CCT300 – Critical Analysis of MediaOctober 22, 2009

CCT300 – Labs

Cultural Jamming Project

Week 7

Cultural Jamming?“A term I have popularized by articles in The New York Times and Adbusters, might best be defined as media hacking, information warfare, terror-art, and guerrilla semiotics, all in one. Billboard bandits, pirate TV and radio broadcasters, media hoaxers, and other vernacular media wrenchers who intrude on the intruders, investing ads, newscasts, and other media artifacts with subversive meanings are all culture-jammers.” - Mark Dery“Damn the Networks! Victory to the Imagination!” - Yogi in Craig Baldwin's “Spectres of the Spectrum” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ep-hGYOQwo

Types of Cultural Jamming

Commercial: Probably the most well known form of culture jamming is subvertising.

Types of Cultural Jamming

Political: Less common but equally powerful are political forms of culture jamming.

Scene from “The Network” (1967):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ELleCQvew

Types of Cultural Jamming

Social: Of course, some culture jams are playful in nature and target society in general, being satirically oriented at anything from a holiday to a particular political leader or recognizable symbol.

How to Cultural Jam?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00yXM74CHFg&feature=relatedBecome educated. Learn about some of the destructive methods of large-scale consumerism and about the unethical dealings of multinational companies like Wal-Mart and Nike. Read subversive literature, like "Steal This Book" or "No Logo."Gather your friends together who share the same views as you and form a plan. Maybe your group should join a local jammer network. Pick out a target and get some ideas formulating. If you can't think of any ideas, do some research on jamming and learn from the actions of fellow jammers and activists.Gather your supplies. The jammer must be creative and flexible. You have a wide range of tools at your disposal: Markers, spray paint, fliers, wheat paste, stickers, paint, etc

How to Cultural Jam?Hit up the scene with your group of friends! Make it something that would catch your eye, and watch out for employees, officers, and live security-cams. Hint, don't forget that the infamous dark dome cameras on supermarket ceilings do not have 360 degree vision, and are in blurry black and white.Rinse and repeat, and develop better strategies after the jams. Hit different communities, to shock people who never saw your eye-catching work.Source:

Cultural Jamming Project25 % of final grade

Proposal, due Nov. 6 (5%)Final Deliverable: Nov 26 (20%)

Cultural Jamming ProjectForm groups, 3-4 membersIdentify a cultural jamming topicDo a brainstorming sessionCreate a proposal

A group resume (an outline of team members, their individual skills, and collective rules and responsibilities)

A written section that provides a background of :

Title - possible nameOverview - brief description of conceptGoals and Objectives - what your group wants to achieve and why it is relevantAudience - who is the intended audience and how this will be considered in projectKey Message - what do you want your audience to learn from your work

Proposal

Content Planning - what content you will include and how will it will be structuredMedium of Expression- what form(s) of media will the project take and whySchedule - a week by week breakdown of project tasksBibliography - relevant sourcesVisual/Conceptual References - images and ideas that inspire your concept

Proposal

Activity• In groups of 3 or 4 visit the following Wikipedia article

and under “List of culture jamming organizations or people” select a topic for you to create a simple Jam:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming• Using Adobe Photoshop CS4, and borrowing pictures

from Google Images, prepare a simple Jam ad consisting of images and text layers.

• Post the image in JPG format on your Lab 7 page in your wiki together with a brief explanation of your image and the names of your lab members.