Sign Wars The Culture Jammers Strike Back

2010·10.6 MB·English

by  David Cox

'Whosaidtheavantgardeisdead?DavidCoxknowswheretheexcitingnew
stuffishiding,fromSydneytoSanFrancisco.Hehashisfingeronthepulse
ofthenewradicalmediacreativity. McKenzieWark,authorofAHackerManifi^
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Sign Wars
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WARS
SIGN
The Culture Jammers Strike Back!
David Cox
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AustralianCataloguinginPublicationData
Cox,DavidA.,1963-
Signwars:theculturejammersstrikeback!
Bibliography.
ISBN9780980770155
1.Visualsociology. 2.Signsandsymbols.
3.Popularculture. I.Title.
302.2
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AUTHOR'SNOTE
August2010
FiveyearshavepassedsinceIwrote"SignWars".The1990sfeature
soprominentlyinthebookbecausesomuchofthewhatIexperienced
ofthe 'jammer culture'in the USAin particularhappened at that
time.AndlikethephilosopherandtheoristSlavojZizek,Ilookback
atthe 1990s as something of a Belle Epoque, relatively free ofthe
traumaticeventsandsenseofdeclinethathavecometodefinethe
present.Zizekhascommentedthatthetwindisastersof9/11in2001
and the economic crash in 2008 bookend the present decade and
almostmakeonewishforwhatnowinretrospectatleastappearto
usasmuchsimplertimes.
Goneforeveratleastisthequaintneoliberalnotionthatglobalized
capitalism automatically brings with it notions of democracy and
fairnesswhereveritgoes.Today'scapitalismismoreauthoritarian,
moreconcernedwithsheerproductionandhasnothingtodowith
the spread of democracy if the Chinese and Indian models are
anythingtogoby.Workersrightshaveseldomfeaturedveryhighly
intheorganizingprinciplesofthenewsuperpowers, rapidlynow
overtakingthe traditionaleconomichubs ofEurope and theUSA.
Indeed the authoritarian systems of both the old and emergent
economies appear to espouse ever less democratic models of
capitalism stripped completelyofanysemblanceofpositive social
agency.Theshockingwaste,hubrisandarrogantopportunismofthe
Bush/Blairyears scarred the world withunparalleled ruthlessness
andvoracity.
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Through this lens we face a darker future than we ever dared
to imagine. Every day brings new horrors of pointless oil wars,
catastrophicenvironmentaldestructionintheformofoilspillsand
other man-made instances of enviro-rape. Dubious advances in
biotechnologyspeaktoafutureinwhichnaturalprocessesbecome
copyrighted, human cloning more likely. As Zizek notes with
understandable alarm; theChinese seemtolackthemoral qualms
of the west in this regard. Ever smaller micro-electronics spawn
baroque new forms of surveillance and control of unfathomable
complexity, wired intricately into the labyrinthine systems of
militarized, government-backed-yet-otherwise-totally-private
globalimperialism.
Thepublicrelationsindustryhasmanagedtovirtuallyhijackthe
entireInternetviasocalled''social"mediathatoffer"free"services
in exchange for amazinglybrazen access to personal information,
ideasandcreativeoutputonthepartofthepopulation.Thesuccess
and ubiquity of this online system for stripping people of ideas
and innermostthoughts on adaily, hourly, and minute-by-minute
basisdemonstrates thepersonal influencethatpowerful "players"
likeGoogle/Eacebook/Youtube/Twitter/iTunesetchaveonthoseall
toowillingtogiveideasand secretsupforanersatzimitationofa
meaningfulsociallife.
People are told theyhave thousands of"friends" throughthese
systems,yetremainforthemostpartsociallyalone.Meanwhilewhat
theybuy,whattheywant,howtheyfeel, andeveryotheraspectof
lifeisreducedto afewtypeslinedinatextfieldwhichitselfthen
joins a vast system that aggregates this most personal experience
intoapatternmakingmachinetofurtherstandardizetheexperience
of daily life itself. Stalin himself could not have devised so all-
encompassingasystemforthemanagementofaglobalpopulation;
onethatregulatesitselfwithpavlovianpredictability.
