What did you think about this book? Write a mini-review.
or...
After reading it and discussing it in class, what is a concept that Lasn presents that still resonates with you?
How will you, or will you, Culture Jam?
Students from the University of Georgia were asked to do culture jamming projects for their finals, for a communications course, the projects are posted here: Consumer Culture Jammers
A poignant blog about Culture Jam: here
Adbusters: The Culture Jamming Headquarters
10 comments:
Kalle Lasn's "Culture Jam" is, in effect, a manual for revolutionists. It is a how-to for all those tired of the mindless drone of consumer lifestyles, sick of the habitual impulse to buy more, eat more, be cool more. His writing is blunt, sarcastic, biting, and in many cases accusatory. This style can be effective, especially to break the shells many newcomers to the reality of America TM as Lasn terms it. But for readers who have similarly deduced the horrors of abject consumerism, his tirades and rants and extremism detract from his overreaching points.
This is an ambitious book. Lasn has set out to recruit and train an army of culture jammers to literally turn around the system. Start small, he says, find little ways to bust consuming and cooperations and 'cool,' then gradually work toward fostering ideas to create large-scale upheavals. He galvanizes, inspires (especially with his portion on the Situationists and some of his personal experiences with meditation and 'satori') condones, ruthlessly cuts to the core of America the brand. Fittingly, he lives in Canada.
Lasn's arguments for authentic culture leave more to be desired, and certainly demands more questions to be asked about what IS authenticity and spontaneity. I disagree with his argument that the only true and genuine emotion left is rage, and I refuse to follow his guidelines to channel such raw energy. In fact his condoning of such behavior was one of the most disturbing aspects of this book, and indicates a despondency, pessimism, and cynicism that is in no way healthy for the mind or body of any citizen.
Published almost ten years ago, one wonders where Lasn and his army of jammers are now. Has his revolution taken place, as he predicted would come at the turn of the millennium? It doesn't appear so. Lasn has done important work, no question, by reaching thousands and shattering inane concepts of reality and consuming. But where the real revolution happens is on an individual level, with everyday choices to conscientiously live an authentic, genuine life while stewarding the planet. It doesn't happen by condoning rage, anger, irresponsible behavior and a disregard for systems.
the whole idea of having a mental environment effected by our culture jam rather than just the physical environment and everything that al gore tells us about the polar icecaps is just scary. its scary because its our own minds, the only thing we know is what we are not concious of, in the way our cultural information is thrown at us. we cant just catch ourselves from falling into the traps set up for us at all recieving points.
the blog about culture jam brings up the topic of our completely diagnosed society in terms of giving someone the title of an illness simply because they cant sit in a classroom and watch a powerpoint for an hour, or they cant sit at a dinner table for an extended period of time. this is so sad, and i cannot even imagine what the medications do to the water, like how contraceptives are getting into the water and making fish grow ovaries. this case of over medicating people and the world is and example of a.) how humans in this brainwashed culture are obsessed with controlling everything possible, and having power. and b.) how in most all of these cases, how the spiral out of control is close to being unfixable. medicine is dangerous, as it gets in your blood and its creates a false system in your body that will respond to natural things differently. this is exactly how the media, and the culture jam are effecting people. they cant live without it.
the measures needed to offset this pattern are intense no doubt, but if we think about it that way it will never be done. without trying to sounds selfish in this fight, it important to take care of yourself and see where that gets you. see who follows along, and who you can share your experience of culture jamming with.
Culture Jam offers an attempt to shock the reader into submission in order to rid our reinforcement of such materialistic ways.
Kalle Lasn offers many jarring examples, from the every-day mundane, to the larger scale issues that illustrate how deeply rooted industrialism is in our society.
Lasn's goal is ambitious, but I feel the tone of the book is a bit misguided. Through subtleties, you can ascertain that this is more of a manifesto than a how-to guide. At one point, he freely admits himself that he drives his car because it's convenient. Not to say this is a negative, but it detracts from his intention as planned.
