Topic: Culture jamming and the mainstream media!
Culture jamming is defined by the text as a “mode of resistance to the norms and conventions of mass culture that exposes and opposes the media’s underlying power structures and ideological messages” (213). In this sense, I believe that satirical new reporting is the perfect example of mainstream culture jamming. Shows such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, even programs like Saturday Night Live incorporate cultural jamming into all of their skits, using topical situations as the basis of long running bits such as ‘The Weekend Update’. Even if, within these programs, the news been shown is not 100% accurate; if it is skewed or being mocked, it still points the lens on the basis’ which underlie ‘serious’ news reports and general information given to the public.
Most of the time, these shows draw attention to the complacent attitude of the general public, forcing us to “actively and creatively engage with the media and challenge dominant ideologies with a counter-hegemonic discourse” (213). The satire shows, such as The Daily Show, are extremely beneficial to the public in terms of political understanding and outlook. Sometimes the public can get caught up in a dominant idea, a negative or positive opinion about a political policy or figure. For example, during the Bush presidency (George W. Bush), parodies of his speech’s and addresses to the country were shown in a new light through the satirical, ridiculous stand point on Saturday Night Live which big news conglomerates, wether they would want to or not, may not be able to present the news in the same way as a cultural jam show, “making us notice and question their underlying messages” (214).
This technique is an extremely useful addition to the public sphere when one considers the new generation of voters and citizens which this media filled world has created. My generation, and the generation below me, have been overwhelmed with news and media through every outlet imaginable: phone applications, television, newspapers, websites (both news websites and social news websites such as BuzzFeed), etc. As a result of this, must of us have become desensitized with the information presented and also, through studies of history and new world understandings of politics, have lost hope in the role which the general public really plays in the political world. This is why shows such as The Colbert Report are so important. They keep the youth interested and informed about politics and world events through satirical humor and honest presentation of the news.
O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media and Society. Fifth Edition. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford, 2012. Print.
emmagoegan 