What do "Saved by the Bell," mohawks and Motley Crue have in common? How did Rocky IV contribute to the fall of communism?
Parents and students asked these questions and more of Chuck Klosterman, a journalist and best-selling author who spoke about the state of American culture in Page Auditorium Saturday.
"I am a pop culture journalist," Klosterman said. "I write about the popular culture and apply a highly critical process to help people understand and think about the way culture informs their lives."
After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1994, Klosterman entered the world of journalism as an expert on Generation Xers who he said "wore their hats backwards and listened to Soundgarden."
In the mid-90s, Klosterman moved to Akron, Ohio to become an arts critic. His first book-a history of "hair metal" rock-attracted the attention of publishing houses and helped him land a job at Spin magazine and contributing roles at Esquire and ESPN.com.
"What I try to do is find populist ideas-things that people encounter all the time-and then think critically about them," Klosterman said. "It's not what you know or what you don't know, but how you think about it."
Because his writing examines everything from rock music to the movie Snakes on a Plane, Klosterman said his main audience is 18-to-30 year olds.
Audience members said Klosterman's broad knowledge of social issues and ability to find common themes among disparate topics made his tongue-in-cheek commentary both hilarious and thought-provoking.
"There is a desire for discourse about the new American popular culture on a somewhat intellectual level and that's exactly the niche that he fills," said senior Shuhei Yamamoto. "This is how I like to analyze and critique pop culture."
But Klosterman didn't just focus on the subtle interconnectedness of pop culture. He cited his own biography as proof that the path to success has many detours and that every person's career often hinges on seemingly unimportant events.
"I like that he directed part of his speech to college students and on advising them [as to] how he got to where he is," said Bill Frey, father of freshman Will Frey. "He said it was impossible to follow a career track similar to his and that people should be ready for career opportunities when they are open to them."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.