Rating: 
Summary: A life-changer
Review: This book changed my life: Its explanation of how activism is a cure to cynicism helped me realize the downward spiral I was in, and react. Far from filling me with dread and despair, this book gives me renewed hope, because it gave me the courage to act.Kalle does a great job of exploring the structural and cultural problems that are turning a whole lot of well-intentionned people (westerners) into the worst colonialists and vandals the world has ever seen. He touched on some things that are so deep within us that we can't even perceive them anymore. He explains very clearly the historical roots of corporations (an artificial legal construct for purposes of colonial conquest), and how Lincoln and others virulently opposed them. He presents a solid case, that would make even the most blank-eyed economist frown. I personally tend to disagree with some of his conclusions: The utopia he proposes as an alternative would never pass muster with most of the population. But that's besides the point: Even if you don't agree with his proposed solution, at least he's proposing one, and challenging us to come up with something better. A note: Buy this book at a local bookstore, to support your local economy. Buying it online will only help the corporations, and impoverish your community even more. Get local!
Rating:
Summary: A fine specimen of free speech
Review: As Sir Peter Ustinov said, "If you are not confused about the world then you are not thinking clearly". Culture Jam may complicate your view of life temporarily but knowledge does give clarity over time.
Switch off the telly and talk, walk, or, God forbid, read.
Rating:
Summary: This book changed my life!
Review: I have never read any book like this before. It is uncompromising and offers a workable solution to major world problems. Great book all around
Rating:
Summary: Eye Opening Images
Review: Not being an American (am Australian) I thought that it would just be a rant about how bad American society was. And yes, it does cover that. But since reading I can now view and understand the symbols of corporate greed around me even over here. The book has four main sections, Autumn (that's Fall), Winter, Spring and Summer. Each section is well named. By the middle of Winter I was depressed thinking there was no hope in the world of consumerism around us. But by the time I got to Spring and then Summer, rays of hope broke through. Spring and Summer give us helpful tips, guidelines and ideas to break out the consumerist vegatative lifestyle that some of us take. You *may* think you don't participate in the system, but you may even to the smallest degree. Get the book, read it with an open mind. Then read another related book. Go outside, view the billboards and then yell: "You don't have power over me anymore!" You'll feel refreshed.
Rating: 
Summary: No "Revolution" Here.
Review: I had bigger expectations for this book. I am familar with Kalle Lasn's Adbusters organization and agree with what they stand for. However, Lasn's attempts to start a revolution and change the world in this book are a laughable failure. Granted, he does have some good stuff early in the book about the pernicious effects on society caused by corporate propaganda and saturation marketing. Especially good are his descriptions on how this has caused low self-esteem in girls, aggression in teenagers, and the unhealthy sedentary lifestyle of modern Americans. I also enjoyed his section on dealing with telemarketers. However, the book fails when Lasn tries to come up with ways to change the situation. First his inflammatory writing style with his use of adjectives like "chicken-ass", "lamebrained", and other attention-grabbers makes him guilty of some of the mass media behavior he's criticizing. Meanwhile, he fails to deliver any concrete ideas for changing the current situation, and can only give vague sloganeering like "take back our lives", "change the world", "rise up" and other vague polemics that sound like the ravings of a teenager who's mad that his parents won't let him go out on Saturday. Worst yet is Lasn's use of a group called the Situationists as an inspiration for his hoped-for revolution. This group's only claim to fame was a few small riots in Paris in 1968. Their leader was trying to change society so there would be true intellectual freedom, and an economy where nobody would have to work and would spend their time discussing philosophical ideas. This man seemed to think he was already living in that world and refused to work, and begged off others instead. You can't live in your desired world until you have created it. The Situationists caused a little fuss then disappeared, though Lasn portrays them as a major revolutionary movement with society-shattering ideas. They weren't revolutionary, and neither is this book. If you're interested in the effects that corporate propaganda has on our society and culture, and would like to learn about ways to possibly make a change, then I still recommend the work of Lasn's Adbusters organization. Go to their website and check it out, but read this book at your own peril.
Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary
Review: This book is a must read! A book of this kind is long overdue. For those people who have a deep dislike of commercialism and this materialistic society we live in, this book is for you. We have all been brainwashed by the media in one way or another. That is why the majority of the people around you are getting more disfunctional, emotional, and crazy; because the images pushed into our subconsciousness by television is damaging to our mental health. Television and media tells us who we should be, what we should wear, how we should look, etc; while at the same time disconnecting us from our true individual selves. In other words this book tells us that we have been "dumbed down" by the likes of rock 'n' roll, billboards, shampoo commercials, and the likes of; and that culture is no longer grassroots, but pushed on us by CEO executives of ABC, NBC, MTV, BET, etc. We cannot think for ourselves anymore in this so-called American culture because of consumerism. I can go on and on about how in the first chapter Kalle Lasn explains how the need of people to imitate the "perfect image" causes depression, anxiety, and disorders in youth and women. This is a very very important book and must be read as many people as possible.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and informative, but a little preachy
Review: This is an insightful and thought-provoking look into the aggressive way we've been marketed to as well as the cultural consequences. Chapter by chapter, Lasn explores the ways in which advertising, marketing and branding have transfomed us from free Americans to captive citizens of Corporate America (TM), and the way the coroporate machine has eroded the quality of our lives. Corporations, Lasn argues, have grown too big, too unwieldy and too powerful and it's time to for us to recognize that we created these powerful institutions and can therefore take the power back from them. This is a compelling argument, but his approach to getting there goes too far. He combines his solution--get off the consumer treadmill and quit buying into bogus marketing hype--with too many other concerns and offers it up as a package deal. To Lasn, you can't just become a much more critical consumer and succeed, you must also give up your car, ride your bike everywhere and become a vegetarian. This is where he veers into needless didacticism. His tone is also frequently preachy and his rhetoric a little overzealous. If you're interested in this topic and you've got the money, this is a good book to have in your library. If you're just looking for one book on the subject, Naomi Klein's No Logo is a much more journalistic, fact-based and witty, and best of all, you can buy her argument and leave the tofu on the shelf. If you're looking for a book that's more directly concerned with curtailing consumerism, you might take a peek at Juliet B. Schor's excellent 1998 work, The Overspent American.
Rating:
Summary: We gotta take the power back!
Review: Good stuff! Culture Jam does a great job discussing the power corporations have over our daily lives as well as presenting ways to fight against this new ruling class.
Rating:
Summary: Mental bombs for those that care . . .
Review: After completing Culture Jam, I just sat in my chair and started to think about all of the points made in the book, and how they confirmed what many of us already knew to be true -- things aren't as good as the so-called leaders of the "free" world would have us believe. The discussion of the Santa Clara County case alone are worth the coin tossed up on the table for this book. Mr. Lasn has definitely taken a step forward in his attempt to incite outrage in the global community. Unlike an academic piece, this book just keeps hitting you and hitting you [with points] until you want to fight back, and wasn't that his goal all along? Definitely worth sharing with others - Viva la Revolution!
Rating:
Summary: Makes some good points, doesn't follow them up well
Review: Might have been better if he didn't repeat himself so much and then step on his biggest points in the end. Still, it's well written.
| 
