Jammin

(excuse the off-color language)

This is one of the images that came up when I entered the term “culture jamming” into Google Images. It’s from an online comic website called “Toothpaste for Dinner.” Even though I think culture jamming is not without its merits, I had to laugh when I saw this because it made sense in that it echoed many of the common objections to culture jamming.

During our last class, while we were discussing the idea and practice of culture jamming, the question came up as to whether we believed culture jamming could be an effective way of getting people to reevaluate their consumer choices. The general consensus of the class seemed to be that putting a sticker on a bus stop ad wouldn't necessarily bring a corporation to its knees, but that it could be a thought-provoking means of starting a dialogue (at least a mental one) between the corporation and the average consumer, or potential consumer.

While I had been somewhat familiar with culture jamming before watching the documentary about it, I hadn't known that it had a following strong enough to be considered an actual "subculture." Viewing the film made me realize just how much of the culture jamming ethos I agreed with; I do believe that too many people are merely "consumers" who soak up messages from the media without giving them a second thought. And deconstructing ads is certainly an effective means of debunking those false, corporate-created messages. I've always thought it curious that TV commercials and ads instantly seem shoddy and transparent when viewed from an outsider’s perspective. For example, if I’m watching a movie and focusing on a character that happens to be watching a commercial or reading an ad, my attention is shifted to the central storyline and the character’s doings, and therefore the ad or commercial appears much paler and banal in comparison. However, if I were to come across similar pieces of media in my own day-to-day life, I wouldn’t realize how silly they were unless someone specifically pointed it out to me. Watching the culture jamming documentary was a bit like that - a feeling of recognition and understanding (along with some uncomfortable squirming at Carly the Media Tigress’s terrible rapping) came over me.

This isn’t to say, however, that I agreed wholeheartedly with the culture jammers and their arguments. Reverend Billy’s earnest espousal of the need to do away with all meanings of signs in our culture didn’t offend me personally, but I could see how other people would have been deeply upset by the “crucified” Mickey and Minnie. The larger argument he brought up of whether a cross (an acknowledged religious symbol) should or should not mean something to someone who does consider themselves a Christian detracted from his points about Disney’s sweatshop practices. This falls into another point that was brought up in class, that culture jamming can deteriorate into a senseless attack on everything – simply agitation for agitation’s sake.

Another example of how culture jamming can go wrong is through AdBusters’ new “Blackspot” sneakers. For only $75.00 (including shipping and handling) you can now “kick corporate ass” with a pair of eco-friendly, 100% organic hemp sneakers that look exactly like Converses – minus the logo.

http://www.adbusters.org/category/culture_shop/ethical_alternatives/blackspot_shoes

This new offering from AdBusters reminded me of the printed Che Guevara t-shirts that were so popular a few years back. Taking a revolutionary icon and using him or her to sell merchandise isn’t a new ploy by any means, but the Che Guevara t-shirt, when it was still popular, is a prime example of taking something original and genuine and changing it into a mere fad. Wearing the Che Guevara t-shirt because it looked unique and rebellious and seemed to stand for something vaguely cool was a common pratice. Although Che himself despised capitalist consumer culture, the t-shirt became a part of youth “subculture” and was worn by many who had no idea of who Che really was or what he did. And while the manufacturing practices used to produce “Blackspot” sneakers might be more equitable than Nike’s, the idea remains the same: you can sell anything, even the concept of consumer rebellion, as long as you make the consumer think you are on their side.

To summarize: culture jamming is effective as long as its goal remains to raise consumer awareness and encourage the deconstruction of ads. Its faults do not lie in the fact that it does not produce solutions for these problems, as that is not one of the culture jammers’ goals. Rather, culture jamming becomes flawed when it either 1) in turn tries to market itself, or 2) goes to the other extreme by simply attacking anything smacking of “authority,” “the establishment,” or “the Man.” As long as culture jamming continues to carefully tread the line between selling out and immature teenager-like acting out, it can be an effective means of provoking thought about corporate agendas.