Culture Jam Initial Research

Creative Detournement:

“Détournement means a ‘detour’ or ‘diversion’ in English. However, in French, the word also means ‘hijacking’, ‘embezzlement’, ‘corruption’ and ‘misappropriation.’ In a broad sense, détournement can be defined as ‘a method of interpretation and reinterpretation: reordering pre-existing materials in order to expose their banality or their function within a system of spectacular control and creatively reconstructing them in the service of authenticity” (Kiziltunali, 2020).

Culture Jamming:

“Culture jamming is the practice of disrupting the mundane nature of everyday life and the status quo with surprising, often comical or satirical acts or artworks. The practice was popularized by the anti-consumerist organization Adbusters, which often uses it to force those who encounter their work to question the presence and influence of advertising and consumerism in our lives” (Cole Ph.D., 2021).

The difference between creative detournement and culture jamming, is that detournement is artwork that consist of old and new artifacts that is appropriated or altered to present an undermining message about those artifacts. As for culture jamming, it is artwork that brings awareness and reflection about consumerism among its viewers.

Idea 1:

Turning the Tik Tok logo into a “cherry bomb” explosive, with the round black bottom and wick that is sparkling. This represents Tik Tok being extremely popular in a short period of time, with the amount of content and advertising on the app, it can be somewhat like an “explosion” of all the types of information being shared, including misinformation which can be harmful to the public.

Idea 2:

Taking the Five Guys slogan “Always fresh, never frozen,” and swapping it to “Always frozen, never fresh.” This will represent the processed foods that fast food restaurants provide and how unhealthy fast food consumption can be.

Idea 3:

Having a McDonald’s fries’ container but instead of fries it would be vape pens. This would represent the unhealthiness of fast food eating and vaping, as well as the similarity in harm that it can cause in our bodies.

References:

Cole Ph.D., N.L. (2021, Oct 16). Understanding Culture Jamming and How it Can Create Social Change. ThoughtCo, https://www.thoughtco.com/culture-jamming-3026194

Kiziltunali, G. (2020). Détournement in Social Media Visuals for a Shared Activist Identity and Imagery. Visual Communication, 19(1), 99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470357218779118