The Things You Carry

I finally figured out pictures!

In honor of me finally figuring out how to put pictures in here (still working on video) I decided to share some of the anticonsumer imagery that either will shock the nation out of its moneyed complacency or make everyone look like a jackass.

It’s called “culture jamming” and I am so freakin’ torn it’s unreal.

First of all, I like a lot of things connected to culture jamming. I like street art and modern satire. But I like it. I think it’s funny. In a way, I’m already sold.

So, for people who aren’t already on - or at least close to - the same page as the pranksters, is culture jamming effective or is it just preaching to a very hip choir?

Let’s take a look at some examples of self-proclaimed culture jamming. See what you think.

• This one, from the magazine Adbusters, I like. I like a lot. It’s powerful, disturbing and brings out the 98-pound elephant in the garage. Our society glamorizes thin, emotionally destroying our young women’s self-image and leading - directly or indirectly - to eating disorders. We stigmatize the victims, but ignore the cultural forces that lead girls (and some boys) to loathe themselves for not being a Kate Moss, Kate Bosworth or other Calvin Klein model. Well done, Adbusters. On the other hand…

• What the hell is this? What the hell is this? What’s Adbusters saying here? Kids like McDonalds? Kids are turning into McDonalds French fries? Anne Geddes has just started phoning it in? What does this mean? Main problem: It’s adorable. That makes me want to buy the kid some fries. They seem to make him happy.

Or check this one out:

• Benetton is trying to make money? They’re not just in it for the sheer joy of creating ugly, ugly clothing? Those bastards.

By the way, Adbusters is a Canadian magazine. Benetton is an Italian corporation. Why is the money in that man’s mouth U.S. currency?

I tell ya, we get the rap for everything.

Now, I don’t want to create the impression that all culture jamming is done by Adbusters. Here’s a link to Abrupt.org’s culture jamming page. The Abrupt Manifesto has an interesting notion about how means of protest become ineffective over time.

“When a ‘revolutionary’ idea becomes generally accepted, it can no longer effect change; it can only be refined and resold. Beneath a cosmetic veneer of vitality, the idea is dead. Its potential for undermining control has been co-opted and corrupted by the very forces it sought to defy (as happened to Dada and the Hippies). Frustration becomes fashion, counterculture becomes conformity. Constant change is the only medicine for this dialectic.”

That line was written in 1991. Just a thought.