A Response to Kalle Lasn's Culture Jam

Culture Jam is an outrageous, insightful, interpretation of pop culture, and the writer’s desire to help us understand the manner in which we must free ourselves from its influence. Kalle Lasn, the writer, helps us to see that we are being or have been programmed to think in certain ways. This thinking, then, affects our actions, and we ultimately act on the subconscious needs that have been systematically programmed in our brains. He does not abandon us with this realization, though, he guides us through the steps toward deprogramming our thought process. He continues, as he assists us in recognizing that we can regain control of the environment we are in, and take back our right to establish a healthy, productive culture. This recovery of culture will require effort. According to Lasn, it will require a form of revolution, inspired by a rage that he thoughtfully defines.


The book follows the seasonal progression of Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer, as if to say that our minds are dormant, like the vines in Fall and Winter, but through our mental progression we will blossom and flourish, as the vines through Spring and Summer. It is an excellent metaphor that guides the reader through Kasn’s mindset and the formulation of his thoughts. In order to fully understand this progression, let’s consider a few basic and elemental points that are raised in each season.


Autumn, a period of quiescence and inactivity for most biological processes, and Lasn equates this with our systematic mental programming, a span of time that has caused us to give up ourselves and allow our surroundings to control our mental state. One of the key ways in which this is accomplished is by a loss of mental diversity. Lasn calls it “Infodiversity”. He stresses that we are being subjected to the same basic package of ideas, news, and images, and that this lack of diversity will inevitably lead to “inefficiency and failure.”(Lasn,26) Our actions, guided by this controlled mental state, have made us nothing more than automatons, like Frank Sinatra in the Manchurian Candidate, waiting to react when our mental triggers are pressed.


We then move to Winter, a season of hibernation, or a season where we have unknowingly begun to huddle together in mass. We have fed into the mental state of Autumn and our actions portray this acceptance. Lasn helps us to realize that we have unwittingly joined a “cult” as it were, a cult of followers whose leader is nothing more than a brand or logo. Has it brought us happiness or satisfaction? Lasn states emphatically, “Cults promise a kind of boundless contentment-punctuated by moments of bliss-but never quite deliver on that promise.”(Lasn,54) Reflecting on that perspective, one recognizes that our mental manipulation often moves us to conform to what is popular and trendy. We close our eyes to real issues, being concerned more with conformity than individuality.


No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow, and for Lasn it does as well. Lasn’s Spring is a time for growth, for sprouting a mentality of revolution, a revolution that will take back real culture and rein in this perceived mass media culture we have been subjected to. He encourages the reader to “jam” or stop the flow of controlled culture. He provides an elementary, simplistic, time proven manner in which to accomplish this by stating, “This is how the revolution begins: A few people start slipping out of old patterns, daydreaming, questioning, rebelling.” (Lasn, 108) Based on his opinion, rebellion or revolution follow acts or patterns of creativity, id est “daydreaming” and “questioning”, each of them the basis for tremendous shifts in human evolution and human progression. For Lasn, Spring truly is a time for growth, a growth that will bring a metamorphical change in the human experience.


Inevitably, Spring turns to Summer, and Summer is a time of flourishing and maturity. So does Lasn’s take of our human progression. This facet or portion of the book begins with an essay on Rage. Lasn is not encouraging that the reader go crazy and take up arms against his oppressor, no, he speaks of rage as the catalyst that enables us to change, to advance, to succeed. He helps the reader to be aware of this emotive response and act on it. For some, it will be an epiphany. Lasn describes this when he writes, “Once in a while, in a flash of insight, you understand that something is terribly, terribly wrong with your life, and that a rude and barren future awaits unless you leap off the couch right now.”(Lasn, 143) It is this reaction that will move the reader to maturity, as they progress through their own personal revolution against the manufactured culture they have been programmed to accept as their own.


This book is defintly worth reading. It is an easy read for those who are beginning to understand that there is something wrong with the way that our society over consumes. I enjoyed how enlightened that I felt after reading the book. I have become a more conscious consumer by not supporting certain products and becoming critical of what I watch on television. A disadvantage of this if that I am finding it difficult to purchase products to replace the ones that I do not want to buy and longer and I am also criticizing the shows that I used to enjoy watching.