However, with this crisis also come opportunity: the field for
imagining newtypesofsocietymadepossibleinthelastfiveyears
iswideopenas neverbefore.AsWilliamBurroughsonceopinedon
camera:"Everyparticleoftheuniversecontainstheentireuniverse".
EorBurroughs,cuttingupfragmentsofmediaatanytimestillopens
upnewcorridorsofpossibility.
San Francisco, my beloved home since 2005, is like anywhere
worthlivingin,besiegedbytheforcesofgentrification,controland
authority. The countercultural heart still beats strongly here, and
the city continues to attract those driven by the imagination and
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the promise ofa better tomorrow for all. I see excellentexamples
ofJamseverywhereIlook. Ironicsatiricalstencilart, amazingDIY
technology of the sort celebrated at the Maker Faire. The rise of
sensortechnologyand'cloud'computinginparticularoffersmany
possibilitiesforsocialinteractionandmanytomanysystemsofidea
exchangeasneverbefore.Opensourcecomputingonevercheaper,
smallerandmorepowerfulmachinesmakesfor amoreopen,free
andinterchangablesetofexperiencesforthoseinterestedinhacking
awayatnewkindsofmedia and thenewtypesofsocialrelations
they imply. The war on terror has made life more like one big
GuantanamoBayforeverybodyeverywhere,butithasalsospawed
anoceanofcheapcomputerpartsandnetworkingdevices.Likethe
coldwarbeforeit,hackerscanhackthewarwastetobuildabetter
tomorrow.Thusdefensebecomesselfdefense.
On the subject ofself-defense, Ihave takenup the artofkarate
ata small dojohereinthe Mission districtand every classbrings
newinsightsintotherelationshipbetweenmartialartsandculture
jamming. Like culturejamming, karate is more than merely a set
of techniques for self-defense. It is an entire philosophy, aimed
at understanding the role of oneself in relation to a muchbigger
universe.Itisalsoverymuchaboutfocus,disciplineandthesense
that there isnotnecessarily only one way to do things. Zizekhas
commentedinhisinterviewsthatmartialartsaretraditionallythe
domainofthepoor. This explains thehuge appeal ofmartial arts
moviesasagenrecloselyassociatedwithstreetculturesincethelate
1960s.Whenallyouhaveisyourbody,thenadaptingthebodyasan
emblemofprotectionanddisciplineisbynomeansatrivialthing.
In karate, as with culture jamming, a successful outcome can
only be realized via the application of principled study, practice
and awareness. A good billboard or corporate logo alteration is
like a swiftly applied self-defense technique. The opponent, felled
withhisownweightandthedefendersknowledgeoftheattacker's
weaknesses,isdisarmedlongenoughtofacilitateifonlymomentarily
anescape.Thedownedattackernomatterhowsoonheeventually
getsup, mustfromthatpointonalwaysconsidertheideathathis
assumedsuperiorityhasbeencompromised.
Along withkarate Ihave takenup another pursuit inharmony
withthejammerethos.In20061becamememberofthemopedgang
the "Creatures ofLoin" a chapter ofthe Moped Army, anational
association which was itself set up as a kind of ironic satire on
motorcycle gang culture. Driven by the 2-stroke engine and its
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familiarlawnmowersound,wemixoilwithgasolinetoridefreely
upanddownthehillsofthecitytodiscovernewpossibilitieshidden
aroundus.
Mopedsareastrangehybridofbicycleandmotorcycle,theyare
perfectforthebackstreetsofEuropeandnotsuitedtoSanFrancisco.
Assuch,withintheArmy,Mopedbitsareexchangedandsold,parts
tomakethe'pedsgofaster,tohandlethehillsbetter.Tuningabike
isliketuningabeautifuloldpiano,theactofridingislikeplaying
music. And they are not the only kind of micromobility around
here;electricvehicles proliferate, oftenhome-madefrom theparts
ofgo-cartspoweredbyoldwashingmachinemotorshookedupto
uninterruptablepowersupplies.Electricscootersarearoutinesight
onthestreets.
