Culture Jamming (Divergent or Mainstream?)

After spending a lot of time researching the topic culture jamming, I have discovered that culture jamming is a divergent voice but it can enter the mainstream. Can a culture jammer (someone who is revolting against the mainstream) enter the mainstream without becoming mainstream? I strongly believe that a culture jammer with a divergent message can enter the mainstream without becoming mainstream because most alternative voices are not ones that are often expressed by a lot of people. The mainstream does not want anything polluting their centralized messages. Yes, a divergent voice that is culture jamming can be covered through a mainstream news source but if anything it increases awareness and I would be very shocked if it became a mainstream view.

For example: The Nike Email Exchange (the NEE) The NEE was meant for Nike and Peretti, and it did make its way to the mainstream because of viewership. However, it provoke anti-sweatshop activism. It did not stay in the mainstream for long and it is not like the whole world revolted against Nike. Nike is one of the most popular corporate entities in the world.

I feel that culture jamming can reach the mainstream but it will not become a mainstream/centralized idea. A culture jamming movement can be a part of the mainstream once the alternative message reaches enough people. It becomes popular in the divergent world, popular enough to where corporations are receiving the message. Therefore it is a big enough issue to be covered by the mainstream. All and all culture jamming is still challenging the mainstream whether it is covered by a centralized source or reached a mass amount of people.
If culture jamming was able to be mainstream idea, it would serve no purpose.
We need to provoke thoughts and the best way to do it is to reach the masses. It does not change what the goal was in the first place.
Remember: "consumerism is running uncontested; it must be challenged by other perspectives expressed, in part, through visual languages and resource of design." - (572) Soar, Matthew. "The First Things First Manifesto and the Politics of Culture Jamming: Towards a Cultural Economy of Graphic Design And Advertising." Cultural Studies 16.4 (2002): 570-92. EBSCO. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.

Nike iD

As I was researching for my paper in Professor Proctor's class, I came across in Chapter 10 (The culture jamming chapter in the alternative media handbook) an email exchange. This email exchange discusses how a graduate student went to customize a Nike shoe with Nike iD with the word sweatshop in it. Here is the article:


Once I read this dispute, I was shocked. I understand that this student wanted to do it for a reaction but I cannot(can) believe that Nike discussed it as a regular automated response that they always do. This proves that the media conglomerates have rights to interfere with "culture jamming" because they own the channel in which we are trying t be divergent. I cannot believe that someone was gutsy enough to attempt to make a shoe. I feel like the person made a point, and made people aware who werent before that the shoes are made in sweatshops, but unfortunately it didnt change their sales or make them stop utilizing workers for cheap in a different country. If anything, it did make people more aware. It also makes me feel bad that for christmas two years ago my boyfriend and I customized shoes with Nike iD as our presents for eachother. It truly makes me feel bad and from now on when I look at that shoe I will think that someone had to get paid a few cent a day to make my boyfriend and my shoes. It also makes me realize that probably most of my shoes are made in sweatshops which makes me question: how much do i need those shoes?

Back to my point though Jonah Peretti chose a unique approach to increase awareness of the sweatshop issue and it worked. It hit the mainstream but in a positive way that created understanding and criticial thinking. It also added to the anti-sweatshop activists. In my opinion what he did was a form of culture jamming indeed.