-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century
by W. David Marx
A revealing exploration of a quarter century of cultural stagnation, examining the commercial and technological forces that have come to dominate contemporary culture—from music and fashion to art, film, TV, and beyond.
Over the past twenty-five years, pop culture has suffered from a perplexing lack of reinvention. We've entered a cultural "blank space"—an era when reboots, rehashes, and fads flourish, while bold artistic experimentation struggles to gain recognition. Why is risk no longer rewarded, and how did playing it safe become the formula for success? Acclaimed cultural historian W. David Marx sets out to uncover the answers.
In this ambitious cultural history, Marx guides us through the blur of the twenty-first century so far, from the Obama era to the rise of K-pop, from Paris Hilton to the Marvel cinematic universe, from Beyoncé and Taylor Swift to ... Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, whose enduring influence highlights both their adaptability and the broader shifts in pop culture. Combining sociological, economic, and political insights with a deep dive into art, street culture, fashion, and technology, Blank Space dissects the rise of profit-driven, formulaic trends and the shifting cultural norms that often prioritize going viral over innovation. He reveals how backlash against indie snobbery and nineties counterculture gave rise to a "counter-counterculture"—one marked by antiliberal sentiment, the celebration of business heroes, and the increasing influence of industry plants and the elite class. In a world of crypto bros, nepo babies, and AI-driven art, Marx offers readers a much-needed dose of clarity and context.
Vibrantly narrated and sharply argued, Blank Space is an essential guide for anyone looking to understand the chaos of the twenty-first century, the trends, tastemakers, and icons who shaped it, and how we might push our culture forward over the next quarter century—through renewed emphasis on creativity, community, and the values that transcend mere profit.
"[Marx] draws on a commendable wealth of examples from disparate realms of culture—from the dominance of Japanese streetwear to Nazified internet memes and the 'child influencer' the Rizzler—to ably explain what many citizens of the modern world, especially Americans, have long colloquially felt: that our current culture has grown stagnant. A wide-ranging, persuasive, readable treatise on a crucial component of modern life." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"[Marx] traces unlikely connections between the dominant trends of the past quarter-century. In the process, he refreshes our understanding of familiar cultural landmarks, even as he shows that they were stale all along."
—The Washington Post
"A fascinating, astute, lively examination of the decline of groundbreaking creative ambition and innovation in our ultra-postmodern digital era. Happily, W. David Marx isn't some nostalgic old fogey—he came of age at the turn of this century and yearns for an old-school commitment by creators to attempt the genuinely, excitingly new." —Kurt Andersen, author of Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire
"Reading Blank Space was the first time this century made any sense to me." —B. J. Novak, #1 New York Times bestselling author
This information about Blank Space was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
W. David Marx is a longtime culture writer based in Tokyo and the author of Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change and Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Popeye, The New Republic, Vox, and more.
If you liked Blank Space, try these:
by Ali Smith
Published 2026
From a literary master, a moving and genre-bending story about our era-spanning search for meaning and knowing.
by Sophie Gilbert
Published 2026
From Atlantic critic and Pulitzer Prize finalist Sophie Gilbert, a blazing critique of early aughts pop culture.
by Paul Alexander
Published 2025
A revelatory look at the tumultuous life of a jazz legend and American cultural icon
The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people ...
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
