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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Katie in Chapter 2?

2. Why is Chuck's Sim unable to form a romantic relationship with Bella?

3. Why does Klosterman think artists like Billy Joel are largely ignored?

4. What separates Paradise City from other Guns-N-Roses tribute bands?

5. What does Klosterman initially suspect the Sims to be a critique of?

Short Essay Questions

1. What possible pitfalls could the release of Chinese Democracy cause for Paradise City?

2. Why did Klosterman fail as a little league coach?

3. How does Will Wright answer the question of materialism in The Sims?

4. What is the essential difference between a Laker philosophy and a Celtic philosophy?

5. In Chapter 4, how does Klosterman explain Bruce Springsteen's appeal?

6. According to Klosterman, how did The Real World create modern youth culture?

7. How are Marilyn Monroe and Pamela Anderson similar?

8. How did Nora Ephron ruin a lot of young lives?

9. What is Chuck Klosterman's purpose in writing this book?

10. What is fake love?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of Sex Drags and Cocoa Puffs is dedicated to the profundity of frivolous topics like The Real World and Vanilla Sky. In two of the latter chapters, Klosterman focuses on two more socially dire topics, and his tone changes dramatically. Analyze these two chapters and the tone surrounding them in three parts:

Part 1) What is the nature of Chuck Klosterman's interest in serial killers? How did it start, and what does he want to understand about them? Discuss the research that Klosterman does into serial killers. What does he grow to understand through this research, and why does he have difficulty accepting it?

Part 2) Why does Chuck Klosterman's past render him particularly adept at exploring current trends in journalism? What lessons does he impart in this book, and how do these lessons explain the struggle of print journalism to survive? What conclusions does he draw about the future of print?

Essay Topic 2

Choose three of the movies that Chuck Klosterman discusses in Chapter 13. In an essay discuss what all of these films have in common thematically. Why does Klosterman think that these are among the most effective films of the modern age? How do these films, as Klosterman argues, create the reality that others experience? How do their presentations of reality differ the presentations from film of the 1970's?

Essay Topic 3

Beginning in the first chapter and continuing throughout several essays that follow, Klosterman discusses the fake emotion and false expectations that popular culture creates. Write an essay about false reality that pop culture creates. What specific examples does Klosterman provide? How does he say these products affect generational consciousness? How have they affected his own life?

(see the answer keys)

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