A particular part of the book that I enjoyed was from the Global Economic Pyramid Scheme section. Most of us have heard of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of economic growth. But Lasn points out that there is a flaw, it does not measure any value to biking, eating less beef, growing a garden, volunteer work or disappearing forests. Lasn suggests that "a more accurate measure of economic progress is the Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), developed by Herman Daly and John Cobb in 1990." (p. 89) ISEW is " when pollution, depletion of non-renewable resources, car exhaust-related health costs and other social and ecological costs are subtracted from the GDP." (p.91) I think that Lasn has a very valuable point here, why measure just the good that is happening in the economy, what about the resources that we are destroying.


Lasn covers the problems, how we are affected but leaves out an important part. What can people do about he problem? He just barely nibbles at the answer to this question. I would like to know who is profiting from the products that I am purchasing, who owns what. But without alot of research that I don't currently have time for, I won't find the answer to this question myself. I guess ironically enough it comes down to needing the "convenience" of having the information presented for me to read.


I really enjoyed reading this book. I feel that I have just opened the doors onto learning about why our society is so dysfunctional in many ways. I think that we need is to be able to use goods in moderation. We also need to become aware of how and what we are consuming. We need to conscientious of the products of material items that we are buying into. Because I feel that I have only grasped a small portion of the ideas that Lasn presents in this book, I will reread this book again.


Many construe Lasn’s portrayal of the world in which we live to be pessimistic and cynical. Yet, upon reflection, one can discern that he speaks from the heart as if he, himself, has made the “seasonal” progression outlined in his book, and he simply desires that the reader wake up. For some, this book may be too edgy, its content too caustic. That is expected in a world where the majority of people would simply take the blue pill. But, for some, this book moves the reader through a progression that will inevitably lead them to take hold of the red pill and accept the consequences of seeing the world the way it truly is, in a way clearly and concisely described by Kalle Lasn.

Reading Journal: Culture Jam

In Culture Jam, by Kalle Lasn, the founder of Adbusters magazine, he attempts to show the reader what our mass media has been doing almost without our awareness. When the average American thinks of consumerism, we believe it is the promotion of the consumer's interests. What Lasn believes is that we're being told what our interests are and to buy into those false interests. We've become disconnected with ourselves and our own interests to fit those that our corporations have designed for us. He uses an example of taking your family to the forest for some alone time to brave the elements and come closer as a family, but after only a few short hours becoming so bored that you begin self-destructing due to lack of technology.

Children have become so reliant on consumerism that they can't possibly enjoy any of the senses you have to use in your most primitive state. After only a short while, they show signs of grief and withdrawal. He writes that we should prioritize the earth as number one, and get back to the basics of feeling that the earth is one with us. We've learned that buying creates happiness, and most of the time, we're living in a world we've created for ourselves through the consumer process. We became compulsive shoppers when we're bored with our lives, and we look for outside factors to fill those gaps.
Corporations show us these shocking and appalling images in order to jolt our minds into a way of feeling, and over time we just become numb to them, forcing the media to come up with another "drug" to feed to us in order for them to achieve the same success. After reading the book, it became clear why there is so much to criticize in the American culture, but I believe learning how to balance the array of options we have at our disposal and becoming conscious consumers is still better than avoiding TV, computers, etc. 

Advertising: Reflection

Every person looks at advertising in a different way. Many times people become so absorbed in their ideas of what they feel they want or desire to feel complete, that they forget about the things they really need. When people start to become so intent on what they believe they desire, they begin to lose who they really are. They become so obsessed with having the right brand-name products that they forget what is truly important: the necessities of life.

People go through their lives every day and don't even realize the impact that advertising and consumerism is having on them and their families. Society needs to realize that everyone's minds, even those of children are susceptible to the ideas of consumerism. People have become so obsessed with the idea of being better than everyone else that they don't realize the impact this has on those around them. Advertising is like a drug addiction. Consumers feel that they need it in their lives to make them complete. It gives them the extra edge they desire to have the things that they really want. Maybe, though, people should start thinking about the things they need to survive, instead of the things they want in order to be socially acceptable. People need to stop worrying about little things like the right shoes or the perfect designer clothes and start getting back to their roots, to their essentials. Like the song from the Disney movie The Jungle Book states, we've got to "look for the bare necessities of life".

