In my opinion I think that satirical reporting such as The Daily
Show with Jon Stewart or the Rick Mercer report could be considered a mainstream
form of culture jamming. Our textbook defines culture jamming as “a form of
media activism that subverts and reworks the intended meaning of existing media
texts or parodies major corporations, public figures and their media images” (O’shaughnessy, Stadler, Pg.213). Considering this
definition it is extremely possible that these shows fall under the title of
culture jamming. These shows are mostly considered to be parodies of the real
news. They report the same or very similar stories as you would see on CBC news
or any other legitimate news source but the difference is sources like the
Daily Show and The Rick Mercer Report do it in a comedic way and usually with
some sense of mockery of the other news sources or the actual story itself. As
stated in the text “the objectives of culture jamming often include
consciousness raising (raising awareness of social and political issues) as
well as using the media to criticize the media and dominant culture”( O’shaughnessy, Stadler, pg.214). Both of these shows are
well known for reporting on political matters but since they do so in a funny
and entertaining way they attract a much wider variety of people as an audience
and as such are able to raise consciousness of political issues to people that
otherwise would not care. These shows report on important political news but do
so in a way that usually involves mocking politicians and political motives
which could be considered a “mode of resistance to the norms and conventions of
mass culture that exposes and opposes the Medias underlying power structures
and ideological messages” (O’shaughnessy,
Stadler, pg.213).
Although I think most people will disagree with me I believe that
this type of reporting can actually be a useful addition to the public sphere because
by adding a comedic aspect to the news being reported it is able to reach more
people which allows a larger portion of the population to be informed and able
to discuss the important topics. This allows for a more well-rounded discussion
of things like political views which could later lead to possible improvements.
Although they are receiving the news in a comedic way which is usually delivered
with a lot of mockery, if the audience finds it entertaining and interesting enough
it might encourage them to do further research on the topic and continue to
follow it and form their own opinions on the matter. This will lead to a more
informed and diverse population which I would consider to be a good thing.
Works Cited:
O’shaughnessy, Michael and Jane Stadler. Media and Society. South
Melbourne: Oxford University Press. 2011
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