The age-old tale of generations being misunderstood is one that continuously plays out in media, politics, and daily life. The depiction of changing cultural norms, lifestyle, ideology, and fashion are just a few of the factors that differentiate one generation from the next. Nathanya Alexander plays Arianna on HBO’s Generation; an opinionated, problematic, outspoken, unapologetically black teen girl who is being raised by an interracial gay couple. The character is an exercise in the 21st-century teen experience and all its nuances with tech, social media, and parents who just don’t understand. 

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On the opposite end of Arianna is an emerging star in Nathanya Alexander. The Brooklyn native who has a strong adoration for her Caribbean culture and all things theatre is the polar opposite of the persona she portrays on the show. Nathanya mentions, “I am very different from Arianna, which was very fun to tackle as an actor. My favorite thing is to challenge myself and jump into other characters' worlds. When I first read Generation, I immediately thought to myself, this is odd and different but I like it. The character was very layered and difficult so I loved the challenge. I immediately took out my journal and began to create her life. I wrote out everything I knew about her from the given circumstances of the script. I then put a lot of what I wanted her to be. The most important thing for me was to humanize her.” 

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The work that goes into being an actor requires investing deep emotional energy into becoming that character; it’s work Nathanya takes seriously and it shows in her performance. It doesn’t take long to fall in love with Arianna who lives by the philosophy of “never explain, never apologize.” The way they write her quick wit, humor, and openness of her character to experience various feelings lead to a very interesting depiction of the Gen Z black teen experience. One big trait of this generation is holding nothing back! “I think people get Generation Z. Generation Z just puts it all out there for you to see with no filter, and Gen Z tells it how it is. Gen Z forces people to get who they are. So, I don't think there's anything that people don't understand,” Nathanya explains about whether or not she feels people misunderstand this generation and their thought 

process. 

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Nathanya is also learning a lot about her generation as she is a self-proclaimed old soul that is intertwined with the vibes of previous generations. The music, the fashion, and the principles have been an intrinsic part of her upbringing and Alexander is unashamed of her admiration of days past. “I feel like the show has impacted my youth. I'm learning so much more about Gen Z that I didn't know before. I'm more of an old soul as well. So, a lot of the slang that was used, a lot of the songs that are used were lost on me at first. I'm starting to pick up on a lot more of the culture which is pretty cool for me,” Nathanya says. 

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Television impacts several facets of pop culture including music and fashion most notably. When you watch Generation on HBO, you are immersed in some of the cutest looks and sounds of a new generation. Nathanya told us of the love she has for Cupcakke while being excited to hear the placement on the show, and how powerful Frank Ocean’s Bad Religion was in the episode it was featured in. Music played a large role in how she even conceptualized Arianna as a character. Nathanya notes. “I created odd playlists with songs you would never guess I would have for this character. Lots of Queen, Elton John, Eagles, Beatles, The Allman Brothers Band, Tierra Whack; all songs that embody all kinds of emotions, which helped me tap into Arianna. Queen specifically, because their music has all kinds of instruments and levels; it’s like five songs in one. And Arianna is a whole bunch of personalities in one. So, it was a perfect source for me.”

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