Givenchy Perfume Advertisement Analysis

Givenchy Perfume Advertisement Analysis

Advertisements are a huge part of our everyday lives. It seems like the whole world is being flooded by advertisements. We see different types of ads everywhere we look; while watching television, listening to the radio, riding on the bus and reading a magazine. I was flipping through the pages of the August issue of British Vogue and came across this perfume advertisement featuring Givenchy’s  “Ange ou Demon”. This ad tries to attract customers, mostly women, who hope that their deep-lying desires would be satisfied, by picturing conditions of being that these customers personally yearns for. After discerning the few most direct and obvious appeals used in the ad, I further analyzed the ad and decoded it to figure out the appeals used and found out that there is more to this ad than what meets the eye.

“Ange ou Demon” means “Angel or Demon” in French. The perfume bottle is in a teardrop shape and is placed at the bottom right-hand corner of the portrait advertisement. To the left of the bottle is the text and slightly left of the centre of the advertisement is a woman’s side profile with her head turned front. The setting is a staircase beside a wall that seems to diminish into the dark. The light source seems to be the top left-hand corner of the advertisement, falling diagonally on the woman’s body and eventually illuminating the staircase and perfume bottle, creating a crystal-like appearance of the bottle. Other than the illuminated areas, the rest of the advertisement is dark, consisting of black and deep blue gradients. These gradients complement the dark navy blue gradient of the perfume bottle. The entire image consists of three main portions of colour – the deep blue to silvery white gradients of the bottle and dress, the beige glow of the woman’s skin and her blonde curls, and lastly the highlights of the silver eyeshadow embedded in a deep black lace mask and the pale red lips on the face.

In my opinion, this is a very successful advertisement. Firstly, elements of the advertisement complement the perfume bottle. The dress of the woman is a gradient of gradient of silvery white to a blue that eventually falls into a black silhouette while the perfume bottle consists of a gradient of black to blue and eventually to silvery white. Notice that these two gradients are exactly inverted, creating a stark contrast between the two centres of attention (the bottle and woman) and the background. This helps to draw the viewers’ attention directly to the woman and the bottle. The similar gradient of the bottle and dress also gives us an impression that the woman is donned in the perfume bottle. By doing so, the perfume bottle also seems to evoke the sensuality, elegance and mysteriousness that the woman has. This will attract the viewers to buy the product.

Secondly, the colour combination is very well suited to the name of the perfume ‘ange ou demon’. Angels are symbols of purity, innocence and heaven. White with a tinge of silver is a perfect choice to evoke the purity that angels have. Similarly, a deep blue to symbolize the darkness in demons is definitely an apt choice. As compared to red that might symbolize hell or devilish demons, a deep blue tends to evoke not only an ominous feel, but also a sense of elegance in the entire image.

Thirdly, the styling of the woman is very appropriate. Other than the point mentioned above about the colour of the dress, a low bareback dress brings across the impression that this fragrance is seductive, attracting even more viewers to buy the fragrance. Furthermore, the demon in the woman can be seen through this bareback dress and the sheer laced mask across her face whereas the angel in her is expressed through the silver eyeshadow on her eyelid, the soft red on her lips and the simple yet glamorous makeup. The coiffure of the woman also displays both an angelic and demonic feel. Her curls are a soft blonde shade, but given a rather intense texture by the strong lighting.

Fourthly, the background setting of a spiral staircase is very appropriate because it exhibits the imagery of heaven and hell. The two opposite elements can be linked by what seems to be a never ending stairway.

Lastly, the position of the woman fits the composition perfectly and conveys the message successfully across to the audience. The woman is placed in such a way that she looks as if she is in the middle of the stairway, thus representing a powerful imagery of ‘angel or demon’. Next, her side profile accompanied by her had turned to face the camera entirely and her hand lightly touching the wall demonstrates a rather seductive pose. Her facial expression further gives a flirtatious look that seems to be the feel that the producers wish to put forth through the advertisement.

The advertisement is very successful. It has, in terms of imagery, composition and lighting, evoked the feminine and sleek touch that might not be visible in the fragrance bottle alone.

I found this ad in Vogue magazine, implying that the ad’s targeted audience are people who are interested in fashion and style, especially women. Indeed, women who want to be refined and elegant, regardless the age, are the primary target audience of the ad. Nevertheless, men are also the target audience – the women’s boyfriend, husband as well as men who are chasing after the women – I regard them as the potential target audience. They are not so obvious like primary target audience, but the amount of them is considerable and should not be ignored. They want their wives or girlfriends to be chic and sophisticated like the model and thus, they want to purchase the perfume.

