This week’s readings focused on parody and culture jamming. Last week we talked about what a consumerist society we live in, how we are indoctrinated by corporations and taught brand allegiance practically since birth. This week the emphasis as moved to how to fight off that consumerism that run rampant in our society. The first article talked about the Simpsons’ usage of parody to criticize television. The show depicts an exaggerated example of the average American idiot consumer. I think my favorite example from the article was when Homer was telling his children a story and paused in the middle of it. As Gray describes:
“Marge, meanwhile, declares that she will ‘‘stay here, but I’m going to think about products I might like to purchase,’’ at which point The Simpsons pauses for a commercial break. Not only does this scene effectively ridicule commercial television’s incessant pausing for ads, but it toys with the ludicrous logic that one would want a story to be put on hold so that one could consider various product purchases” (Gray p. 231).
This is a perfect example of the television show pointing out how absurd our toleration of advertisements is. By pointing this out in the show, the Simpsons prompt the audience to reexamine their actions. It may not be effective, but it is more than a lot of shows attempt to do. I have a hard time finding other shows that do this as effectively.
The other by Harold article focused less on media literacy and education through media. It focuses more on tearing down the system than working through it. Culture jamming is an act that interrupts someone’s normal media pattern to criticize and change consumerist culture. This is often done by parodies of popular items that disparage them. The most frequently discussed examples of this were form Adbusters, the magazine that focused on fighting consumerist advertising. The “Blackspot” sneaker was exactly the type of culture jam that subtly defied mainstream corporate culture. Unfortunately, Adbusters does not have a very widespread audience. Its critiques of culture are accurate and brilliant at times, but it is not effective at eliminating consumerism. It just does not have the audience to do so. The article mentioned the “Truth” campaign, but I had never heard of the campaign until I read this article. Maybe I was living under a rock, but I think it might still be another example of how these attempts to undermine corporations often fail because they do not have access to the mainstream media.
Members of the mainstream media have the ability to culture jam as well, but most of the time the result tends to be hypocritical. Take Macklemore for example. He was once hailed for his anti-consumerist lyrics in songs like “Thrift shop” and “Wings,” but now he is the voice of Dr. Pepper (Taube). Or take the famous 30 Rock Snapple episode: the entire episode made fun of Snapple and of product placement itself, but at the end of the day, NBC was paid by Snapple for that episode (Nussbaum). It is good of mainstream media to point out the problems with our consumerist culture, but they can never do it without being hypocritical. This is the constant problem. True criticism flies under the radar, while mainstream criticism profits from it and does not take any actions to genuinely change the system.
I think the most effective way to culture jam nowadays is through memes. It is not mainstream, but a lot of people look at imgur, 9gag, Reddit, and many other websites.Memes are easily posted onto social media and are all over Facebook and Twitter. They are easy to make and easy to disperse. In this one meme, pictured below, the creator takes a critical look at Walmart’s social policy (Cursedbythedicegods). It is from the website imgflip.com. A meme like this is the perfect example of how culture jamming can progress and be appropriated to any medium.
Cursedbythedicegods. Wal-Mart. N.d. Imgflip. Web. <https://i.imgflip.com/4vml7.jpg>.
Gray, J. (2005). Television teaching: Parody, The Simpsons, and media literacy education. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22(3), 223-238. Available on ANGEL.
Harold, C. (2004) Pranking rhetoric: ‘Culture jamming’ as media activism. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 21(3), 189-211.
Navjosh. “Macklemore and Ryan Lewis ‘Dr. Pepper’ Comericial.” Hip Hop N More. N.p., 21 Jan. 2014. Web. <http://hiphop-n-more.com/2014/01/macklemore-ryan-lewis-dr-pepper-commercial/>.
Nussbaum, Emily. “What Tina Fey Would Do for a SoyJoy.” NYMag.com. N.p., 5 Oct. 2008. Web.
Taube, Aaron. “Anti-Consumerist Rapper Macklemore Adds Dr Pepper To Growing List Of Endorsement Deals.” Business Insider. N.p., 6 Jan. 2014. Web.
Julia Rae Brooks says
The use of memes has become very widespread only in recent years. I think that the simplicity, ease of access and exposure, and the now highly recognizable format makes the meme a powerful entity in current media. I still question the impact that something so accessible and widespread actually has, though. The abundance and limitations within the meme make it lose some of its overall authenticity. It’s the creativity, cleverness, and originality that make a culture jam really effective. What the meme does allow for, is quick and simple forms of expression that, most importantly, is accessible by all.
Mark J Schanen says
Shannon, your article was very well thought out and written. I also agree with many of the points you made in the article. Consumerism and product placement are impossible to escape in todays society. I particularly liked how you included Macklemore being sponsored by Dr. Pepper now. Many of his early songs were about going against the mainstream because it didn’t accept him, but now he is a huge part of mainstream culture. I also agree with the points you made about 4chan 9gag etc. The meme is a huge part of communicating on websites such as those, and can be very effective if it is good.
Tyler Christian Floryan says
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article, I liked what you took from the article to use in your post about how commercial advertising is a necessity for any TV program these days. I also liked your use of photos for your post especially the last one on Walmart. Memes are a great way to promote culture jam which I’m surprised you did not use a Grumpy Cat meme based on the fact it is dominating the media world now.