Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"Part Artistic Terrorists, Part Vernacular Critics;" A Response To Mark Dery's 'Culture Jamming'

In this reading, Dery shouts out a warning to the masses about overbearing evil of the media and their ability to mold the perceptions of the nation. He points out instances in which the media has overtly created news in order to captivate audiences around the country. Bottom line? Money of course. The hazing of the masses for the highest possible revenue for the corporate empire that has slowly grabbed a hold of everyone one of us and has made a home in living rooms around the nation. How are we to combat that which deceives and intellectually feeds us from birth? The watchful eyes of artists and intellectuals catch these rouses and make public the lies and subliminal messaging through guerrilla tactics. As Lorin Mcalpin is quoted, "We are trying to fight for attention as hard as Coca Cola fights for attention." We the artists must fight back for the honor of free speech and free (and unedited) information! Mcalpin insists and reassures that this fight is possible. She says that "[I]f anyone is angry enough and has a Xerox machine and has five or six friends how feel the same way, you'd be surprised at how far you can go."

I feel the most informative section of this reading is the section titled "Culture Jamming" in which Dery describes the various forms that this fight takes. Not only does he give a thourough description of the methods of each art form, but he also gives examples of artists and past work. Paper and wheat paste are the weapons of the children mad at their media parents.

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