Satirical news reporting is a somewhat
prominent source of political news for me. Is it fair however to say that these
forms of news are real news, or better put are mainstream forms of culture
jamming? This questions needs to be approached by looking firstly at if them
being mainstream degrades their being defined as culture jamming, I don’t believe
it does. Culture jamming can be defined as “a mode of resistance to the norms
and conventions of mass culture that exposes and opposes the media’s underlying
power structures and ideological messages (Media and Society pp 213).” So then
how can these forms of mainstream media be considered culture jamming?
This is because of counter-hegemony and the
idea that “culture jamming speaks about refusing to consume, and refusing to be
seduced by images that offer unattainable, unhealthy, or unethical ideals (Media
and Society pp216).” These satirical news programs present a world view that
goes against what is typically presented to us in western society, in doing so
they act as a medium to disseminate these counter hegemonic views on the world.
Although it must be noted that these programs do exist inside of mass culture
and mass media, which would seem to lessen their ability to be called fully
culture jamming. However, through existing inside these forms of mass media,
they are better able to express their views to the masses, which much like media
is a goal of culture jamming; to expose and oppose ideological messages.
So then these programs being mainstream, may
lessen their ability to be named as culture jamming, but does not however
degrade the effect that comes out as a result of the counter hegemonic
ideas. The goal of culture jamming is to
promote a better understanding and promote a discourse around a subject, which
is achieved by these satirical programs. They present these ideas and ideals to
the masses and in doing so they encourage the same thing as culture jamming
does. In doing so these programs become
invaluable to a society that does not place much emphasis on political
discourse or counter hegemonic ideas in the traditional media (mainly tv news).
By being inside of the traditional media but presenting a different and
critical view of events, these satirical shows are presenting a new side to the
information being given to the masses, which can only lead to discussion and a
desire for understanding. Without these forms of counter hegemonic views, the
public sphere would be greatly lacking, even if these views are presented in a
comedic way.
These satirical programs may not be as radical
as some forms of culture jamming tend towards, but this does not change the
programs tendency towards approaching situations from a counter hegemonic view,
even if just slightly. This promotion of alternative ways of thinking and
approaching a subject is what marks these programs as being a mainstream form
of culture jamming. They may use jokes and be inside a system that is counter
to their presented ideals, but they offer an approachable and understandable view
on counter hegemony and critical thought relating to the dominant ideology.
Work Cited
O'Shaughnessy,
M., Satdler, J. (2012). Media and Society. 5th Ed. South Melbourne, Oxford
\University Press