Would You Take the Pill?

Review

“Remember when Danny Angie bit Tree Rollin’s hand in the 1984 Eastern Conference play-offs?” If you were born after 1985 you’re probably thinking “Who the hell is Danny Angie and no I don’t remember when he bit Tree Rollins?” and I understand where you’re coming from. This is a quote from the book I just finished reading, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. In my opinion, it was a very difficult read for someone in their teens to comprehend. The man who wrote it, Chuck Klosterman, focused on appealing to an audience who was born in the sixties. While this book had more examples that did not apply to me than ones that did, I really enjoyed it. The ideas he wrote about were applicable to my life and had a sense of humor that kept me from getting bored.

This book is about popular culture and how it influences people in the current day and age (more so the 1970’s). The first point he made that interested me was that people can never enjoy a realistic relationship because they are always comparing themselves to the prospect of fake love shown in TV, books, etc. Secondly, he got me thinking when he said that people are commonly more interested in reality TV than fantasy because the ability to compare what is shown on TV to someones normal life is appealing. We do not like the concept of perfection, we want heightened reality and more imperfection because that’s how life is. After reading the aforementioned statements it got me thinking about why I agree with them so much and that they are so frighteningly true and applicable to my life. 

One thing I enjoyed about this book was how he proved his points. Klosterman used metaphors to make his point credible in every case. He compared the fact that he was trying to prove with something easily verifiable. This is effective because it allowed me to trust him (appealing to my ethos). “He suddenly became the biggest Christian movie star in America (which - truth be told - is kind of like being the most successful heroin dealer on the campus of Brigham Young University).” (Klosterman 232) This is a great example of a metaphor that can be easily agreed upon to a person living in Utah and/or familiar with the extremely Mormon campus of BYU. 

Klosterman’s diction also stuck out to me in a positive way. Words like despondent, egregious, and nihilists all add a certain panache to the way he proves his points. These types of words showed that he was confident with his delivery of points and knew how to use vocabulary in an effective way. Furthermore, the arrangement of these advanced words onto the page is very well done. “But here’s my one problem with media bashers, both inside and outside the journalistic profession: They inevitably hate the wrong things.” (Klosterman 203) This sentence is a beautiful example of how he introduces ideas. His vocabulary is advanced and he uses punctuation to his advantage. To prove this point further, here is this same sentence rewritten by a common high schooler: “People who hate the media don’t hate it for the right reasons.” Now you can see how the first one is clearly superior and gives more detail and adds interest to the sentence as a whole. 

All in all, I thought that this was a pretty good book. The things that Klosterman had to say were intriguing and applicable to my life today. My one piece of advice for teenagers would be to ask your parents about some of the examples he uses that are not quite as applicable to your everyday life. I was not familiar with the people he referenced but his eventual point was easy to agree with. I would recommend this book to teenagers who are interested in learning more about how things influence them and any adult who is familiar with popular culture from their generation. 

If you want to read more about Klosterman and his other books click here to check out his site.

SOAPSTone (because it’s required)

S The speaker of this book is Chuck Klosterman himself. There is evidence that proved this when he uses personal pronouns and says his opinions throughout the book.

O The occasion of this book is Klosterman thinking about his life and all the aspects in it late at night. “What you are about to read is an evening book. It was written in those fleeting evening moments just before I fall asleep.” (Klosterman II)

A This book is meant for an audience born around the same year as Klosterman (in their 40’s or 50’s) because it references things from their generation and uses complex vocabulary meant to be understood by people who have gone through a high school and college education.

P In my opinion, the purpose of this book was for Klosterman to get his ideas out in the world. When he is sitting at home late at night he thought that his ideas that he came up with were general truths and should be shared with the general public. If I were him and had writing skills and good ideas in my head I would share them and get boat loads of money for it too. 

S The style of this book is a somewhat systematic approach to introducing an idea. He first starts with the general idea he is telling about, then Klosterman dives into a story or metaphor that he can relate back to the idea, then he tells you the concept, and then relates it beck to either the old idea or another one to make the point even clearer.

Tone Klosterman uses an accusatory tone where he just states the facts and does not care who takes offense. He blames everyone for this own mistakes and tells it as it is. “What matters is that Coldplay manufactures fake love as frenetically as the Ford f**n Motor Company manufactures Mustangs, and thats all the women heard.” This is a perfect example of him blaming women for believing everything Coldplay says and just straight up saying it, not softening the facts in anyway.

Rating