The book, as written, preaches to the choir. We, generally liberal, moderately affluent, pseudo-environmentalists will see the light in the book. Yet, few of us are really the problem in the grand scheme. Most people who pick up this book have some understanding of environmentalism, of materialism.
The problem then comes with its lack of a pragmatic approach. It does not really seek to reach out to those entirely oblivious to our transgressions against the earth we walk—at some points, I wonder if that is even its intent—but the success of any movement is not about how well we can convince ourselves, but how well we can convince others.
Kalle Lasn’s Culture Jam is like falling through thin ice into a freezing lake. It wakes up the average reader with cold and painful shock. Through his rapid fire of revelations about America’s obsession with material goods, he urges his readers to rise up and jam the status quote. Lasn divides his book into the four seasons starting with fall, where he opens with mood disorders and what he calls the media virus. He fires at the reader about children’s relationship with the television and how it is just an outlet for advertising and creating generations of consumers. Winter describes the depth of the consumer binge we are in by describing reader are just mice in a maze. Spring addresses the previous revolutionaries how they have failed and succeeded. Summer is the equivalent of a battle cry. Lasn sets up the reader with a vague attack plan in order to start the millennium a new.
His approach was blunt, aggressive, and unforgiving. His message is meant to shake you, but not intended to fallow through. Lasn’s book is not a set of instructions but rather the broken book self on your floor. It’s the reality of the situation, which meant to make you jump to your feet and scream "crap!".
After reading Culture Jam, I would have to say that it has had a big impact on my life. I’ve grown up in a society of consumers and it’s hard to break out of the habits of this lifestyle. While material items have always been readily available to me, I pride myself on having personal choice and a sense of individuality as a main part of my lifestyle. Reading Culture Jam helped me reevaluate that idea, which is definitely a positive thing. It’s good to constantly keep things fresh and understood so we don’t fall into a pattern and forget what we are doing.
Lasn has opened my eyes to the choices I make and the power I give when I make purchases and lifestyle choices. In order to be the individual I want to be, with my own self control, I realize that I have to learn to decide when I actually need something versus when I buy something because of advertisement or because it is what someone else has told me to do.
The idea of disinformation is also something I will take with me. If I am being told something that does not make sense, like the plot of a movie, it’s most likely not that I cannot understand it but that something has been masked, because we have been programmed to believe what “they” tell us to believe. Lasn has taught me to continue to question the influence of others, why do they have that influence and what do they do with their influence? I see how important it is to think for myself and disconnect my beliefs from what I see on TV and what filters through my brain everyday as a result of the crazy amount of external stimulus we are bombarded with.
Kelsey Sovereign
Lasn depicts the reality of our wasteful, American lifestyle in "Culture Jam." He brings avout the harsh reality of our lifestyle. We are Americans--lazy, materialistic, and wasteful. We are concerned with how much stuff we have, our appearance, and how accepted we are socially. We watch too much tv, play too many video games, eat too much, and buy too many clothes and gadgets we don't need. He is very blunt and a bit offensive in his writing style. Some of the things he says are definitely not true for all people, but he definitely got everyones attention. Of course every person is not going to share the same beliefs and habits, but the statements he makes are true for a large majority of Americans. I have realized things about myself that I never would have without reading this book. While I'm watching tv, or sitting on facebook, I could be out and actually interracting with people. I don't need the latest and greatest cell phone. Mine works just fine, and using a phone for anything other than calling someone (using the internet, playing games, etc) is unnecessary. I dont' need to constantly buy more clothes and unnecessary jewelry just because the trends change every season. It is wasteful to live the way I do and I need to make some changes. It's hard to live the way Lasn says we should when the media surrounds us. Ignoring it is almost impossible. Yet, making some gradual changes to my lifestyle will be very effective in the long run and I will probably be happier with myself. I will try not to be influenced by the media and the constant push to buy more stuff and be that wasteful, consuming American.
