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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. Which Saved by the Bell actor did not take a madly divergent role after the show?

2. In the beginning of Eating the Dinosaur, Klosterman discusses whether time travel or what will happen first?

3. In his hypothetical questions, whose skull does Klosterman ask if a person would display in their home?

4. What Star Wars character does Klosterman argue was the hero of every kid who watched the franchise?

5. What is Mitch Hrlicka's nickname?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mitch dislike his coach in Downtown Owl?

2. Why is Laura dispirited by her interview with Walter Valentine?

3. How are some cereal icons representative of the pained desire for perfection and acceptance?

4. How is Luke Skywalker's relationship with Darth Vader a familiar relationship to Gen X'ers?

5. How do page designers affect the news?

6. How are the musicians at the Pop Music Studies conference antithetical in their remarks to the spirit of the event?

7. What is the book Left Behind about?

8. How has the portrayal of reality in films changed between the golden age of the 1970s and today, according to Klosterman?

9. Why is the Pop Music Studies conference that Klosterman attends in Chapter 17 not a rocking place?

10. Why does Klosterman posit that traveling forward in time is less fraught than traveling back?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Klosterman is repeatedly drawing a line in his argument between what he personally likes and what he defends. Often he will dedicate an entire chapter to a person or movement that he dislikes but believes has merit. Write an essay about three instances and the line that Klosterman draws:

Part 1) What is the cultural importance of internet pornography in the modern age? How does Klosterman connect porn to the highest aspirations of the internet age? Does Klosterman indicate that he particularly likes internet porn? Why is he compelled by it?

Part 2) In Toby Over Moby, what type of country music does Klosterman decry and what type does he staunchly defend? Does this defense coincide with his personal tastes? What is the purpose of this defense then?

Part 3) In Rock Chump, what does Klosterman personally feel about the in-depth analysis and debate about pop music that he experiences? Discuss the tone he takes in discussing this conference. What value does it have? What connection does it have the popular music industry?

Essay Topic 2

From Klosterman's point-of-view, certain individuals are able to effortlessly embody abstract ideas. Write an essay about his exploration of Marilyn Monroe and Pamela Anderson. How does each woman typify the sexuality of her era? What limitations on the public's understanding of these women does this symbolic quality create? Why is Anderson, in Klosterman's opinion, a more effective sex symbol than Madonna?

Essay Topic 3

In one of the essays of Sex Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Klosterman uses certain pup cultural conflicts to illustrate race conflict in America. In an essay, discuss Klosterman's notions about race in this country. What did The Real World illustrate about this conflict? What about the Laker/Celtic rivalry of the 1980s and 1990s? Does Klosterman seem to think race is a serious problem in this country? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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