Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
by Chuck Klosterman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Chuck KlostermanEdition: Paperback
Published: 2004-06-22
ISBN: 0743236017
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
Book Review: No flow but the essays individually are thought-provoking and halarious!
Summary: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed this book for one reason: looking at things that would otherwise be mundane and extrapolating philosophy from them until they become relevant. It's something me and my friends do quite often such as suggesting how different Pok?mon reflect people we know in real life. Who knew that talks about MTV's Real World, Billy Joel, Saved by the Bell, or the Sims could help us figure out ourselves. I admit for someone in my age group(college kid here) that I could relate to all of the things he talked about fairly well.
Though this book comes across as a cynical, comedic work (and trust me, it does), it has an odd way of being very profound with its assessments on life. I really liked the social commentary that talks about the world that will live in today, with people being shown on the mass media as flat and static characters to be more easily understood.
The best parts of the book were actually when he wasn't talking about the topic on hand. Sometimes Klosterman would get off topic and start talking about esoteric revelations of how people come to label themselves; I really felt was amazing.
The essays might not flow from one chapter to the next, but every one will have you thinking and laughing.
Summary of Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
There's quite a bit of intelligent analysis and thought-provoking insight packed into the pages of Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, which is a little surprising considering how darn stupid most of Klosterman's subject matter actually is. Klosterman, one of the few members of the so-called "Generation X" to proudly embrace that label and the stereotypical image of disaffected slackers that often accompanies it, takes the reader on a witty and highly entertaining tour through portions of pop culture not usually subjected to analysis and presents his thoughts on Saved by the Bell, Billy Joel, amateur porn, MTV's The Real World, and much more. It would be easy in dealing with such subject matter to simply pile on some undergraduate level deconstruction, make a few jokes, and have yourself a clever little book. But Klosterman goes deeper than that, often employing his own life spent as a member of the lowbrow target demographic to measure the cultural impact of his subjects. While the book never quite lives up to the use of the word "manifesto" in the title (it's really more of a survey mixed with elements of memoir), there is much here to entertain and illuminate, particularly passages on the psychoses and motivations of breakfast cereal mascots, the difference between Celtic fans and Laker fans, and The Empire Strikes Back. Sections on a Guns n' Roses tribute band, The Sims, and soccer feel more like magazine pieces included to fill space than part of a cohesive whole. But when you're talking about a book based on a section of cultural history so reliant on a lack of attention span, even the incongruities feel somehow appropriate. --John MoeCountless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and an almost effortless ability to spin brilliant prose out of unlikely subject matter, Klosterman attacks the entire spectrum of postmodern America: reality TV, Internet porn, Pamela Anderson, literary Jesus freaks, and the real difference between apples and oranges (of which there is none). And don't even get him started on his love life and the whole Harry-Met-Sally situation.
Whether deconstructing Saved by the Bell episodes or the artistic legacy of Billy Joel, the symbolic importance of The Empire Strikes Back or the Celtics/Lakers rivalry, Chuck will make you think, he'll make you laugh, and he'll drive you insane -- usually all at once. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is ostensibly about art, entertainment, infotainment, sports, politics, and kittens, but -- really -- it's about us. All of us. As Klosterman realizes late at night, in the moment before he falls asleep, "In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever 'in and of itself.'" Read to believe.
"From the kid who brought you Fargo Rock City -- the first book in history to garner the praise of Stephen King, David Byrne, Donna Gaines, Sebastian Bach, Jonathan Lethem, and Rivers Cuomo -- comes Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs -- the first book in history to examine breakfast cereal, reality television, tribute bands, Internet porn, serial killers, and the Dixie Chicks. Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it quite like Chuck Klosterman -- with an exhaustive knowledge of popular culture and a seemingly effortless ability to spin brilliant prose out of unlikely subject matter. Whether deconstructing Saved by the Bell episodes or the artistic legacy of Billy Joel, the symbolic importance of The Empire Strikes Back or the Celtics/Lakers rivalry of the 1980s, Chuck will make you think, he'll make you laugh, and he'll drive you insane -- usually all at once. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is ostensibly about movies, sports, television, music, books, video games, and kittens...but, really, it's about us. All of us. As Klosterman realizes late at night, in the moment before he falls asleep, ""In and of itself, nothing really matters. What matters is that nothing is ever 'in and of itself.'"" "
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