1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times (Politics and Popular Culture)

I was 23 in 1999 and can’t say for sure that I felt a cultural shift at that time, but in the years since, I’ve seen many people point to that year as a hinge to where we are now. No one illustrates this shift more directly or thoroughly than Ross Benes. His latest book, 1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarte Our Bizarre Times, is a wild ride through those 365 days that led us to the world of social media, influencers, and low culture that dominates today’s society.

Benes tackles some very common topics, namely the Jerry Springer show, Beanie Babies, and video games. But what I love about the book is that he situates these in a larger context; he see Springer as the pre-cursor to reality TV, and uses chapters devoted to professional wrestling and Juggalo culture (see the band Insane Clown Posse) to note the need Americans seemed to have to be part of a group larger than their race, their class, or their identification with their hometowns.

If you had a subscription to Spin or Rolling Stone as a kid in the 90s, this one is a must-read.