Is the fakes new the real news?

Culture jamming is a large part of the media in today’s society. Usually considered media activism, or a protest against mainstream media; in today’s world culture jamming is everywhere and “the objectives of culture jamming often include consciousness raising (raising awareness of social and political issues) as well as using the media to criticise the media and dominant culture.” (Media and Society, 214) An example of culture jamming could come from the world of art. From the origins of pop art artists have been involved in culture jamming. Banksy is a current day artist who is usually creating artwork that goes against the world of mainstream media. His artwork usually takes a popular image or series of images as he would alter the image(s) in some form to convey a message against the mainstream media. He does this through his street art, which is usually found in major cities around the United States. Now is this form of media useful in the public sphere? In my personal opinion, yes it is a useful addition in the public sphere, as it allows many people who usually don’t get to see another side of a story to be able to see the other side and make a decision on what they believe in. Culture jamming could be considered freedom of speech, and freedom of speech is “The right to express opinions publicly without interference from government or other sectors” (Media and Society, 223) these culture jammers are expressing an opinion that not everyone will be satisfied with. Though it does help present us with another aspect of media we do not usually see in our daily lives. It allows us to think and try to make an educated decision on what we believe in our world. Culture jamming is a useful addition in our society and without it we would only be provided with, what the media outlets want to share with us. As media consumers we need people such as Banksy to allow us to make decisions on the things we do and think in our lives. Culture jamming is an acceptable form of media.

References

Michael O’Shaughnessy & Jane Stadler (2012). Culture Jamming and Counter Hegemony. Media and Society (214). Australia: Oxford University Press.

Michael O’Shaughnessy & Jane Stadler (2012). Culture Jamming and Counter Hegemony. Media and Society (223) Australia: Oxford University Press.