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A review by xavpas
I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains by Chuck Klosterman
5.0
I Wear the Black Hat was another great addition to Klosterman's canon. It was a return to the attention grabbing writing/subject matter that was present in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, but it had a mature and sincere tone that has developed as he has grown as a writer. While I thoroughly enjoyed Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs (I first read it when I was in my early 20's), I feel that my connection with it would be different now that I am on the cusp of 30. I Wear the Black Hat isn't just an exploration of society's obsession or understanding of villains, it's also an opportunity for some humorous self analysis.
I realize there are people who dislike Klosterman's style of writing. Having spoken to some friends of mine who aren't huge fans, it seems that the general consensus is that he comes off as a pretentious jerk who belittles his readers by pontificating about arbitrary topics and insinuating that their opinions don't matter. However, I can't help but disagree. Does Klosterman have his opinions about the topics he writes about? Certainly. Does he use academic language to discuss topics that appear to be "non-academic"? Definitely. But here's the thing, that's what makes his writing so engaging and fun. I think the problem lies in how people read his writing: you just can't take it too seriously. I equivocate his writing to the scripts used for the Daily Show or the Colbert Report. Are John Stewart and Stephen Colbert caricatures of a set of ideals held by society? Yes. When they portray these caricatures, are there moments when they break the mold and expose some moments of "truth"? Yes. I feel the same can be said about Klosterman's writing. It's opinionated, it's candid, it's funny, and in some cases, it's true. I Wear the Black Hat is Klosterman at his best.
I realize there are people who dislike Klosterman's style of writing. Having spoken to some friends of mine who aren't huge fans, it seems that the general consensus is that he comes off as a pretentious jerk who belittles his readers by pontificating about arbitrary topics and insinuating that their opinions don't matter. However, I can't help but disagree. Does Klosterman have his opinions about the topics he writes about? Certainly. Does he use academic language to discuss topics that appear to be "non-academic"? Definitely. But here's the thing, that's what makes his writing so engaging and fun. I think the problem lies in how people read his writing: you just can't take it too seriously. I equivocate his writing to the scripts used for the Daily Show or the Colbert Report. Are John Stewart and Stephen Colbert caricatures of a set of ideals held by society? Yes. When they portray these caricatures, are there moments when they break the mold and expose some moments of "truth"? Yes. I feel the same can be said about Klosterman's writing. It's opinionated, it's candid, it's funny, and in some cases, it's true. I Wear the Black Hat is Klosterman at his best.