Adbusters

Fear is a very potent instrument of persuasion used by some of the most powerful and cowardice groups on the planet. On September 11th 2001, the world was thrown into a state of shock and fear when planes were hijacked and used to take out key symbols of The United States economic and military engine. Although not with the same ferocity of nine eleven, The United States is suffering daily from attacks on it's economic front. Adbusters magazine attempts to use parody to influence and inform the general public of their responsibility as consumers. With the very fragile state the world is in I must question the appropriateness and timing of what Adbusters is trying to do. They seem to be taking advantage of a population that has become very easy to influence because of this fear.

"Adbusters is an ecological magazine, dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment. We want a world in which the economy and ecology resonate in balance. We try to coax people from spectator to participant in this quest. We want folks to get mad about corporate disinformation, injustices in the global economy, and any industry that pollutes our physical or mental commons."

(Adbusters Magazine, 2003)

This is the mission statement of Adbusters magazine. At first glance it seems as though Adbusters is a voice for the people. It has the capability to speak for those who have not yet been spoken for. They claim to " want folks to get mad about corporate misinformation" yet this is the tactic they implement most heavily. Parody is defined by Merriam Webster as "a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule." This involves adjusting an advertisement to show it's true meaning. Yet like abstract art all advertisements are capable of being interpreted in many ways. Adbusters attempts to take any add that may have a comedic resonance and bend it to show a negative. They constantly take simple thoughts and blow them grossly out of proportion. Their views are heavily biased but since the population is used to seeing corporate interpretation they will look at these adds without a hint of criticism. In one such example (See attached) they have a flock of sheep in front of the United States flag and the caption at the bottom reads "TOMMY: Follow the flock." To most people this is quite amusing because they can relate to the amount of trendy styles they see in their lives. Yet isn't that Adbusters ? It currently has become trendy to present an image of being informed. The phrase " I'm an individual" has been echoed millions of time over. The simple fact is that by claiming individuality or stating you are an informed consumer you have conformed to the latest trend of culture jamming and supposed " individualistic thinking."

Culture Jamming is a term which like the ads of media holds many interpretations. The definition which I have become accustomed to according to classroom discussions is as follows: "Culture Jammers are a group of organized individuals who attempt to influence and inform consumers through parody, campaigns (Buy Nothing Day, Turn Off Your T.V. Week) , and small/large public demonstrations." Another definition I would like to give to you is terrorism:

"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons." (Merriam Webster, 2003).

Obviously the definitions are not identical but they are not unalike. They both serve the same common purpose to change our current systems for political or ideological reasons. Referring back to September 11th the common feeling is that Al - Qadea was attempting not to kill people but instead prove a point that the United States is not invincible. If the attempt had been for a loss of life more likely targets would have been Hoover Dam or Central Las Vegas. Al-Qadea now has the U.S. in a state of readiness and fear; with a simple phone call the U.S. can go to "Teal Alert." Culture Jammers use this same technique they are just not as widely recognized right now. "Vandals caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage here in Houston and some say it may have been an environmental protest" ( ABC News, February 2nd 2003). These vandals were making the point that the S.U.V.'s are harmful to society. It is an act of terrorism just on a much smaller scale. For those unable to see how Adbusters relates to the eco terrorists I'll refer back to the mission statement of Adbusters: "Adbusters is an ecological magazine, dedicated to examining the relationship between human beings and their physical and mental environment. We want a world in which the economy and ecology resonate in balance" (Adbusters Magazine, 2003).Whether from terrorists or Culture Jammers the approach to get out their point is the same, use fear to influence a society already bathing in it.

The largest concern with Adbusters is its biased approach when informing society. In all the ads that they choose to parody the blame is placed on the corporation. A corporation is not human it is not something that is capable of taking blame. The general view I've come to on society is that we live in a contradiction. Without criminals you wouldn't have police, without sick you wouldn't have doctors, and without corporations you wouldn't have consumers. Consumers need corporations just as much as corporation need the consumers. The best example is with Nike. Commonly looked at as the epitome of cheap labour their name is tarnished world wide. Yet they still are quite successful in a very tight business world. With companies such as RBK, Adidas, and Puma all vying for the same market Nike has been able to stay afloat. " [Nike] currently employs over one million people in sixteen different branches of it's company" (Nike, 2003). If Adbusters were successful slave labour would be ended but so would this company and many others. It's extremely harsh but in order for one person to succeed another must fail. Corporate America would be destroyed at the loss of the slave labour industry. The responsibility remains on the consumer not to boycott but to buy responsibly. Adbusters does not teach consumers responsibility it puts the blame entirely on corporate America. This is extremely easy because as stated before a corporation does not have a face. The public is so quick to ridicule something they can't see. It takes the blame off there shoulders. "Our readers are professors and students; activists and politicians; environmentalists

...