Culture Jamming: A Sociological Perspective
Date
March 2006
Abstract
"Culture jamming" is defined as "an organized, social activist effort that aims to counter the bombardment of consumption-oriented messages in the mass media" (Handelman and Kozinets, 2004, n.p.). This article seeks to understand culture jamming from a sociological perspective, situating it in the "expressivist" tradition, which originates with the mid-18th century thinker Rousseau and whose legacy extends to postwar Western counterculture.
Culture jamming is seen as an investigation into the apparatus of representation in late modernity as it relates to both images and discourses of the media and commodity system, and the expression of political will. By providing an incentive for producers to respond to consumer demands for environmental sustainability and an end to labor exploitation, culture jamming may ironically help rehabilitate the market system it often portends to transcend. This may indeed serve to ameliorate certain "market failures" of the global system.
Culture jamming is seen as an investigation into the apparatus of representation in late modernity as it relates to both images and discourses of the media and commodity system, and the expression of political will. By providing an incentive for producers to respond to consumer demands for environmental sustainability and an end to labor exploitation, culture jamming may ironically help rehabilitate the market system it often portends to transcend. This may indeed serve to ameliorate certain "market failures" of the global system.
Journal Title
Journal of Consumer Culture
Journal Volume & Issue
vol. 6, iss. 1
Subject Terms
activism; social justice; market; marketplace; capitalism; consumer resistance; culture jamming; hacktivism; social marketing; social movements; the expressivist turn
Page Range
116-138
Peer-Reviewed
Yes
URL/Website
Files
Collection
Citation
Vince Carducci, “Culture Jamming: A Sociological Perspective,” CCS Research Repository, accessed November 21, 2024, https://omeka.ccsdetroit.edu/items/show/50.