[Musings] Culture Jamming, shifting the paradigms
I became hooked on Ad Busters one day when I was waiting in line at my local Co-Op waiting to buy food. It immediately appealed to my repressed counter-culture side. What I love about it though is that it strives to work within the system, change from within. It strives to educate the masses on the power of advertising and it warns us how we need to be an informed consumer and that we need to break the power of the brand. I agree with a lot of what they say. Americans especially need to know the total cost of a product, know that everything we buy costs more than just what is listed on the price tag. Being one of the richest countries on the planet with one of the highest standards of living (which is changing, we are slowly losing it), we need to know how we impact the rest of the world, the environment, and each other.
I am not saying we need to stop buying now, just that we need to be smarter about it. Invest in America, invest in sustainable practices, invest in the now and the future.
PS - I plan to get a pair of blackspot sneakers as soon as they come out!
3 comments:
I'm bemused by your description of Ad Busters. Ad Busters works "within the system" the way guerrillas work within a government; I wholeheartedly support their enterprise, but wouldn't say this magazine promotes peaceful change from within. Ad Busters seeks attention with jarring, shocking images, and promulgates an anti-corporate agenda with twists on popular ad campaigns and support of "culture jamming." For more on jamming, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jammingI like this description.
I agree with you about the guerilla thing:
guer·ril·la or gue·ril·la Audio pronunciation of "guerrilla" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (g-rl)
n.
A member of an irregular, usually indigenous military or paramilitary unit operating in small bands in occupied territory to harass and undermine the enemy, as by surprise raids.
(from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=guerrillaThey promot both small individual actions and large group actions. One voice can be ignored, many cannot.
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