Getting “Banksied”: Culture Jamming in Practice

Abstract: This paper discusses culture jamming as the countercultural tool of our current mass media society and argues for a more holistic understanding of the concept in order to open up its subversive potential. Part of this holisitic approach involves emphasizing the role of remediation inherent in the concept. Thus, the aim of this paper is twofold: to elaborate the diverse techniques involved in culture jamming (as opposed to the common reductionist approaches to the concept) and, more importantly, to highlight the remediation elements imbedded in culture jamming practices. To accomplish this, the works of street artist Banksy are taken as a case study and analyzed to answer the following questions: In what ways do the works of street artist Banksy subvert or “jam” culture? And how does remediation come into play in these jamming practices?