Culture Jamming is defined as an "organised social activist effort that aims to counter the bombardment of consumption, oriented messages in the mass media" (Cardillc, 2006, p116). Culture Jamming is an act of social and political activism; it is the manipulation and fabrication of mainstream institutions.
Culture Jamming is said to have been coined in 1984 by Negativland, a performance/activist group (Cardillc, 2006). Culture Jammers want to evoke reaction through behavioural and political change. They strive to achieve social change by achieving reaction. This is done by corporate sabotage, media hoaxing, trademark infringement and billboard liberation (Cardillc, 2006).
Memes are the basic tool that is used for culture jammers to transmit their message. A meme is a cultural idea, symbol or practice which is transmitted through writing, speech, gestures and rituals (Harold, 2004). Effective jamming is the use of an easily recognisable and already establishing meme, manipulating it and making society view it in a different manner.
One very memorable and historically recognisable instance of culture jamming is Orson Welle’s “War of the Worlds”.
Reference List
Carducci, V 2006 "Culture Jamming - A Sociological Perpective" New School for Social Research, vol 6(1), pp. 116 -138, viewed 23 August 2010, http://joc.sagepub.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/content/6/1/116.full.pdf+html
Harold, C 2004 'Pranking rhetoric "Culture Jamming" as Media activism' Critical Studies in Media Communication, vol 23, no3, pp. 189-211, viewed 23 August 2010, http://www.informaworld.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/smpp/section?content=a713696057&fulltext=713240928
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