Date of Award

2010

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Communication Studies

Keywords

Mass Communications.

Supervisor

Scatamburlo-D'Annibale, Valerie (Communication, Media and Film)

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

Consumption and the ideology of consumerism, as vital elements that fuel the capitalist system, have become legitimated as normative practices within western society. The social influence and economic power held by corporations has helped them establish discursive legitimacy, leaving citizens marginalized and without access to meaningful participation in cultural production. I argue that culture jamming is a resistance strategy that aims to confront the ideological nature of consumerism, refuses to accept the colonization of the public sphere by private interests, and hopes to open up the dominant forms of communication to public participation. This tactic is criticized for posing little threat to consumerism at best, and contributing to the dominant ideologies at worst. By conducting a critical discourse analysis of the website of the Billboard Liberation Front, I assess the organization's effectiveness as a counter hegemonic force, revealing how they use language in the attempt to challenge and reinterpret dominant discourse.

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