Little Boxes (by Malvina Reynolds) • Little boxes on the hillside, And they all play on the golf course Little boxes made of ticky tacky And drink their martinis dry, Little boxes on the hillside, And they all have pretty children Little boxes all the same. And the children go to school, There's a green one and a pink one And the children go to summer camp And then to the university, And a blue one and a yellow one, Where they are put in boxes And they're all made out of ticky tacky And they come out all the same. And they all look just the same. And the boys go into business • And the people in the houses And marry and raise a family All went to the university, In boxes made of ticky tacky Where they were put in boxes And they all look just the same. And they came out all the same, There's a green one and a pink one And there's doctors and lawyers, And a blue one and a yellow one, And business executives, And they're all made out of ticky tacky And they all look just the same. And they're all made out of ticky tacky And they all look just the same. Cultural Resistance & Appropriation T. Frank • Q: Why can’t Johnny dissent? “Today that beautiful countercultural idea…is more the official doctrine of corporate America than it is a program of resistance” (p. 326) Commodification • Commodifying cultural resistance: • “Resistance” becomes something you can buy & sell "Man really attains the state of complete humanity when he produces, without being forced by physical need to sell himself as a commodity." -- Che Guevara Cultural Appropriation • To take possession of • To co-opt for your own use • To take specific elements from one culture and adopt them as your own – Ex: ideas, dress, music, dance, religion, language, slang, behavior, attitude… Example: the keffiyeh Resistance & Appropriation: Culture Jamming Dery’s “Empire of Signs” The Public Sphere • Requires an open and accessible space (media system) whereby citizens can equally participate in matters pertaining to society • A strong democracy requires meaningful citizen participation The Public Sphere Requirement: Many voices; equal voices. Citizens first (not consumers) The Problem: Mass Media Few people have access to mass media production. Therefore, few voices in public sphere. ANOTHER PROBLEM: Advertising Advertising: How does advertising impact / influence the public sphere? Culture Jamming Four Types of Culture Jamming (Dery): 1) Subvertising / Sniping 2) Media hoaxing 3) Audio agitprop 4) Billboard banditry 1) Subvertising / Sniping 2) Media Hoaxing • Ex: Cathouse for Dogs ( by Joey Skaggs) Village Voice Classified Ad "CATHOUSE FOR DOGS" Featuring a savory selection of Hot Bitches from pedigree (Fifi the French Pooble) to mutts (Lady the Tramp) Handler & Vet on duty - stud & photo service available – no weirdos, please Dogs only. By appt. 212-260-xxxx “The Cathouse for Dogs Opens” Press Release: Feb 4, 1976 “Cathouse Harassed by City Agencies” Press Release II: March 10, 1976 …Letters to the Editor …Makes the news • WABC-TV airs piece on Cathouse using video provided by Skaggs • Paints him as “sleaze-bag dog pimp exploiting innocent dogs for money” Subpoenaed : = Press Conference The “hoax” revealed: And the W-ABC TV Documentary? • Won an Emmy Award • Story never retracted 3) Audio Agitprop • Re-mixing cultural texts Example: Dove Real Beauty Campaign - original - re-mix 3) Audio Agitprop Q: How could you re-mix this video (also by Dove)? Example: Barbie Liberation Organization (BLO) *combines media hoaxing AND audio agit-prop News Coverage 4) Billboard Banditry Original: “A pretty face isn’t safe in this city. Fight back with self-defense. The New Moisturizer by Max Factor.” Billboard Banditry Originally: “I’m realistic. I only smoke Fact.” So, What is Culture Jamming? 1) activism: subvert ad & media messages via creative re-mixing/re- appropriating What is Culture Jamming? 2) Attempt to reclaim public sphere from ad creep What is Culture Jamming? 3) A form of dialogue & deliberation - challenging the status quo for public consideration What is Culture Jamming? Is Culture Jamming vandalism? What is Culture Jamming? Social activism. Must have a purpose & point A critique Pro-change, a counter-argument, truth-telling, etc. Culture jamming in the age of the Internet Q: What does the Internet offer that TV does/did not? Q: Has the web “democratized” communication? Examples & Resources Improv Everywhere AdBusters Magazine The Bubble Project BuyLessCrap.org Center for Communication & Civic Engagement: Culture Jamming “We have facts for those who think, arguments for those who reason; but he who cannot be reasoned out of his prejudices must be laughed out of them; he who cannot be argued out of his selfishness must be shamed out of it by the mirror of his hateful self held up relentlessly before his eyes.” – Wendell Phillips, American abolitionist, 185.