personal lives with such problems as substance abuse, marital strife, or [[WhenYouComingHomeDad lack of family commitment]]. Their perceived [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorption]], irritating trendiness, snobbery, latent class anxiety, smugness and fixation with making money also made them [[AcceptableProfessionalTargets easy comic targets]] -- if not outright villains -- in many works during the 80s and 90s. In a SnobsVsSlobs conflict, yuppies would definitely be in the former category.

Yuppies grew up in {{Suburbia}} as the children of middle-class or working-class parents but had a tendency to [[CulturalCringe distance themselves from their upbringing]] due to the [[StepfordSuburbia cultural, political, social, artistic attitudes, and tastes attached to it.]] A [[{{Flanderization}} common stereotype]] about yuppies was, in their youth, [[CulturalRebel they rebelled]] [[DefectorFromDecadence against the materialism and conformity]] of [[TheGenerationGap their parents]] and joined [[NewAgeRetroHippie the 60s counterculture]] only to later [[FormerTeenRebel re-enter mainstream society]] and [[SellOut embrace]] -- to an even greater degree -- many of [[{{Hypocrite}} the same vices they condemned their parents for indulging in.]]

* ''Literature/AmericanPsycho''. The main character, Patrick Bateman, is the archetypal affluent yuppie. He's rich, works on Wall Street, has a pretty girlfriend, and spends most of his life in trendy restaurants and clubs. However, he's also shallow, unhappy, self-absorbed, and [[spoiler:(maybe)]] a SerialKiller.

Yuppies were the members of the Baby Boom generation who became successful (or at least well-paid) [[WhiteCollarWorker white-collar workers]] while in their twenties and thirties, usually in finance, law, sales, architecture or management consulting. In the era's StandardOfficeSetting, yuppies stood out in that they were often young for their rank, typically {{Workaholic}}s, and obsessively materialist (see below). In the case of yuppie women, this also included such fashion statements as [[LadyInAPowerSuit power suits]] with [[ShouldersOfDoom large shoulder pads]], [[EightiesHair voluminous]] or [[BoyishShortHair slick]] hair, and work-appropriate makeup that was also heavy and striking.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' parodied this trope mercilessly in "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E21FutureStock Futurestock]]" with [[NoNameGiven That Guy]], a typical '80s corporate raider who had been cryogenically frozen when he was in his 30s. He dresses in an expensive suit with suspenders, has a cell phone seemingly attached to his hand, is obsessed with the latest trends and gadgets, works in finance, and thinks greed is a virtue. He eventually takes over Planet Express and grooms Fry in the yuppie lifestyle, acting like the eighties hadn't ended a thousand and ten years before[[spoiler: only to end up dying of the very disease he was frozen for because he had been too busy "being an eighties guy" to get cured.]]

Outside of the office, yuppies tended to live in pricy--and often gentrified--inner-city apartments or restored older homes. More affluent ones could be classified as NouveauRiche since they were prone to displays of ConspicuousConsumption but usually of the SimpleYetOpulent variety. Until it became commonplace, the yuppie's most distinctive attribute was the use of the StatusCellPhone; which allowed the yuppie to become a ClockKing with a meticulously planned work schedule. As [[TechnologyMarchesOn technology marched on]], other attributes came to define them, such as trendy physical exercise (including yoga and advanced weight machinery), novelty electronic devices, a CoolCar (usually a BMW or Mercedes), and [[MustHaveCaffeine caffeine addiction]], with an [[OvercomplicatedMenuOrder elaborate taste for exotic kinds of coffee]].

Yuppies grew up in {{Suburbia}} as the children of middle-class or working-class parents but had a tendency to [[CulturalCringe distance themselves from their upbringing]] due to the [[StepfordSuburbia cultural, political, social, artistic attitudes, and tastes attached to it.]] A [[{{Flanderization}} common stereotype]] about yuppies was, in their youth, [[CulturalRebel they rebelled]] [[DefectorFromDecadence against the materialism and conformity]] of [[TheGenerationGap their parents]] and joined [[NewAgeRetroHippie the 60s counterculture]] only to later [[FormerTeenRebel re-enter mainstream society]] and [[SellOut embrace]]--to an even greater degree--many of [[{{Hypocrite}} the same vices they condemned their parents for indulging in.]]

