Thursday, October 9, 2008
Social Networks = increased workload
Another interesting point in this article, is Doyd’s point of self identity on social network sites. She mentions that most of these sites are based on profiles. It is essentially the profile which allows you to develop and present your personality to the world. New age philosophy always conveys a message of detachment. It encourages people to detach from the world and often suggests that spending time alone with yourself is the only way to relax, meditate and understand yourself better. I wonder, in a world which is as fast paced as ours, how does the social networks affect our ability to understand ourselves? Do we create profiles to make ourselves look good to others? Are our profiles accurate reflections of who we really are?
Thats all from me!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
PRESENTATION - Online Communities - Myspace and Teenagers
Pranking Rhetoric: “Culture Jamming” as Media Activism
OMG. First off, so sorry. I thought I had posted this last week, but apparently... >__>
My bad.
Checked in today and was rather 0__o!!
Sorry for the delay!
------------------------------
Pranking Rhetoric: “Culture Jamming” as Media Activism
The article discusses the phenomenon of Culture Jamming, in which pranksters use the tools of mass media to subvert the messages of authority, in this case, usually powerful corporations. It is interesting precisely because it takes advantage of the very same tools and methods that these powers use and turn it against them in a way that does not directly resist the original message, but rather turns it inside out and expose its flaws.
Christine starts by examining the Adbusters 2003 campaign called Blackspot, in which they attempt to sell a black canvas shoe with a white spot where a logo would traditionally be. This and other Adbusters projects attempt to subvert the methods of advertising and use it against the corporations, but after awhile, even this gets tiring. Adbusters fiercely direct opposition to certain brands feels like a rehashing of the very same “do this, do that” rhetoric of the big brands themselves - being “told what is best for them is no more welcome coming from Adbusters than it is coming from advertisers”.
Instead she advocates a more playful approach, represented by Joey Skaggs, ®™ark , the Biotic Baking Brigade, and the American Legacy Foundation's INFKT Truth Campaign.
Why this playful approach might work, whereas a directly oppositional one may not, is that the latter functions by a “rhetoric of negation” - that merely by a constant process of saying “No”, no new framework is established, and more limits and boundaries must then be overcome.
Perhaps, rather than being told what is right or wrong, people might prefer to be given control and a sense of power over the message.
A quick summary of what the various groups/individuals accomplished.
Joey Skaggs
- Opened a false dog brothel for dogs, and posted advertisements up. Whilst it may sound silly, it drew uproar, with Skaggs quickly earning ABC News interviews and eventually even criminal charges. The charges were dropped when he revealed it as a hoax.
®™ark
-Switched voice-chips within Barbie toys and G.I. Joe action figures and then returned them to stores, leading to G.I. Joe proclaiming “Let's plan our dream wedding!” and Barbie exclaiming “Vengeance is mine!” on Christmas day when said toys were opened by unsuspecting families. Ensue resulting hoo-haa and discomfort/enlightenment over toys promoting gender-based sterotyping.
Biotic Baking Brigade
-Ambushes celebrities and powerful leaders (like Bill Gates) and hurls a pie in their face, often at a very serious and public speech-giving session. Plays with the image of power, and the media's obsession with images and scandal.
American Legacy Foundation's INFKT Truth Campaign.
-This one was interesting because it was a public service campaign. It was, however, catchy and slick, using modern graphic design and rather than telling kids not to smoke directly and using fear tactics, had 2-page spreads in magazines in orange and white screaming messages like “CIGARETTE SMOKE HAS ARSENIC”, and “AMMONIA IS ADDED TO CIGARETTES”. The genius of the plan was this bit though – to urge the readers to “Spread the knowledge. Infect truth.”
It also had pictures of these adverts opened strategically at a magazine store opened to said pages.
Another of their campaigns gave free stickers in the shape of blank conversation bubbles, with a picturenext to the stickers showing a Marlboro advert with a sticker attached to it, giving kids a convenient way to hijack existing adverts.
Conclusion
It is suggested that these methods work better than directly oppositional and ascetic methods. Instead of saying “No”, how might we subvert the very tools of power (the media) to gain emancipation and ownership?
In this way, instead of being slaves to media, we make media our tool as well, and by riding upon the wave created by corporations/people in power, we harness that power for ourselves.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Powerthirst
I think it's brilliant!