Search
Log in
  • Home

  • Categories

  • Audiobooks

  • E-books

  • For kids

  • Top lists

  • Help

  • Download app

  • Use campaign code

  • Redeem gift card

  • Try free now
  • Log in
  • Language

    🇳🇱 Nederland

    • NL
    • EN

    🇧🇪 Belgique

    • FR
    • EN

    🇩🇰 Danmark

    • DK
    • EN

    🇩🇪 Deutschland

    • DE
    • EN

    🇪🇸 España

    • ES
    • EN

    🇫🇷 France

    • FR
    • EN

    🇳🇴 Norge

    • NO
    • EN

    🇦🇹 Österreich

    • AT
    • EN

    🇨🇭 Schweiz

    • DE
    • EN

    🇫🇮 Suomi

    • FI
    • EN

    🇸🇪 Sverige

    • SE
    • EN
  1. Books
  2. History
  3. United States of America

Read and listen for free for 30 days!

Cancel anytime

Try free now
3.0(1)

1999 : The Year Low Culture Conquered America and Kickstarted Our Bizarre Times

From pro wrestling and Pokémon to Vince McMahon 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.

According to Benes, there are many lessons to learn from the year that low culture conquered the world. Talk shows and reality TV foreshadowed the way political movements grab power by capturing our attention. Pro wrestling mastered the art of "kayfabe"—the agreement to treat something as real and genuine when it is not—before it spread throughout American society, as political contests, corporate public relations campaigns, and nonprofit fundraising schemes have become their own wrestling matches that require a suspension of disbelief. Beanie Babies and Pokémon demonstrate capitalism's resiliency as well as its vulnerabilities. Legal and technological victories obtained by early internet pornographers show how the things people are ashamed of have the ability to influence the world. Insane Clown Posse's creation of loyal Juggalos illustrates the way religious and political leaders are able to generate faithful followers by selling themselves as persecuted outsiders. And the controversy over video game violence reveals how every generation finds new scapegoats. 1999 is not just a nostalgic look at the past. It is also a window into our contentious present.


Author:

  • Ross Benes

Narrator:

  • Josh Innerst

Format:

  • Audiobook

Duration:

  • 10 h 20 min

Language:

English

Categories:

  • History
  • United States of America
  • Society and Social Sciences
  • Society

More by Ross Benes

Skip the list
  1. The Sex Effect : Baring Our Complicated Relationship with Sex

    Ross Benes

    audiobook

Others have also read

Skip the list
  1. Our Little Secret - The True Story of a Teenage Killer and the Silence of a Small New England Town (Unabridged)

    Kevin Flynn, Rebecca Lavoie

    audiobook
  2. The Great Plague

    Evelyn Lord

    audiobook
  3. London Under

    Peter Ackroyd

    audiobook
  4. A Knock at the Door : A homeless man, a lawyer . . . and a family changed forever

    audiobook
  5. Medical Downfall of the Tudors

    Sylvia Barbara Soberton

    audiobook
  6. DisneyWar

    James B. Stewart

    audiobook
  7. The Habsburg Empire

    Pieter M. Judson

    audiobook
  8. 100 Deadly Skills: Survival Edition: The SEAL Operative's Guide to Surviving in the Wild and Being Prepared for Any Disaster

    Clint Emerson

    audiobookbook
  9. The Story of China : A portrait of a civilisation and its people

    Michael Wood

    audiobookbook
  10. Great Ladies

    Sylvia Barbara Soberton

    audiobook
  11. The Neanderthals Rediscovered

    Dimitra Papagianni, Michael A. Morse

    audiobook
  12. Idiots : Marriage, Motherhood, Milk & Mistakes

    Laura Clery

    audiobookbook

  • 2 books

    Ross Benes

    Ross Benes is the author of Turned On: A Mind-Blowing Investigation into How Sex Has Shaped Our World, which Kirkus called a “probing, multifaceted commentary on the social science of sex and society.” He has written for many publications including Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, and Rolling Stone, among others. A native Nebraskan, Ross now lives in New York with his mutt Cooper.

    Read more

Help and contact


About us

  • Our story
  • Career
  • Press
  • Accessibility
  • Partner with us
  • Investor relations
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

Explore

  • Categories
  • Audiobooks
  • E-books
  • Magazines
  • For kids
  • Top lists

Popular categories

  • Crime
  • Biographies and reportage
  • Fiction
  • Feel-good and romance
  • Personal development
  • Children's books
  • True stories
  • Sleep and relaxation

Nextory

Copyright © 2025 Nextory AB

Privacy Policy · Terms ·
Excellent4.3 out of 5