Culture jamming has various meanings. First, it refers to an anti-consumerist social and political activist movement challenging the cultural hegemony of capitalist enterprises and corporations. Second, it is a tactic used by various social movements that blends art and activism, for instance, by (but not limited to) modifying and manipulating advertisements and mass media messages to disrupt or subvert their meanings and break up established media routines and standardized ways of representation and interpretation. This entry discusses the origins of culture jamming, how it is used, and criticisms of the practice.

The coinage of the term culture jam is attributed to the acoustic experimenters of the rock group Negativland in 1984 and relates to the idea of radio jamming. However, the activity of subverting and distorting ...