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Author | Douglas Coupland |
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Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Genre | Novel |
Publisher | Pocket Books |
Publication date | 1992 |
Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
Pages | 304 pp |
ISBN | 0-671-75505-6 (first edition, hardcover) & ISBN 0-7432-3153-8 |
OCLC | 25746138 |
813/.54 20 | |
LC Class | PS3553.O855 S48 1992 |
Preceded by | Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture |
Followed by | Life After God |
Shampoo Planet is Douglas Coupland's second novel, published by Pocket Books in 1992. It is a thematic followup to Coupland's first novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture . The novel deals with Tyler, a Global Teen, who shares many characteristics of the character Tyler from Generation X, the younger brother of Andy, Generation X's narrator. The novel tells the story of Tyler's life as he arrives home from Europe, and the fallout of this trip and beyond.
Part one begins shortly after Tyler's return from a European vacation. He is in a relationship with a girl named Anna-Louise, and dreams of working for American Defense Contractor, Bechtel. He is obsessed with his haircare products, having a collection of different brand name products, most featuring names invented by Coupland.
The first part of the novel details Tyler's life in Lancaster, Washington. The town is a near-ghost town, after the town's largest employer, the Plants, was shut down. The effects of the Plants' shutdown has caused many problems in the town, including the boarding up of many stores in the local mall.
Tyler's family life is composed of himself, his mother, and his two siblings. He calls his mother by her first name, Jasmine. Jasmine is an ex-hippie who is married to an alcoholic man named Dan. At the very introduction of the novel, Dan divorces Jasmine. Tyler, his sister, Daisy, and his brother, Mark, band together to help Jasmine through her troubling time.
Tyler's grandparents are also introduced. They are quite wealthy, but they will not share their wealth with their family members. They have decided to start selling a product satirically labeled KittyWhip, which is a gourmet cat food product line.
Two of Tyler's compatriots, Monique and Stephanie, from his European vacation visit him in Lancaster. Stephanie is Tyler's secret shame from Europe, having had a summer fling with her. Tyler describes his European vacation, the events that lead to him meeting Stephanie, and what he's feeling during Stephanie's visit.
Tyler's world starts to turn upside down as his grandparents lose their fortune, his mother becomes a KittyWhip salesperson, and his relationship with Anna-Louise enters a rough patch. Tyler feels himself become more drawn to Stephanie than Anna-Louise.
Tyler, deciding that his life in Lancaster is not interesting enough, leaves with Stephanie to live in Los Angeles. His time in Los Angeles is wrought with strife. Tyler's worst fear becomes realized as he finds himself working at a chicken fry shop manning the fryer. It is in Los Angeles that Tyler begins to comprehend advice that his mother gave him about loneliness.
It's about a group I call the Global Teens. They're all under 25 and their greatest tribal identifier is great hair and great clothes. And they're as alien to X as X is to baby boomers.
— Coupland, The Globe and Mail, 1991 [1]
The novel is about the generation after the X generation. The primary character, Tyler, is a "Global Teen", what was popularly labeled in the media as Generation Y. They are the children of the hippy generation, who "react by loving corporations, and they don't mind wearing ties. To them, Ronald Reagan is emperor". [2] They exist in a globally connected world marked out by advertising and corporate power. They are optimistic when compared with their siblings in the X Generation. However, they do not have experience with leaders who show care for other people. "I still remember Jimmy Carter. I still remember Pierre Trudeau. I still remember a time when society cared about other people. But there's nothing in these kids' databases to show that there are other options, that it wasn't always dog eat dog. Older people have to somehow convince young people that better things are possible." [2]
Being released in the shadow of Generation X , Shampoo Planet is considered another Zeitgeist catching novel. Its depiction of the Global Teen generation is similar to the depiction of Generation X in the previous novel, yet it suffers from comparison to Generation X. Coupland himself has claimed that the novel is too contrived. [3] However, the novel has retained its individual sense, and become a historical artifact of the times that brought about its creation.
It has been referenced by the show Ergo Proxy , whose 21st episode was named after the book, and by the band Panic! at the Disco, in their songs "London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines" and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies". The Japanese rock band Learners perform a song called "Shampoo Planet," written by Gakuji Matsuda.
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Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. is a middle-grade novel by American writer Judy Blume, published in 1970. Its protagonist, Margaret Simon, is a sixth-grader who grows up without a religious affiliation because of her parents' interfaith marriage. This contemporary realistic novel was popular with middle-grade readers in the 1970s for its relatable portrayal of a young girl confronting early-adolescent anxieties, such as menstruation, brassieres and boys. The recipient of national honors and book awards, the novel has been challenged for its frank discussion of sexual and religious topics.
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Pantene was formerly a Swiss brand of hair care products now owned by Procter & Gamble. The product line originated in Europe in 1945 by Hoffmann-La Roche of Switzerland, which based the name on panthenol. It started to be introduced in the United States and around the world in 1985 when it was purchased by Richardson Vicks (Vicks) of the United States. That company was taken over in the same year by the American company Procter & Gamble (P&G) in order for P&G to compete in the "beauty product" market rather than only functional products.
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Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, also abbreviated to Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation, is a non-fiction book about The Simpsons, written by Chris Turner and originally published on October 12, 2004 by Random House. The book is partly a memoir and an exploration of the impact The Simpsons has had on popular culture.
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Douglas Coupland is a Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularized the terms Generation X and McJob. He has published 13 novels, two collections of short stories, seven non-fiction books, and a number of dramatic works and screenplays for film and television. He is a columnist for the Financial Times, as well as a frequent contributor to The New York Times, e-flux journal, DIS Magazine, and Vice. His art exhibits include Everywhere Is Anywhere Is Anything Is Everything, which was exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and the Royal Ontario Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, now the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada, and Bit Rot at Rotterdam's Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, as well as the Villa Stuck.
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Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture is the first novel by Douglas Coupland, published by St. Martin's Press in 1991. The novel, which popularized the term Generation X, is a framed narrative in which a group of youths exchange heartfelt stories about themselves and fantastical stories of their creation.
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