Every Monday night COTE gather to ride around the city, to
embraceourcommonloveofcontradictionsinherentinourchosen
modeoftransport,andtoexperiencethetypesofengagementwith
thecitythatitcanoffer.RidingthroughSanFranciscoonamopedin
agroup,orbyyourself,oftenwithnoplannedrouteisaSituationist
Deriveandoneofthemostenjoyableexperiencesapersoncanhave.
IndeedwhatattractedmetotheCOTEinitiallywastheirfamiliarity
withSituationisttexts, andIquicklycametorealisethattheirony,
wit and satire of thejammer is alive and well within the Moped
Army.Thereareposters,flyers,movietrailersforralliesandevents.
It's a whole hip movementthathas taughtme volumes aboutthe
importance of drifting, and the political implications of doing so
withlotsofotherpeopleallatthesametimeonaregularbasis.
Today new modes of creative expression include the home-
manufacturedcustomproduct. Objects canprintedoutin3Dwith
inexpensive printers. Virtual products, each one as unique as the
personwhomadeitcanbefabricatedonthekitchentable.Therise
inhomemanufacturingiswell-chronicledatsiteslikeboingboing.
net.Youcanmakeyouowncustomplastictoys!Digitalcinemahas
becomecheaperandcheapertodo.Awardwinning-entirefeature
films are made with equipment costing well under the price of a
secondhandcar.Theriseofthecell-phonecamerahasmadefilming
eventsacommonplace.Therecentcitizencell-phonecoverageofthe
shooting ofOscar Grant at a subway station in EastBay on New
YearsEvein2009helpedconvicttheBayAreaRapidTransitpolice
officer who shot the defenseless man in the back multiple times.
Surveillancenowworksbothways.
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More people with more cameras with more access to online
publishinganddistributioncanonlybeagoodthing,andasthese
devicesdecreaseinprice,availabilityalsoincreases.Itiscommonto
findcastaway,recycledordonatedcell-phoneswithfullyworking
video and stillcameraaswell asmp3capability. Fewerand fewer
peopleneedbewithoutaminiproductionstudioatalltimes.
MiraculouslyArtist'sTelevisionAccessgalleryisstillgoing, and
CraigBaldwinisstilllivingthereandhisOtherCinemascreenings
continueastheyhavedonenowforovertwenty-fiveyears.Twenty
fiveyears! Itis aprivilegetobepartoftheOtherCinemascenein
itsnowmyriadforms-thescreenings,thewebsite,theonline'zine
and ofcourse the OCDVD labelforwhichIhaveedited trailers. I
amworkingwithCraigBaldwinasascriptandstoryadviserona
new movieidea called "Invisible Insurrection" about the fact that
WilliamBurroughsandGuyDebordwerebothinthesamepartof
Parisin1961atthesametime.Giventhatbothcontributedsomuch
tothenotionofcut-up/collage/detournment,thisisastorythathas
tobetold.Iwasalsoprivilegedtosupplythevoicefortheonscreen
appearance ofAleister Crowley in Craig's last film "Mock Up on
Mu"whichgarneredmuchattentionandasuccessfulreleaseinthe
festivals,theatersandnowDVD.ThesceneIlearnedtoloveinthe
1990sisstillhere.
FromwhereI'mstanding,theworkoftheculturejammertoday
isas'finallyunfinished'asthebookthatyoucannowholdinyour
hands.
LettheSignWarscontinue.
This superb LedaTape production of my book would not have
beenpossiblewithoutthegreateffortofMrSimonStrongtowhom
Iwouldliketosendaheartfeltthankyouforthishandsomeedition.
ThanksSimon!
Andaswesayatkarate;"BeReadyandObservantatAllTimes!"
DavidCox,
SanFrancisco,
September2010
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