Despite their material wealth, it was common in [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructive works]] to have yuppies facing failure in their personal lives with such problems as substance abuse, marital strife, or [[WhenYouComingHomeDad lack of family commitment]]. Their perceived [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorption]], irritating trendiness, snobbery, latent class anxiety, smugness and fixation with making money also made them [[AcceptableProfessionalTargets easy comic targets -- if not outright villains]] -- in many works during the 80s and 90s. In a SnobsVsSlobs conflict, yuppies would definitely be in the former category.

Despite their material wealth, it was common in [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructive works]] to have yuppies facing failure in their personal lives with such problems as substance abuse, marital strife, or [[WhenYouComingHomeDad lack of family commitment]]. Their perceived [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorption]], irritating trendiness, snobbery, latent class anxiety, and fixation with making money also made them [[AcceptableProfessionalTargets easy comic targets -- if not outright villains]] -- in many works during the 80s and 90s. In a SnobsVsSlobs conflict, yuppies would definitely be in the former category.

Yuppies grew up in {{Suburbia}} as the children of middle-class or working-class parents but had a tendency to [[CulturalCringe distance themselves from their upbringing]] due to the [[StepfordSuburbia cultural, political, social, and artistic attitudes and tastes attached to it.]] A [[{{Flanderization}} common stereotype]] about yuppies was, in their youth, [[CulturalRebel they rebelled]] [[DefectorFromDecadence against the materialism and conformity]] of [[TheGenerationGap their parents]] and joined [[NewAgeRetroHippie the 60s counterculture]] only to later [[FormerTeenRebel re-enter mainstream society]] and [[SellOut embrace]]--to an even greater degree--many of [[{{Hypocrite}} the same vices they condemned their parents for indulging in.]]

* {{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} parodied this trope mercilessly in "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E21FutureStock Futurestock]]" with [[NoNameGiven That Guy]], a typical '80s corporate raider who had been cryogenically frozen when he was in his 30s. He dresses in an expensive suit with suspenders, has a cell phone seemingly attached to his hand, is obsessed with the latest trends and gadgets, works in finance, and thinks greed is a virtue. He eventually takes over Planet Express and grooms Fry in the yuppie lifestyle, acting like the eighties hadn't ended a thousand and ten years before[[spoiler: only to end up dying of the very disease he was frozen for because he had been too busy "being an eighties guy" to get cured.]]

* {{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} parodied this trope mercilessly in "Futurestock" with [[NoNameGiven That Guy]], a typical '80s corporate raider who had been cryogenically frozen when he was in his 30s. He dresses in an expensive suit with suspenders, has a cell phone seemingly attached to his hand, is obsessed with the latest trends and gadgets, works in finance, and thinks greed is a virtue. He eventually takes over Planet Express and grooms Fry in the yuppie lifestyle, acting like the eighties hadn't ended a thousand and ten years before[[spoiler: only to end up dying of the very disease he was frozen for because he had been too busy "being an eighties guy" to get cured.]]

Yuppies grew up in {{Suburbia}} as the children of middle-class or working-class parents but had a tendency to [[CulturalCringe distance themselves from their upbringing]] due to the [[StepfordSuburbia cultural, political, social, and artistic attitudes and tastes attached to it.]] A [[{{Flanderization}} common stereotype]] about yuppies was, in their youth, [[CulturalRebel they rebelled]] [[DefectorFromDecadence against the materialism and conformity]] of [[TheGenerationGap their parents]] and joined [[NewAgeRetroHippie the 60s counterculture]] only to later [[FormerTeenRebel re-enter mainstream society]] and [[{{Hypocrite}} embrace--to an even greater degree--many of the same vices]] they condemned their parents for indulging in.

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Indexes:
* TheEighties
* OccupationTropes
* {{UsefulNotes.Subcultures}}
* RichPeople