How do these appeals lure the targeted audience into buying the product? How do these appeals communicate with people to attract them? In his article “Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals”, Jib Fowles recognize the two parts of the human mind and how these distinct parts are affected differently by the fads of advertising. Fowles states, “Human beings, it is presumed, walk around with a variety of unfulfilled urges and motives swirling in the bottom half of their minds.” Advertisers want to elude the top half of their conscious minds, and take advantage of their unconscious minds, which is filled with their irrational needs and impulses to buy things to satisfy their subliminal desires. This perfume ad tries to entice customers into buying this perfume by selling dreams, promising, challenging, evoking feelings and desires. The phrase “sex sells” has become increasingly popular when considering effective marketing and advertising techniques.  Although sex itself does not literally sell these products, any sexuality in an advertisement will lure consumers to the product.  This is because when viewing the advertisement, many people will see the seductiveness in the ad and subconsciously equate that with the idea that by using the product in the ad, she will in turn become that sexual figure.

Technology: Reflection

As a writer, I deem technology and its advancements in our society as neutral. The impacts of technology depends on how we create and utilize it. When I say technology is neutral, I am implying that it can be either advantageous or disadvantageous. There are always two sides to everything, the good side and the bad side. This goes for technology as well. Considering the high degree of the impact of technology on our society, a typical example below is reflective of the dependency of human on it, be it information technology or Internet technology. There are always the positive and negative impacts.

A day, in the life of one particular person begins rising to the sound of an alarm, which by the way have been programmed into his television or music players or maybe a loud alarm watch. Earlier, man used to rise to the sound of bird or animal cries, which was largely unpredictable, but since then, we have come to a stage where these functions are a part of 'negligibly significant technology'. Rising up and getting ready for the days work involves the use of a series of technological advents from the ultra-modern amenities of bathing and cleaning to the refreshing breakfast, courtesy various applications in the kitchen like refrigerator, ovens, toaster and so on. The day begins with the aid of most modern equipments like travel, work related and entertainment amenities, in the process delighting, treating and securing the life of a certain part of the society. The evening, ironically marks the illumination of society by technological applications, before finally resigning to the bed.

But a day in the life of a common man, may also be affected by bombings, accidents due to the vehicles, certain lifestyle diseases like diabetes and heart attack due to unhealthy and fast paced living. All these constitute the negative implications of technology on the life of a commoner. The social issues like, the use of latest gadgetry, economic and social development leading to more comfortable lives, the impact on sociological aspects due to modern warfare or the launch of a new phase in global relations, international and environmental issues and so on, amply exemplify technological penetration in society.

The question that remains to be answered, is not how does technology affect the society. The question is, whether technology would be able to guarantee a conducive future for sustainability and flourishing of modern society.

The Cultural Aspect of Technology

The Cultural Aspect of Technology

Technology brings changes in the environment in order to make it compatible with inevitable human necessities; and culture is a man’s compatibility with the environment around him and the relationship he establishes with it. Today, in many developing parts of the world, the lack of progress in technology and science is regarded as the essential cause for general backwardness. On the other hand, a lot of industrially advanced societies of the world deem technological development to be the basis of all social ills. However, many people neglected a standpoint in which technology is autonomous, impartial and liberated of any ideals, whose blemishes and benefits are primarily in the hands of the people who utilize these technologies.

“Too much time online makes you more likely to go offline in real life,” one of the numerous skeptics the traditional societies holds against the modern, mediated culture that basically praises and cheers on the development of new technology. These naysayers to a technologically mediated environment believe that the installment of technology to our culture could strip us from our “authenticity” and innate ability to “emote.” According to them, the people who indulge in technological progress are blurred of technology’s corruption. “[They] are trapped inside their living rooms, roaming the thousand-channel universe and exercising one freedom they still have left: to be the voyeurs of their own demise,” as written by Kalle Lasn in his book, Culture Jam. He, along with many, feel that the cost of the need to change our whole societal structure because of the cultural intervention of technology is too much for its worth in which the technology "might" (or "might not") benefit us. These people fear the possibility, which was taken for granted, that the new culture which technology brings might not even benefit them whatsoever, rather, it would only bring disturbance to the balance of society's ecology.

