I want to talk about this weeks seminar because it actually somethings that I wasn’t expecting despite being part of the group leading the seminar and debates. One of the features of the presentation was ‘Make Your Meme’ in which the class were given the original image from popular memes and asked to create their own meme by giving it context. We thought this task would be relaxed and fun for the group but it actually proved that making a meme is a difficult job – especially trying to make a meme that is actually funny! This lead to the debate of ‘are memes actually funny’? Personally I don’t get memes at all, but they are this huge internet phenomenon and places like Facebook and Tumblr are flooded with them.
So what is the attraction? An answer we came up with is that it is very much to do with, firstly the structure, and secondly the context of the meme. By structure, we mean the elements that make up the meme such as repetition and lyricality. In truth it all comes down to semiotics, as is the same for all media products, and looking at the signs and symbol that are used to construct a meme that make them so appealing to this generation. On the other there is the context in which the meme is used. A lot of popular memes work because they are relatable such as being about student life. Sometimes they only work within a friendship group and their situation but to show it to someone outside of that clique, they wouldn’t get it or understand why it is ‘funny’.
Another thing that came up in seminar debate was a discussion about whether it is the words and text that are important to a meme working, or the image. To be honest, I think it is the text that is most important but the image gives it a relatable visual so that people understand the context in which the text is being stated. Memes are very much an internet sensation and we discovered today that they really aren’t that funny when you show them to a group of people publicly yet when scrolling though our online feed we would have an “LOL” moment.
Network Society and the Media 
Something that made me think in the meme’s seminar was that they are related to poetry, as well as the funny stupid videos we share in our social media. For example the video where this guy films his friend saying dam Daniel every now and again everyday. The video, that doesn’t really have any profound content, goes viral and people like it a lot. Now I ask myself, why? As we came up in the discussion the dam Daniel video is a repetition, which is used in poetry.
I have found an article written by Sarah Edwards for the Huffington Post with the headline: Do memes and poetry have anything in common? Sarah shares the idea that memes are clever and relevant. In addition, like poetry, memes have the power to make us feel like we are engaging in a collective cultural experience.She also compares memes to poetry comparing memes to expanded metaphors of daily life. I invite you to have a look at this article as it made me see memes from a totally different point of view.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-edwards/memes-and-poetry_b_1447655.html
LikeLike
I personally do find some memes funny. I think that, as you stated, it depends a lot on the context. And I believe this happens to other types of media as well: we understand it and get into it if we know the context and background of it. Memes are one of many examples of how a medium can get to a massive group of people and have an almost equal group of people indifferent or disliking them
LikeLiked by 1 person