Stephen King's Impact On American Culture

Impact of Stephen King on American Culture “Get busy living or get busy dying.” - Stephen King. Stephen King is an American author who still lives today. Most of his novels are influenced by what was going on in his life and his own experiences. Many of Kings novels in the 80s were written under Kings alcohol and cocaine addiction which can be seen throughout this period. Kings cocaine addiction is also not a coincidence as this time period experienced an influx of cocaine from Colombia and Pablo escobar. Another factor that influenced the impact of King's writings was the economic depression of the 1970s and boom of the 80s. This lead to many new entrepreneurs growing faster than before and being able to become successful. Kings

Kings first bestseller was, “Carrie.” A novel about a town with dark secrets beneath it and a girl who is abused wherever she goes (Romano 2017). Later down the line Carrie was turned into a movie and became a box office hit. This was the first time some people had experienced Stephen King and they would not forget it. His next novel was, “Salem’s Lot.” According to UXL, the article says, “'Salem's Lot was even more popular than Carrie, selling over two million copies in only six months” (2003). “Salem’s Lot,” is a story of vampires appearing in a small town (UXL 2003). “The Shining,” (Stephen King’s third book) was about a boy with telekinetic powers living in a hotel with an alcoholic Father (UXL 2003). In the article by UXL it says, “one of the resorts where they stayed was nearly deserted, and this gave King the idea for the setting of his next book, The Shining.” In the book you can also see that King is represent his own problem with alcoholism in the antagonist while having what is precious to him being the protagonist. “Pet Sematary,” another tremendously successful book by Stephen King is one of King’s darker tales. Pet Sematary explores the idea of life after death and not only having your pets die (King 2018). The book is inspired by real life events in which King finds the local children making a pet cemetery after numerous roadkill

According to UXL, King has won awards for, “School Library Journal Book List citation, 1975, for Carrie; World Fantasy Award nominations, 1976, for `Salem's Lot, 1979, for The Stand and Night Shift, 1980, for The Dead Zone, 1981, for "The Mist," and 1983, for "The Breathing Method: A Winter's Tale" in Different Seasons; Hugo Award nomination, World Science Fiction Society, and Nebula Award nomination, Science Fiction Writers of America, both 1978, both for The Shining; Balrog Awards, second place in best novel category for The Stand, and second place in best collection category for Night Shift, both 1979; American Library Association best books for young adults citation, 1979, for The Long Walk, and 1981, for Firestarter; World Fantasy Award, 1980, for contributions to the field, and 1982, for story "Do the Dead Sing?"; Career Alumni Award, University of Maine at Orono, 1981; Nebula Award nomination, Science Fiction Writers of America, 1981, for story "The Way Station"; special British Fantasy Award for outstanding contribution to the genre, British Fantasy Society, 1982, for Cujo; Hugo Award, World Science Fiction Convention, 1982, for Stephen King's Danse Macabre; named Best Fiction Writer of the Year, Us Magazine, 1982; Locus Award for best collection, Locus Publications, 1986, for Stephen King's Skeleton Crew; Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel, Horror Writers Association, 1988, for Misery;