Last week, I
wrote about alternative media and how satirical news reporting would in fact be
another example of culture jamming. As a
response to that post, I have gone through several of my CPCF 1F25 class mates
blogs and tried to grasp the general conclusion of the topic.
When writing my post, I stressed
that these media sources were all sources of satirical media and that they were
a refreshing point of view on the topics at hand. Brittany Shannon (http://britshannon.blogspot.ca/)
states, “Satirical news gives individuals a new
perspective of current events. This gives us a diversity of opinion which can
be useful in our culture”. Something I firmly believe true as well. As a society, we are always taking news in
such a serious, one sided, political view. What these program are trying to do
is take the news of now, and giving our society and culture a chance to laugh
about troubling problems, or even better open the horizons of their minds to a
different side to current arguments.
Student
Amy Lowe (http://lifeoflowe.wordpress.com/)
brought up the point that these programs use the point of view of the audience.
She stating that this type of reporting works as an “effective way to connect with their audience. The use of comedy draws
in viewers, while subtly educating them on the issues surround their culture”.
This is the perfect way to explain how exactly these programs work towards
informing our society. People feel less upset about the issues arising, due to
the presence of comedy, however they are also becoming a part of the argument, ideology, or thinking behind these issues due to the sheer presence of these
programs. They plant the seed that gets people talking about issues in our
current society, and even though other news stations do the exact same thing,
these programs branch out new ideas, conversations, and opinions as well as
bring a whole new audience into the world of news and politics that would
otherwise be completely left in the dark.
I really love the way
Matthew Famele (http://matthewfamele.wordpress.com/)
spoke on the topic. “These programs work in a
similar concept as devil’s advocate; an alternative argument for the sake of
deeper contemplation. These programs are a useful addition to the media because
they let the viewer rethink what they are told”. I love how he speaks of these
culture jamming shows as a “Devil’s advocate” because it is simply the truth.
These shows may not be the prettiest form of news casting, or the most
accurate, but it gives you the point of view that news companies might not want
you to take in consideration, and for that alone I feel these programs are needed.
In conclusion,
programs such as the Colbert Report are in fact a viable source of culture
jamming within the public sphere. They open up minds and bring separate audiences,
who otherwise would not be so interested in the news happening now.
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