Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto
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- ISBN13: 9780743236010
- Condition: USED – LIKE NEW
- Notes:
Product Description
Countless writers and artists have spoken for a generation, but no one has done it reasonably like block Klosterman. With an exhaustive knowledge of well loved culture and an nearly effortless ability to spin brilliant prose out of unlikely theme 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 ongoing on his like 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, block will make you reflect, 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 judge.Amazon.com Review
There’s reasonably a bit of intelligent analysis and thought-provoking insight packed into the pages of block Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, which is a small surprising considering how darn stupid most of Klosterman’s theme matter really is. Klosterman, one of the few members of the so-called “Generation X” to proudly embrace that mark and the stereotypical image of disaffected slackers that regularly accompanies it, takes the reader on a witty and highly entertaining tour through parts 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 simple in dealing with such theme matter to simply pile on some undergraduate level deconstruction, make a few jokes, and have yourself a clever small book. But Klosterman goes deeper than that, regularly 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 reasonably lives up to the use of the word “manifesto” in the title (it’s really more of a survey mixed with fundamentals 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 Moe
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*rolls eyes* could not even end this book. One of the worst books I have ever selected up.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
After scouring the paperback table for a few minutes, this book caught my eye and from the quick read off the jacket I was interested. Now, but, just three chapters in, I wish I kept my receipt.
This book has no plot or tale and is nothing more than the ramblings of an anyone slacker ranting about inane pop culture garbage, how he can’t get laid, and most dissappointingly, sheds no light on already overworked topics. At best, this book sounds like blogspeak, which is hardly worth your money.
For example, there’s an entire chapter devoted to the ‘TheSims’ followed by a chapter where the leader expounds on his keen [sarcasm] insight regarding MTV’s ‘The Real World’.
He speaks with a know-nothing-know-it-all bravado but worst of all, his observations are tame and dull. Don’t bother.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
block Klosterman, unlike most people *celebrates* his lack of insight. There is nothing ironic about the subtitle, “A Low Culture Manifesto”.
What he tries to do / does:
* He tries to examine pop-culture phenomena (any piece of trash that trickled its way to him) in a ‘postmodern’ light or in a ‘philosophy for shallow people’ way – except if submitted for a college assignment, he would fail (because of plagiarism). There are no new thoughts: It is a rehash of a particularly terrible reading of thoughts place fort by Baudrillard (about 30 years before block wrote this book) and additional culture theorists (post modern or not). It is reasonably formulaic: Throw in references to ‘authentic’ crap of later half american pop culture, mix it with punch-line pseudo-pseudo-intellectual ‘philosophy’, swear around, make sex/drug jokes, end essay (not nec. in that order)
* …or he simply lauds certain trash, for no excellent reason apart from “I like it, it is not cool, it is not even uncool, hence it is fantastic, so I like it”. He is pride of being an edgy, authentic hick, of being uncool, and shallow. Admitting, or being pride of mediocrity is used as an excuse, and justification, for his utter lack of insight.
*He also comments on women (girls, chicks, and more – he has a particularly well-developed vocabulary of ‘terrible’ terms for women) and is to some extent proud of his unjustified, ignorant prejudice. He announced that no woman will ever satisy him (as if that is what women are for, satisfying men, thanks for letting us know, block). He is to some extent obsessed with small girls, small boys, and small children in all-purpose, bordering on the pathological, which is very disturbing.
Conclusion
It is not even amusing. It is a perfect waste of your time and money. If you delight in watching thousands of hours of reality TV, this book is just for you. It is not a manifesto of low culture, it is not even low culture, the book is just parasitic, insincere. The leader is not only conceited, but is one of the most very much dumb writers I’ve ever read. Read at your own risk.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
This is simply not a book. I went in thinking some kind of tale would renovate and that some kind of underlying theme would connect everything he wrote about. The first chapter on like even appealed to me. I liked it! Hell that’s why I bought the book I thought it was rather witty and insightfull. Then the Sims review came…. Then Real World… Then Billy Joel…. each ‘chapter essay’ getting worse than the one before. I nonstop on and only establish out that there was a reason this book isnt filed in the Literature section. Its filed under Rock since this cannot be considered an actual literary work.
As for block,I find this man to be pathetic and not cool at all. All he does is whine and complain about things and then throw in insanely idiodic tales about how homeless people are beneath him and how they should remember if they already questioned him for money, because clearly their lives aren’t so hard.
This guy is just a waste of space. I read the entire book looking for what I thought was humor in his first chapter. His first rambling statements rang right to me, but the rest of the book is about pointless references to pop culture that most people dont even take a second glance over.
My advice. Read the first chapter and throw the book away. The guy thinks hes above everyone when all you ahve to do is look at his picture, the guy is a dork or writes for a magazine for dorks. Don’t encourage him anymore.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5
I heard rave reviews about this book so I went out and bought it. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs? Who WOULDN’T like a book with a title like that? ::raises hand:: I thought it was dreadful. If you like pop-culture, you might like this book. I like pop-culture, but, I thought this book was so dull and pointless that I couldn’t read past the first few chapter. So, take my review for what it is — a review by a name who hasn’t completely read the book, but was bored to death by the beginning.
Reader’s Rating: 1 / 5