Memes and I: Why the Meme Culture Is Not Your Enemy
The land of the internet is certain a fascinating one. It enables different cultures to mingle and share ideas. Some ideas, however, seem to spread faster than most. When an idea has turned viral, that is when it is called a meme.
Hello everyone and welcome to another discussion by Fishnet! We are an online publication which dedicates itself to the discussion of the World Wide Web. We dive into different topics as it pertain to the use of the internet and the fun (and not so fun) things that are born from it. Today’s discussion is something that we feel is quite important. We have certainly come across a lot of the adults and the elderly which feel that the younger sets of internet users muddy up the waters with trash ideas.
The general consensus of the adult population is that memes are something that is negative. Are they really as negative as they seem? Is there an active purpose to a meme? This is what we shall be exploring with today’s discussion and we certainly hope that you join us for it!
What is a Meme?
It’s rather difficult to really pinpoint what a meme is. What we can all agree upon is a meme is a socially spread idea. They started as humor-tinged ideas which were made to either poke fun at human behavior. They are generally used to express an idea or a reaction to an idea that has been going around.
A meme is an idea which sort of acts like a common cold in the rate that it spreads. It is something that can be shared on social media or is something that is posted on forums like Reddit and spreads like wildfire. Memes have evolved through the years. Rather than just being used to express humor, they are now actively used in political conversations and protests.
It is found that a majority of those that use memes are in their early twenties to the mid-thirties. These are the generation of people that grew up with the internet. A lot of those who are in their forties and older find it quite difficult to digest the idea of a meme. The people in those age set tend to believe that it is a waste of time. We’re here to express the idea that memes are not the enemy—they never have been. In fact, memes are a healthy manifestation of communication.
Why Have Memes Become So Popular?
Memes are shared to express a variety of emotions. They can be used to congratulate individuals and praise positive behavior. At the same time, memes can be created to ridicule and call to attention the seemingly out of touch reactions and responses that some people have been having lately. Here are a few notable examples:
BBQ Becky and Permit Patty Meme
These two memes have been used to call attention to the intolerant reactions of two Caucasian women who, in separate occasions, called law enforcement on people of color for no good reason. BBQ Becky started from a video that was uploaded on YouTube. It was a video of a white woman who had apparently called the police over some black men who were having a BBQ at a public park in Oakland.
From there, it has turned into a photoshop meme of the woman on the phone seemingly calling the police for other absurd events which involve persons of color. Permit Patty was pretty much the same except the source video was a white woman who had called the police over a black eight-year-old girl who was selling water.
The spread of the meme helped to draw attention to the seemingly abuse of the use of the police force against persons of color—an act that was perpetuated by mostly white individuals. These memes help to strike a frank look at the actions that seem so acceptable to Caucasians yet utterly ridiculous for everyone else.
Gene Wilder’s Tell Me More Meme
Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka is one which a lot of people will find familiar. This particular meme features a still from the movie where Gene Wilder’s expression seemingly looks like he’s mocking the person that he’s listening to.
With a lot of people speaking out of ignorance or are being hypocritical, this meme is a response meme which is used to reflect the mocking response that’s given as a reaction. This particular meme has enjoyed quite a long life in the internet. It is still something that is commonly used when calling out armchair activists which are so vocal and rabid online but do not actually do anything to help people outside of the online sphere.
Why Are Memes Not the Enemy?
There are a lot of good reasons why people should generally stop referring to memes as trash ideas or irrelevant to today’s intellectual conversation. Here are some of them:
Speedy Spread of Ideas and Events
Memes are used primarily to spread an idea, an event, or words at a rapid rate. The events of BBQ Becky and many others like her are an example of how fast the knowledge of a happening can spread. When an issue needs to have rapid awareness or response, a meme can help get the job done.
Affirmative Action
A lot of adults feel that many of the younger generation do not care about current events enough to take affirmative action regarding injustice. Memes help to rouse the attention of the younger generation—the very generation that mostly uses social media—and makes them very aware of what has been happening.
For example, Permit Patty who was running a business which sold and distributed cannabis for dogs felt the swift justice that could be felt because of the rapid spread of a meme. The companies which had supplied her with products all discontinued their association with her. So she no longer carries the security that allowed her to become so arrogant and disruptive.
Memes are, indeed, not the enemy. While they can be used to be as disruptive as fake news, memes are more heavily regulated by the people that see them. The younger generation of internet users makes it a point that their version of internet culture isn’t used in a negative way. Have you come across memes? Do you think they are a positive tool or the enemy?
