Culture Jam explains and analyzes how consumerism is polluting our culture. Lasn argues that consumerism has infected American culture to the point that the word "America" no longer signifies the name of a nation, but a multi-trillion dollar collection of brand names. America's dominant symbols--the golden arches, the swoosh, and so forth--are simply representative of what Lasn calls "cool": a vapid symbol that carries no meaning and signifies nothing other than excessive consumerism, a profit-driven mindset, and social acceptance. Throughout his book, Lasn also deals with similarly related issues, addressing the ways in which corporations are repressing our freedom of speech, harming the environment, and a host of other problems.

Beyond merely complaining about the effects of consumer culture like most college students do (myself included), Lasn examines the issues very closely, explaining how and why corporations are affecting our culture and the world in negative ways, and how they have come to wield as much power as they do. By the end of the book, Lasn even suggests ways concerned citizens can help stop harmful corporations by "uncooling" their products, "subvertising", and urging the government to revoke their corporate charters.

One of the most important messages Lasn sends out is that the Culture Jammer movement isn't just about a cushy middle-class citizenry getting those pesky advertisements out of every sector of our lives; it's about restoring a true state of freedom to America and, as Lasn says, changing the way meaning is produced in our society. At its best, the Culture Jamming movement is about changing our culture to offer a truly democratic way of exchanging information, and it aims to restore authenticity and a sense of meaning to our lives. (And if you don't think people in general have lost a sense of meaning in their lives, watch American Beauty, Fight Club, or Office Space.)