Annotated Bibliography

Frank, T. (1997). The conquest of cool: Business culture, counterculture, and the rise of hip consumerism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Providing a good overview of the interplay between big businesses and counter cultural groups, Frank describes how corporate cultures adopt or co-opt the tactics of counter cultural groups. The book makes the assertion that oftentimes resistance and "revolution" came from within the corporations themselves, counter to the conventional notions of rebels originating outside the system. Though somewhat dated, with an emphasis of marketing campaigns of the 1960s, it's easy to see parallels to practices today. I'm looking forward to reading Frank's One Market Under God, which should have more contemporary examples.

Frank, T. (2009). "The Tilting Yard: Dissent Commodified." Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 254(42), A13.
While not a peer-reviewed article, I was searching for more current writing from Thomas Frank, whose Conquest of Cool I very much enjoyed, and came upon this brief article. In it, Frank successfully merges the ideas of Heath and Potter, who explain counter cultural groups as outgrowths of capitalism, with the notions of Klein, who bemoan society's lost of authenticity in its struggle for conformity. Frank's reflection aligns with what most people probably already believe: American culture is becoming increasingly inauthentic, and corporations aren't helping any.

Halnon, K. (2002). Poor chic: The rational consumption of poverty. Current Sociology, 50(4), 501.
Karen Halnon explores how some trends celebrate lower class living, what she calls "poor chic." She cites a host of examples in which companies have profited off of symbols of poverty, such as expensive hosiery that comes already torn or bowling shoes which cost more than one hundred dollars (502). These symbols can be viewed as distortions of reality in that they can be correlated with poverty (such as homelessness) but may also be "representations" without any basis in actuality. Consumers purchase "lifestyle symbols" as a way to identify themselves as cultural experts. Doing so also objectifies the lifestyle of poverty, making it distinctly separate and therefore safe from other class residents.

Halnon, K. (2005). Alienation incorporated: F*** the mainstream music in the mainstream. Current Sociology, 53(4), 441.
Similar to a previous article review I did of the same author, this article expands on the effect of shock music in youth culture. For youth who reject commercialism but are not willing to commit to a severely alternative lifestyle, high underground music offers a light way to engage in cultural resistance. According to Halnon, such artists as Eminem or Marilyn Manson offer youth a way to engage with authenticity. This music is also a way for businesses to commodify rebellion, though fans generally reject musical bands once they become commercialized and are promoted through avenues like MTV.

Halnon, K. (2005). Muscles, motorcycles, and tattoos: Gentrification in a new frontier. Journal of Consumer Culture, 6, 33.
Gentrification, the planned rehabilitation of lower class neighborhoods, can be considered a way for middle class residents to consider themselves "aesthetic consumers" of culture (36). However, Halnon rejects this lifestyle consumption theory, arguing instead that gentrification often serves as a way for people to fulfill personal needs. Similarly, people indulging in what she labels MMT's (muscles,
motorcycles, and tattoos) similarly experience a sort of gentrification. When middle or upper-middle class people begin adopting what used to be symbols of lower class livelihood, their motivations may be more sophisticated than the simple desire to seem like cultural savants.

Harold, C. (1999). Tracking heroin chic: The abject body reconfigures the rational argument. Argumentation and Advocacy, 36(2), 65.

While many decry the use of heroin chic as an unhealthy celebration of an alternative lifestyle, Christine Harold notes the trend's value in that it destabilizes standard norms of beauty. Portraying drugged-out models in dingy apartments serves as a cultural transgression, and in this sense heroin chic  - even when it's published through mainstream businesses - serves as a way to get the audience to become more critical of the images they consume.

Harold, C. (2009). Ourspace: Resisting the Corporate Control of Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press
This book provides a great overview of culture jamming and its various methods. Harold begins with an explanation of the Situationalist ideology, the resistance movement that originated in France in the early twentieth century and which was based on detournement. She then explores modern day examples of detournement through the use of parody in public spaces, anti-brands, and computer pranks. Through all these examples, Harold considers how artists manipulate messages to get audiences to critically evaluate the media usually consumed.


Heath, J., & Potter, A. (2006). The Rebel Sell: How the Counter Culture Became Consumer Culture. Capstone.
In contrast to Klein's belief that counter cultural groups serve as important sites of resistance (see No logo, below), Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter claim that so-called counter cultural movements are a natural outgrowth of capitalism. The driving force of capitalism is competition, and the popularity of anti-consumer products is a testament to their ability to define themselves as distinct and unique, not rebellious. The way people generally think about counter cultures, therefore, is all wrong. Rather than thinking about counter cultural groups as rebels against the corporate man, we should think of them as niches of the larger capitalistic system.

Klein, N. (2000). No logo: Taking aim at the brand bullies. Canada: Knopf.
In this book, Naomi Klein critiques the use of branding, arguing that while businesses once marketed products, they now market brands, or certain ways of life. She further explains how marketing strategies harm the individual citizen. Anti-consumerism groups and culture jamming, she says, play a valuable role in creating an informed individual and resisting the negative tides of commercialism.

Murphy, J. (2001). Mikhail Bakhtin and the rhetorical tradition. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 87(3), 259.
Useful for his introduction to Michail Bakhtin, Murphy explores the semantic implications of "rhetoric," concluding that although Mikhail Bakhtin denounced the use of rhetoric as a manipulative practice, rhetorical scholars can be informed by his claims within "Discourse in the Novel." The power of rhetoric, argues Murphy, lies in its ability to persuade and define situations. Rhetoric is a social process, and so issues of rhetorical tradition are ultimately valuable in that they actually offer a variety of viewpoints.