Kalle Lasn's Culture Jam is a harsh reality check on the progression of American commercialism and the decline of culture and community in the United States. By examining the effects of television, advertising, and the media, Lasn highlights the ways in which these technologies have warped the minds of our generation. We have developed a deep preoccupation with brand names through the mind-numbing messages that the media constantly feeds us: buy, buy, buy. He argues that we will eventually experience a downfall of our country is we don’t start taking steps to “culture jam”.
I found this book very interesting and insightful, but I found his tone too harsh. He emphasized the importance of rage in order to make changes in our society, but I believe that there is a better way to go about this. Americans do need to start becoming more aware of the destruction of our culture, but coming from an angry position will create more problems, not solve them.
Out of all the articles and books we had to read for this class, Culture Jam was most definitely my favorite. It spoke in a language that I could understand and relate to, and also gave some sense of hope that we can reverse a lot of the negative things we've done to the environment. It made me know, that as a consumer, I hold the real power, and if we all change, there is a chance that corporate America will be forced to change too.
Some people call Lasn a hypocrite because he admits to driving a car because it's convenient, but it makes me relate to him more because he doesn't seem like a crazy extremist that makes all his own clothing and only travels distances he can bike.
The chapter that I enjoyed reading the most was "Winter." I like to think of myself as an individual and not another ignorant American that the rest of the world hates, but I know that I have been brainwashed like most Americans. I know that I do put a lot of thought into appearance and what I wear, and I do buy a lot of clothes. But over the last year, I have began shopping at thrift shops and my mother is teaching me how to sew.
A lot of the suggestions that gives really are actually very plausible. Things like trying to stop buying things in China, or to stop being to passive and doing things the way that big businesses want us to do. But at the same time, I feel like a lot of his goals are gonna be very difficult to accomplish. Such as his Dont Buy anything on Black Friday thing.
Culture Jam is a great book, and I am glad that I was able to read it. I will begin to start taking advice from Kalle Lasn and hopefully others will too. I did not participate in Black Friday, and instead participated in the Buy Nothing Day. I also was able to convince others to buy nothing. I showed them what a scam it was and they agreed with Kalle Lasn.
Since it is the time to do my Christmas shopping, I thought this would be a great opportunity to practice being a culture jammer. Instead of going to the big manufacturers I will support smaller businesses. I will not fall into the advertisements. I am trying to find a way not to conform, and instead show off something new, there is no need to shop at the Gap, (especially after learning the truth about the company). I will begin small, as Kalle Lasn suggests. I will network and share the books with others.
The part that stuck out to me most was the section about obsession. I found truth in that section. I related to it the most. The media makes people obsess about the way they look. I have watched people fall into eating disorders. They believe they should look a certain way and fall into depression trying to get there. Enough is enough. I will not stand for it anymore. I will no longer obsess about my body, I refuse to conform to everyone else. Reading that section truly made me angry. No one has the right to say how I should look except myself. I recently read an article on this very subject, going against the media saying that there is no right way to look. I agree with this article and was able to take advice from it. I do not want to see anyone else suffer because of the media.
I think that the most interesting concept I got from Lasn's Culture Jam was the way he described the concept of nature versus nurture. His "Mental Environment" idea, the idea that our culture of consumption effects our habits just the same way the physical environment effects us is an interesting take on the idea. Surrounded by media driven by bottoms lines, we fall in line, much like the Black Friday shopping line.
Also, felt that some of the measures, especially relating to internet jamming, were somewhat outdated. However, the concepts of working within a system to suppress the system is refreshing. There is also the idea that we might try to work within a system to elevate it. I wonder what would happen if half the population worked to bring a system down, while the other half worked to make it healthier. However, I feel that what could have helped make Lasn's concepts more pragmatic would be a recognition that he is preaching to the choir. It would have been helpful to have more discussion of how to apply these concepts or discuss them, at least, to members of our society not entirely convinced of the issues.
Overall, a good shocker, stick-it-to-you book that brings a number of ephemeral ideas about how to resist and break the systems of control in our lives into lucid detail.
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