The Yes Men - The Next Generation of Activists

The Yes Men What can I say about the Yes Men? Their brand of culture jamming is classic in contemporary society and rather than simply criticizing or undermining media and advertising culture, they have creatively and humorously inspired change in a way that creates new forms of cultural production. In this way, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno (Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos, respectively), have transcended rather than merely negated the status quo. Culture jamming, AKA; subvertising, guerrilla communication, night discourse was once again new territory for me as far as terminology. Closer inspection revealed the antics of the Billboard Liberation Front of the seventies which I remember happening, but wasn’t quite in tune with the intent at the time. I was also familiar with the work of Morgan Spurlock and the whole McDonald’s, “SuperSize Me” documentary thing back in 2004 where Spurlock ate only food from McDonalds for 30 days. I can certainly appreciate the use of satire and humor to expose truths that everyone should be aware of. Research also revealed that this form of social activism and anti-consumerism has roots in the past. Once again we can see influences in the Situationist International philosophies of Guy Debord and the sociopolitical street theater and staged media events of 1960s radicals such as Abbie Hoffman. I think the Yes Men have broken new ground with their unique style and this activist duo has used the satirical approach with great success to help mass media uncover lies and expose truths in today’s media culture.