Page 68 - Communication Cultural and Media Studies The Key Concepts

CULTURE JAMMING

and other social divisions – for instance, those of class, gender and
race. It seems that the cultural critics’ discourse of ‘excellence’ works
not so much to preserve timeless and universal treasures but, much
more immediately albeit less obviously, to translate class and other
kinds of social primacy into cultural capital. The struggle to dismantle
the supremacy of elite, high English culture was championed first by
Hoggart (1957) and Williams (1958). Their initiative has been taken
up in the form of cultural studies, in which the concept of culture
has undergone a radical transformation, moving towards the
formulation offered at the beginning of this entry. Since the late
1960s the notion of culture has been reworked largely in terms of
Marxist, feminist and multiculturalist approaches. Although the issues
have by no means been clarified, let alone resolved, they can be stated.
Culture is nowseen as a determining, not just a determined, part of
social activity, and therefore culture is both a significant sphere for the
reproduction of social power inequalities and a major component of
the expanding world economy.
See also: Class, Difference, Discourse, Hegemony, Ideology,
Language, Nature, Popular/popular culture, Signification,
Structuralism, Subjectivity

Further reading: Turner (1990); Williams (1981)

CULTURE AS SERVICE INDUSTRY see creative
industries

CULTURE JAMMING

A billboard with an image of the American flag looms over a building
in Times Square, NewYork. A closer look reveals that although the
stripes may be conventional, the stars are in fact corporate logos: IBM,
Nike, Windows, Playboy, McDonald’s among them. Alongside the
flag are the words ‘declare independence from corporate rule’ and a
web address (www.adbusters.org). The implied message is that corpora-
tions nowrule America (that is, America(tm)), constitute its national
identity and claim its public space. Subsequently Adbusters received a
call from Disney’s Miramax Corporation asking them to take down
the billboard or replace it as they were planning to film in Times
Square. Instead, Adbusters called for public input into howthe flag
could be changed in response to Disney’s request (one suggestion was
Mickey Mouse head silhouettes instead of stars).

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