Culture JAMMING

The term culture jamming refers to “billboard alteration and other forms of media sabotage” (Culture Jamming). The producers of these “culture jams” transform the original medium to produce an ironic or satirical effect (Wikipedia: Culture Jamming).

The above image has been altered to create a play on words. The image states “Years in the fashion industry made me a salve to my ill figure.” The words “Tommy Hilfiger” have been changed and made to say “to my ill figure”. The reason for this is because the fashion industry as a whole sends out the message that the “ideal” woman should be over 5’9” and have a 22” waist. They must be unreasonably thin—to the point where it could be detrimental to their health—to be beautiful. Although this is not ideal and is completely unrealistic, women in many parts of the world strive to acquire this “beauty”. This specific example of culture jamming makes us stop and think about what the fashion industry along with the media are doing to women; how it is harming them.

Throughout Scott McCloud’s book, Understanding Comics, specifically in chapter five, he uses cartoon images to make emotions visible. Chapter five begins on page 118, and starts off by asking “can emotions be made visible?” (McCloud). Stop and think about this question for a moment… Can emotions be made visible? I believe that they can. On page 121 of Understanding Comics, McCloud goes on to say that “The idea that a picture can evoke an emotional or sensual response in the viewer is vital…” (McCloud). To me, this image supports that idea. Although the girl in the image appears to be free from any emotion, the image as a whole evokes a lot of emotion in its viewers. It represents the pressure on girls and women to conform, to look a certain way, and to fit in.

Works Cited
Culture Jamming. 10 November 2009 .
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc., 1993.
Wikipedia: Culture Jamming. November 2009. 12 November 2009 .