{"product_id":"1999","title":"1999: The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom pro wrestling and Pokmon to Insane Clown Posse and Jerry Springer, this look at the low culture of the late ’90s reveals its profound impact and how it continues to affect our culture and society today.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe year 1999 was a high-water mark for popular culture. According to one measure, it was the “best movie year ever.” But as journalist Ross Benes shows, the end of the ’90s was also a banner year for low culture. This was the heyday of Jerry Springer, Jenna Jameson, and Vince McMahon, among many others. Low culture had come into its own and was poised for world domination. The reverberations of this takeover continue to shape American society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring its New Year’s Eve countdown, MTV entered 1999 with Limp Bizkit covering Prince’s famous anthem to the new year. The highlights of the lowlights continued when WCW and WWE drew 35 million American viewers each week with sex appeal and stories about insurrections. Insane Clown Posse emerged from the underground with a Woodstock set and platinum records about magic and murder. Later that year, \u003ci\u003eDance Dance Revolution\u003c\/i\u003e debuted in North America and \u003ci\u003eGrand Theft Auto\u003c\/i\u003e emerged as a major video game franchise. Beanie Babies and Pokmon so thoroughly seized the wallets and imagination of collectors that they created speculative investment bubbles that anticipated the faddish obsession over nonfungible tokens (NFTs). The trashy talk show \u003ci\u003eJerry Springer\u003c\/i\u003e became daytime TV’s most-watched program and grew so mainstream that \u003ci\u003eAustin Powers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSabrina the Teenage Witch\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Wayans Bros.\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Simpsons\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe X-Files\u003c\/i\u003e incorporated Springer into their own plots during the late ’90s. Donald Trump even explored a potential presidential nomination with the Reform Party in 1999 and wanted his running mate to be Oprah Winfrey, whose own talk show would make Dr. Oz a household name.\u003c\/p\u003eBenes shows us how so many of the strangest features of culture in 1999 predicted and influenced American life today. This wild ride through pop culture uncovers the connections between the kayfabe of WWE and the theatrics of politics, between the faddish obsession with Beanie Babies and with NFTs, between faithful fans and political loyalists, between violent video games and society’s scapegoats, and much more. \u003ci\u003e1999\u003c\/i\u003e is not just a nostalgic look at the past. It is also a window into our contentious present.","brand":"None","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":46159153168561,"sku":"9780700638574","price":44.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Kobo eBook","offer_id":46159153201329,"sku":"ccd69f7b-01eb-3dce-8d92-5a9f4e1d488d","price":16.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0655\/8980\/5233\/files\/1_4b613378-fd48-4413-b7ba-69ad29fcdc49.jpg?v=1762727359","url":"https:\/\/www.indigo.ca\/products\/1999","provider":"Indigo","version":"1.0","type":"link"}