| | | | Important Reflections for the Low-Cultured
BY SHELLY BRYANT I APRIL 11, 2009
Chuck Klosterman. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. Scribner, 2003. 234 pages.
ISBN: 978-0-7432-3601-0
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
In his self-proclaimed "low culture manifesto," Chuck Klosterman takes a careful, well-informed look at all of life's trivialities. He carefully dissects the various sugary breakfast cereals on your supermarket shelf, and alongside this offers a careful analysis of their various on-box mascots. He explores the significance of internet porn, unveiling the deeper meanings behind it all. He discusses the universal significance that lies in the personal relationship of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, while offering an almost confessional look at the real depth of his own feelings for Pamela Anderson. And he does all of this without failing to give due consideration to all of the most mindless programming that television has to offer. This book is a true masterpiece.
As a firmly rooted member of Generation X, and one who was keenly aware of the early uses of this label for our generation, who followed carefully the developments surrounding the scrutiny under which we slacked off in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Klosterman's manifesto seems like it could have been written just for me. It is so adept at taking all of our cultural products that are without any apparent depth, and giving them each the most in-depth analysis. The opening chapter helped define for me all of the reasons I am so head-over-heels in love with John Cusack, a man I've never met (though I am actually really in love with Lloyd Dobler, as Klosterman so rightly observes). The middle chapter in the book explores all of the reasons why Star Wars is such a force in the world today. And in the final chapter, the Left Behind series of books and the movie based upon it are given hell. With such range, with such a pulling together of so many significant strands of all that is insignificant, and then arranging them with (written) musical interludes, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is just such a satisfying read.
I love Klosterman's arguments for Luke Skywalker as the original Gen X-er. He writes:
For one thing, he was incessantly whiny. For another, he was exhaustively educated — via Yoda — about things that had little practical value (i.e., how to stand on one's head while lifting a rock telekinetically). Essentially, Luke went to the University of Dagobah with a major in Buddhist philosophy and a minor in physical education. There's not a lot of career opportunities for that kind of schooling; that's probably why he dropped out in the middle of the semester. Meanwhile, Luke's only romantic aspirations are directed toward a woman who (literally) looks at him like a brother. His dad is on his case to join the family business. Most significantly, all the problems in his life can be directly blamed on the generation that came before him, and specifically on his father's views about what to believe (i.e., respect authority, dress conservatively, annihilate innocent planets, etc.).
What's not love about writing like this? It is well-argued, and yet easy to follow. The illustrations are familiar to a wide audience. The language is both simple and captivating. And, best of all, there's just a touch of humor to the whole thing. That is, in a nut shell, good writing.
The whole book is full of just this sort of good writing. I cannot remember the last time I laughed so much when reading a book (which reminds me — this book needs a warning label that reads, "do not read the contents of this book while you commute on public transport"). It is funny, it displays a real breadth of useless knowledge, and even while doing so much, it still manages to be insightful. If you haven't read it, I can unreservedly recommend it.
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