Mila Kunis is also one of People’s 2022 People of The Year. She and husband Ashton Kutcher raised $37M for refugee relief for the Ukrainian people. That’s impressive, no matter what you think of them otherwise. Mila is from Ukraine and jumped into action when Russia invaded Ukraine and people started calling her asking what they could do. Honestly, it was impressive how quickly Mila got something in place. Everyone wanted to help but very few knew how to go about it. In her interview, Mila discussed her philanthropy, her national pride and how our future will depend on our kids.
On being called outspoken about Ukraine: It’s funny you say “outspoken.” I’ve always looked at people who were “outspoken” as the ones who talk a lot but act little. This was one of the first times I’ve ever spoken out about being philanthropic, because in this case there was no other way of getting this accomplished. When we saw Putin was going after the entire country, we knew a massive crisis was about to ensue.
Talking to your kids about world events: [Our daughter] Wyatt is 8, and [our son] Dimitri is almost 6. Children’s brains, as beautiful and rich as they are, aren’t capable of digesting this amount of information all at once. So we give them enough to understand what’s happening in the world without the details. Do they know that these two countries are at war? Yes. Do they know innocent people are dying? Yes. But we don’t watch the news with them. They don’t need the visuals. We just want them to understand the world is bigger than they are.
But there’s also a part of you that wants to protect your kid from the things they don’t even know are possible. And my daughter’s very sensitive. When we read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory together, she was like, “That boy is starving! Why won’t they feed him?” I thought, “Kid, you are not ready for this world.”
Hope for our future? Honest answer, insanely cheesy: my children. They have this natural ability to provide empathy without having to be taught. They have the desire to help without having to be asked. Kids today think more globally than I was raised to. It makes them aware the world around them is so much bigger, and they get a better sense of what they can provide. This generation of big thinkers is going to make a huge difference.
“This generation of big thinkers is going to make a huge difference,” I rarely get to say this but, I absolutely agree with Mila Kunis. I don’t know about her kids, maybe, I don’t know them, but I have a ton of faith in Gen Z. It’s not just that they are big thinkers, it’s that they are informed thinkers. They are listening to a lot more than one source of information and they understand that things aren’t black and white. And, as Mila said, they are thinking globally and about people who don’t look like them or communities they’ve never been to. We have to stay focused, of course, because they still need educated guidance. But I have a lot of hope for our future because of the generation coming up. Even with all the terrible things going on out there, I really think they will make a difference, just like Mila said.
Photos credit: Monica Schipper via Netflix Press and Cover Images
My teens did Speech & Debate in high school. Whenever I would go to judge events (and you never get to see your own kids or kids from your high school) I always came away so hopeful-this generation is so smart, empathetic and engaged. Whenever I’m feeling depressed about the myriad of issues in today’s world, I try and remember how amazing so many young people are too.
I volunteer with youth 12-18 in my area and they give me so much hope for the future! Even the cohort of kids I worked with 5 years ago – they’re in their early 20s now and they are so smart and compassionate and accepting of others who are different. I love them so much! I definitely believe that they are a force for good that will change the world. And props to parents who have raised a generation of dragon slayers.
This generation will have no choice. The planet is 50 years away from being unable to sustain the population.
Where did you get that number?
Except your kids Mila because you don’t wash their a$$e$ every other day so bye! You’re pretty though.
I completely agree, the kids are gonna be just fine. People love to talk shit on the younger generation but since I have a teen I get to see first hand how they are MILES beyond where we were at that age. They’re more loving and accepting of each other, but they take no bullshit and question authority, which can be frustrating as a parent at times but I’m ok with it. I don’t want my daughter to keep sweet and fall in line, I’ll watch them burn it all to the ground then rise even better.
Please let this be true. The world seems to be full of delicate snowflakes these days – a disturbing lack of intelligence and resilience.
Agreed. Snowflakes who want to force our country to live by Christian rules, and they want to strip women and the lgbtq community of all rights because they stay triggered for some reason. I’m so tired of those people and can’t wait for their snowflake generation to die off.
I think so too, I see so much more openess and acceptance from the younger generations, and they seem more engaged, likely due to the struggles and dire circumstances they are growing up in. There are other aspects of that generation I find frustrating, but the good way outweighs it.
My friends and I (40s and 50s) had a talk last night about some of the sexist bs we’ve dealt with over the years, and how you have to learn to stand up for yourself. I see a lot of young women knowing how to do that now, and so much open discussion about consent, equality, invisible labor, etc, I feel like they are so much better prepared.
Well I’m glad people here are hopeful because I’m a high school teacher and I don’t have much faith in these kids. The pandemic did some irreparable damage on their educations. Those were 2 years that were, for the most part, completely lost and when you’re a teacher you can tell just how wide that education gap is. It doesn’t help that even before the pandemic the most common topic of discussion among teachers was how little resilience these kids have and how little they learn. Some blame video games, other blames cell phones, I have no idea what it is, but let me tell you: These kids, in general, are FAAAAAAR behind in terms of formal education compared to us. Far behind. It’s saddening how often we have to lower the bar for grading because otherwise an entire class would fail. And in case you’re wondering – yes, we do question our methods of teaching and evaluating. A lot. We’ve tried many things. We’re constantly trying to figure out what else we can do to solve this problem.
As for the empathy, I completely disagree. I think a lot of progressive-leaning adults are impressed by this generation just because they talk a lot about social issues. But trust me, I work with these kids. A lot (not all of them, but a lot) just pretend to care about these issues because it’s what the cool kids do and they want to be popular. Just like we pretended to like bands we didn’t actually like because the cool kids at school were fans. I used to believe cyberbullying wasn’t real and you could just close the window until I saw the level of vitriol and hatred these kids throw behind screens, and how pervasive the harassment can get. Cyberbullying is the main reason I’m happy I didn’t grow up with internet now. The thing about cyberbullying is anyone can be a bully, you don’t have to be big or popular.
Sadly, I haven’t seen any of this from members of Gen Z by and large. Most of them seem sad and lost and unable to cope with adulting.
Absolutely, I don’t want to just blame the kids because frankly they do have it so much harder than us in many regards – the job market in particular is impossible right now, and cyberbullying can be so, so much worse than real-life bullying (trust me, the things I’ve seen are borderline evil). But I work with them and frankly most of them are depressed, suicidal, have no resilience at all and some of them (not all, not even most, but a worringly large number) seem to have this extremely entitled mentality where they expect (and demand!) the world adjust to them instead of the other way round.
I love how she was able to raise and donate all that money for Ukraine. I also have hope with the younger generation and people waking up to not putting up with abuse and bs. I do kind of side eye her and Ashton because I think he was big in Crypto and of course is screwed over lots of people like it obviously would. I think he’s also an owner an Airbnb which has completely destroyed the housing market in many places around the country. In my area people are having to leave their family home that have been there for generations because investors and tourists have taken over the whole market and they can’t afford to live there anymore and are being pushed out. So I’m all for changemakers as long as there are not crypto Bros and Airbnb investors who only care about money and have no interest in the actual people community.
What has she done to her face? Another famous Japanese sweet potato eater miracle, like she who shall not be named? In addition to maybe a chin implant, bc her chin cleft is gone, along with the jaw reduction. What a shame. She had a natural beauty, like KK, before she started altering her face.
I wonder if she had the buccal fat removal. The lower half of her face looks particularly gaunt.
I don’t know if I see that much difference between this generation and previous ones. They have social media to amplify a message. But I don’t think the attempts at problem-solving, or the desire to do something, is much different.
I think as we grow older we simply have more responsibilities and have our day to day problems to solve.