Culture Jamming

A collaboration of political activism and participatory culture seeking to upend consumer capitalism, including interviews with The Yes Men, The Guerrilla Girls, among others.

Coined in the 1980s, “culture jamming” refers to an array of tactics deployed by activists to critique, subvert, and otherwise “jam” the workings of consumer culture. Ranging from media hoaxes and advertising parodies to flash mobs and street art, these actions seek to interrupt the flow of dominant, capitalistic messages that permeate our daily lives. Employed by Occupy Wall Street protesters and the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot alike, culture jamming scrambles the signal, injects the unexpected, and spurs audiences to think critically and challenge the status quo.

The essays, interviews, and creative work assembled in this unique volume explore the shifting contours of culture jamming by plumbing its history, mapping its transformations, testing its force, and assessing its efficacy. Revealing how culture jamming is at once playful and politically transgressive, this accessible collection explores the degree to which culture jamming has fulfilled its revolutionary aims. Featuring original essays from prominent media scholars discussing Banksy and Shepard Fairey, foundational texts such as Mark Dery’s culture jamming manifesto, and artwork by and interviews with noteworthy culture jammers including the Guerrilla Girls, The Yes Men, and Reverend Billy, Culture Jamming makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of creative resistance and participatory culture.

Marilyn DeLaure is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of San Francisco. She has published essays on dance, civil rights rhetoric, and environmental activism.Fink Moritz :

Moritz Fink is a media scholar and author. He holds a doctoral degree in American Studies from the University of Munich.Dery Mark :

Mark Dery is a cultural critic. His writings on media, technology, pop culture, and American society have appeared in Artforum, Cabinet, Elle, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Salon, Spin, and Wired, among others. His books include Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing, and Sniping in the Empire of Signs, The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium: American Culture on the Brink, and Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century, which has been translated into eight languages. He edited the scholarly anthology Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture. His latest book is the essay collection I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts.

The essays, interviews, and creative work assembled in this unique volume explore the shifting contours of culture jamming by plumbing its history, mapping its transformations, testing its force, and assessing its efficacy. Revealing how culture jamming is at once playful and politically transgressive, this accessible collection explores the degree to which culture jamming has fulfilled its revolutionary aims. . . . a crucial contribution to our understanding of creative resistance and participatory culture.

A vivid picture of significant episodes along a timeline spanning more than two decades . . . This book represents a collection of mostly successful cultural resistance tactics . . . hopefully inspiring new effective strategies for the times ahead.

Culture Jamming is a must for modern day activists who want to overturn the status quo, and fast, and who embrace the creativity and interconnectedness of modern life.