Reading Reflection #1

Reading: "Subversive postering (Dominance and Consumerism Culture Jamming)" by Tatjana Dermanovic

Explain, entirely in your own words, the main argument of the reading. This should be a high-level synthesis, not a point-by-point summary; try to keep it to four or five sentences.

The reading "Subversive Postering (Dominance and Consumerism Culture Jamming)" by Tatjana Dermanovic argues that the subversive poster project "Plakatiranje" represents a social movement that combats the dominance of culture industry and market values in society. The project, consisting of five posters designed by authors associated with Vizkul- tura from Croatia, takes the oppositional approach against dominant ideologies and communicates resistance through a wide range of cultural jamming examples, from typical subvertising to criticism of urban planning. The posters demonstrate an awareness of consumerism and promotes media activism to pave the way for diverse visions and the transformation of the dominant culture messages. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates that within the dominant media culture, there is a certain culture of resistance that exists. And culture jamming further proves that there is an opportunity for audiences to refrain from being a passive consumer.

What is the goal of this reading? What are the authors trying to understand better, and how do they go about trying to understand it?

The goal of Dermanovic's reading is to understand and demonstrate the cultural jamming phenomenon by using poster examples from the project "Plakatiranje". The paper explores each poster's alternative approach to determine whether it seeks to communicate resistance from dominant discourses that colonize the public sphere. In addition, the project is said to promote the return to the classic medium of postering to demonstrate the benefits and the abilities that come in regards to serving and creating critical reflections of social topics. In order to accomplish these goals, the author uses the first part of the section to explore a theoretical framework using concepts such as commercial totalitarianism, culture industry, public sphere, hegemony, media culture, society of the spectacle, and encoding/decoding process. Then, the second part of the paper turns to qualitative research with the analysis of specific examples of culture jamming from the project "Plakatiranje".

What do you feel like you now understand better, having read it?

I now understand the power and effect that postering can have. When analyzing the posters from the paper, I felt intrigued by each one of them and the oppositional approach each poster took against certain social topics. This reminded me of certain modern examples like Banksy, an anonymous graffiti artist who often plastered his own graffiti art that challenged many cultural and social ideologies around different cities, as well as memes, which in the digital age today, overwhelmingly surround all digital spaces through the comedic and satirical approaches. In fact, this paper has helped me understand the distinct ways one can express their views. While there exists many different mediums, I realize the benefits and importance of posters as a traditional method of spreading messages and as an effective tool to visually represent my own stance against certain issues. And just like ads and billboards, posters are everywhere!

What are some questions or interests you have that were not answered or adequately addressed by the reading?

While the paper itself provides theoretical background and important cultural examples that create the basis of cultural jamming, I wondered about the potential impact of this concept on audiences as well as the future of further combatting dominant ideologies. I would have loved to read about the possibilities this concept can bring to further movements as well as how it could operate within other mediums. Please refer to the following list of questions below:

• How can we apply the concept of cultural jamming to the future of mainstream advertising and consumerist ideologies? What ways can we integrate cultural jamming within the mediums we use today?

• How much resistance do these efforts bring and how far reaching are the subversive posters compared to the mainstream advertising we are exposed to everyday?

• How can we break out of being a passive audience and understand or recognize cultural jamming?

Going forward, how can you use this reading as a theoretical tool to better understand the publishing medium it discusses? Be specific: this is the hardest question, and the most important one, so spend some time thinking about this.

By having the knowledge of culture jamming, you can set it as a foundation and use it as a theoretical tool in critically analyzing dominant discourses. The paper introduces several theoretical concepts such as the public sphere and the poster examples show how one can participate in it through creating posters that oppose dominant perspectives of social issues. Thus giving audiences the opportunity to become less passive and more active in the public sphere and look to mediums that take on diverse perspectives that they relate to. This paper can also be a great theoretical tool to understand how certain mediums like ads or billboards are used to influence and spread misleading messages. It would allow readers to learn about the scope of other alternative mediums and movements that combat these ideologies and would allow them to engage with cultural resources in order to reclaim a public sphere.