Opposing the traditional societies’ argument comes the people who worship technological advancement. They insist that technological and scientific advances up till now have brought drastic, positive developments to the society. Yet, just like their contra, they have also adopted a transparent bias that only considers the advantages of technological growth. They choose to overlook the dangers and one-sided monopoly which the spread of technology might bring. Let's take a look at some of the various technological growth up till now to assess the bias of each side's ideology.

Our means of communication has greatly improved in the dawn of the modern technology. We now have so many hi-tech gadgets that we use for everyday communicating with people from all over the world. The telephone is a very helpful mean tool for us to talk with people from remote places, then came out the cellular phones, which many of us take with us wherever we go. Now, we are given the privilege to use computers and the internet that has such a wide variety of easy communication offers. It is one of the reasons why we should be thankful for technology. The disadvantage of this is that too many people can communicate with us all at the same time. In his article Breaking Down Borders: How Technology Transforms the Private and Public Realms, Robert Samuels states:

Some critics of new communication technologies argue that cell phones, laptops, iPods and the other devices we take with us throughout our day encourage a high level of multitasking and prevent us from concentrating on any single activity. Thus, they argue, people not only become more superficial, but the constant switching between work and leisure activities creates a fragmented sense of self and gives everyone a bad case of attention deficit disorder.

This explains why technological spread can create scams and spamming in a lot of ways. Moreover, the youth has been very much addicted to gadgets that they get to spend too much time with it.

There have been lots of advantages with technology when it comes to health. Our lives will never be the same again after the breakthroughs of many medicines and other discoveries. Lengthening our lives is very easy these days. Nevertheless, modern medical technology can also be damaging for human well-being. People must be constantly aware of other modern technologies that can interfere and put the patient at risk. An example of this is the pacemaker, which has the ability to save a person's life and ultimately extend it. However, external factors can interfere with medical technology and ultimately put the patient at risk. For example, radiation from everyday items such as microwaves to wireless devices such as cell phones can affect the pace maker.

The production has also been increased. Now, we can create materials in just minutes with multiple productions at a time. This is what the modern machines contribute to our society. A disadvantage of this is the energy that it uses. It consumes a lot of energy to run the machines. And so, we need more fuel, and it will then leave a lot of waste and pollution to our environment. It is the most destructive price for our today’s technology.

What I am trying to imply and emphasize by discussing the advantages and disadvantages of technology from different aspects is the irony of how neutral technology actually is. As Neil Postman mentions in his article The Judgment of Thamus, “Technological change is neither additive nor subtractive.” We adapt to new technologies and to the new systems which these technologies create. We adapt, by using more technologies. Culturally speaking, technology is neither evil nor disastrous, rather, if used properly, it could raise the welfare of human beings. Nonetheless, it is still a double-edged sword for it can still bring harm and damage to our society and existing culture. It is up to us to import technology and weave it into our cultural fabric, maximizing the benefits of the new technologies while preserving the old ones’.

Subculture: Reflection

When we look at the changing world-views around us there's nothing like direct quotes to bring out the reality of the mentalities that exist around an issue to validate things as they really are or were. What should the attitude of law and public policy be toward homosexuality is being debated in academia, legislatures, on news programs and at dinner tables across the world. Being effeminate, wearing the most current styles in fashion trends, I know what it feels like to be judged every single day of your life. However, I know that it will get better. When you’ve held your head high in front of the judgmental people, you’d realize that things would only get better if and only if you can accept yourself. I’ve learned that the most important relationship you can have in your life is the relationship with yourself, because no matter what, you will always be with yourself. Accept yourself for who you are no matter what people may think of you, and you’ll see that life is full of colors and there’s so much more to it than what meets the eye.

I have made some points about the culture and its communities to help the readers of my essay understand the culture better, along with their shared activities and their essence. However, I realized that my analysis and explanation at the paragraph level needs expansion. I have to be able to give more in-depth analysis and explanation of each of my paragraph’s topic. Sentence-wise, I think my sentence structure is pretty good. But there’s always room for improvement, to further polish my flow and sentence variety. In addition, I’d better work on my quotations, I³: Introduce, Incorporate and Interpret.