Busting Advertising [Ninth Lecture]

Mark mentioned Abraham Maslow’s five areas that structure human needs. He listed:
1) Survival
2) Safety (varying degrees of protection, both emotionally & physical)
3) Belonging (isolation is an effective way to torture someone)
4) Esteem
5) Self actualization

The more I look at these five areas, which make absolute sense; I realize that it is these needs that advertisers frequently play on to sell their products. They know that people crave to belong, for example, so the uses of “popular” products are what draw consumers in. If they have something that everyone else has, then they have a greater possibility of fitting in with society.

I was so glad to finally hear Ian speak! I’ve studied culture jamming before, so I was excited to hear his views on it. Mark Derry describes culture jamming as, “the manufacture of consent through the manipulation of symbols.” Derry also says that culture jamming, “introduce noise into the signal as it passes from transmitter to receiver, encouraging idiosyncratic, unintended interpretations.” Culture jamming is meant to go against the dominant views of media and show another side or way to view a subject.

Ian showed us some interesting billboard advertising, which is very similar to the ads that Adbuster’s create. Many of the ads had symbols that are well known in society, but added text or other images introduce a new meaning. These “anti-ads” are a form of subvertising. Mark mentioned the Guerrilla Girls, who are a bunch of feminist artists who make witty posters asking why there aren’t more female artists in museums.

Ian properly defined irony, which I had been assuming meant a strange or humorous coincidence. In actuality, it means to say one thing and mean another. He also defined parody, and talked about one of my favourite television shows, The Simpson’s. The 90s was a time of delightful family sitcoms, and The Simpson’s came along to essential parody the typical family that was portrayed. It’s interesting that the show has been around for as long as I’ve been alive, and continues to be popular. It is obvious that society accepted a show that redefined the word “family”, and showed a different side than what people were used to.

There is one thing about culture jamming that can be confusing. Adbuster’s and other organizations are making fun of advertising, through the medium of advertising. Does this take away from their desired affect? Are they really doing anything differently in the end?

Works Cited:
Derry, Mark. "Culture Jamming: Hacking, Slashing and Sniping in the Empire of Signs" http://www.levity.com/markdery/culturjam.html