Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
Encyclopedia
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto is a book written by Chuck Klosterman
, first published by Scribner
in 2003
. It is a collection of eighteen comedic essays on popular culture
.
Chuck Klosterman
Charles John "Chuck" Klosterman is an American author and essayist who has written for The New York Times Magazine, The Believer, and The Washington Post, and has written books focusing on American popular culture....
, first published by Scribner
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
in 2003
2003 in literature
The year 2003 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Peter Ackroyd - The Clerkenwell Tales*Atsuko Asano - No...
. It is a collection of eighteen comedic essays on popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
.
Overview
Klosterman presents his essays as if they were tracks on a CD. Between each essay, or track, is an "interlude"—a short, entertaining blurb linking the essays. The following essays are included in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs:- 1. This Is Emo: Klosterman recounts "fake love" we are conditioned to pursue, and the false, unbalanced nature of When Harry Met Sally.
- 2. Billy Sim: Klosterman describes his experience with the reality-mimicking videogame The SimsThe SimsThe Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Its development was led by game designer Will Wright, also known for developing SimCity...
and how The Sims illustrates that "even eternally free people are enslaved by the process of living." - 3. What Happens When People Stop Being Polite: The impacts of MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's The Real WorldThe Real WorldThe Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
and how it led to the development of one-dimensional personalities. - 4. Every Dog Must Have His Every Day, Every Drunk Must Have His Drink: An ode to Billy JoelBilly JoelWilliam Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, particularly the universality of his album Glass HousesGlass HousesGlass Houses is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released in 1980 . It features Joel's first song to peak at #1 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me." The album itself topped the Pop Albums chart for six weeks and was ranked number 4 on...
. - 5. Appetite for Replication: Klosterman interviews and spends a few days with the members of a Guns N' RosesGuns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
tribute band, "Paradise City," and outlines the significance of tribute bands. - 6. Ten Seconds to Love: An analysis of how American culture is upset with the unrealistic images of success it has created, as stemming from a discussion of the Pamela-Tommy sex tape.
- 7. George WillGeorge WillGeorge Frederick Will is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics...
vs. Nick HornbyNick HornbyNick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
: A rant against soccer (particularly among youth), claiming it supports outcast culture. - 8. 33: Klosterman explains how the 1980s rivalry between the Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
and the Boston CelticsBoston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...
symbolizes all rivalries in life, including politics, religion, and race. - 9. Porn: An explanation of how the Internet has proliferated the porn industry, as per the need of the presence of the amateur and celebrity in our lives.
- 10. The Lady or the Tiger: A brief history of the cereal industry, and how Kelloggs was begun as a religious company, but now is a microcosm for coolness. The "cocoa puffs" in the title comes from this essay.
- 11. Being Zack MorrisZack MorrisZachary "Zack" Morris is a fictional character from the sitcoms Good Morning, Miss Bliss; Saved by the Bell; and Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He was portrayed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar...
: An analysis of Saved by the BellSaved by the BellSaved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
and how "important things are inevitably cliché." - 12. Sulking with Lisa LoebLisa LoebLisa Anne Loeb is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She launched her career in 1994 with the song, "Stay ". She was the first artist to have a number one single in the United States while not signed to a recording contract.Loeb's efforts now include music, film, television, voice-over...
on the Ice Planet Hoth: Why Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
is so overrated, and how it has come to represent basic morality. - 13. The Awe-Inspiring Beauty of Tom CruiseTom CruiseThomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
's Shattered, Troll-like Face: A discussion of the question "What is reality?" as answered by movies such as Vanilla SkyVanilla SkyVanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed, co-produced and co-written by Cameron Crowe. The film is an English-language remake of the 1997 Spanish movie Abre los ojos , the screenplay for which was written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil...
, The MatrixThe MatrixThe Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, Memento, and Waking LifeWaking LifeWaking Life is an American animated film , directed by Richard Linklater and released in 2001. The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.The film focuses on the nature of dreams, consciousness, and...
. - 14. Toby over Moby: How the Dixie Chicks are the new Van HalenVan HalenVan Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, as they are one of the only pop bands with musical quality, and how Van Halen's teenage boys have been replaced by the Dixie Chicks' teenage girls. Also how music taste is used to gauge coolness, and those who ignorantly say they like all kinds "except country" only say so to appear cool. - 15. This is ZodiacZodiacIn astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
Speaking: A description of three people Klosterman has interviewed who have known or met serial killers, and an exploration of "What does it mean to know a serial killer?" - 16. All I Know Is What I Read in the Papers: Most of the media's bias is accidental, and stories are mainly developed by circumstance and by the interviewee who calls the journalist back first. Also how sports reporters hate sports, and how newspapers are designed for those who cannot read.
- 17. I, Rock Chump: Klosterman narrates his visit to the 2002 Pop Music Studies Conference by the Experience Music Project, and how it was largely an experience without rock and roll.
- 18. How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found: A commentary on the Left Behind SeriesLeft Behind (series)Left Behind is a series of 16 best-selling novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, dealing with Christian dispensationalist End Times: pretribulation, premillennial, Christian eschatological viewpoint of the end of the world. The primary conflict of the series is the members of the Tribulation...
and the lifestyle of Evangelical Christians. The chapter title refers to the book How to Disappear Completely and Never Be FoundHow to Disappear Completely and Never Be FoundHow to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found is a book by Doug Richmond, originally released in 1985, which is a how-to guide on starting a new identity, and has been described as "one of the odder self-help titles on the market"...
by Doug Richmond and possibly the song How To Disappear Completely by RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
.
External links
- Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs at Simon & SchusterSimon & SchusterSimon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
Reviews
- Curled Up With a Good Book - a 2003 review by Amanda Cuda
- About.com - a 2003 review by Brian Houle
- The A.V. Club - a review by Noel Murray