What Is Meme Culture?
Start writing a post
Entertainment

What Is Meme Culture?

You can't mess up a cultural movement if it already happened

18430
What Is Meme Culture?

Ever since the advent of the smartphone, digital entertainment has replaced magazines when it comes to spending time on the toilet, and memes are a large reason for that. Normy teens (and young adults) have created a new cultural movement in the form of the “meme” (pronounced /mēm/ for those who have yet to fully immerse yourselves in modern art). The new comedic art form of the up-and-coming generation can be summed up as jokes told over photographs or cartoons, occasionally (or more often) in poor taste. This cultural “meme-ent,” if you will, has confused our parents and theirs, begging the question why.

Six years ago, the Smithsonian published an intriguing piece on generational changes in communication and culture, focusing on memes, but unfortunately not those of the internet variety. The term meme (a combination of the Greek word mimēma and the English word gene ), coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976, originally described "an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation"; essentially, it's a replicator of ideas within a culture. It makes a lot of sense how this term became associated with the internet trend when you think about the rapid dissemination of one idea, one image overlayed with text, jumping from site to site and app to app.

But it's not a perfect internet equivalent. It's not the spread or virality of a pure, unaltered idea. In fact, the whole point is that it's altered, taken out of context to convey something more amusing than before. Arguably, each alteration results in something less original and even more derivative before, calling into question its legitimacy. Even though this may be the case, it seems to be this unoriginal quality and universality that make memes so appealing to people. As a millennial working for a media company targeting millennials, I can say with decent authority that what drives this popularity is relatability.

Although not always decorous or remarkably innovative, these instances of virality are a pretty appropriate modern adaptation of the 1970s namesake, encompassing the cyber-spread of only the most popular and universally appealing ideas. Some may despair at calling this an artform or even decry the meme as a cultural component, but the reality is that it's a fairly accurate representation of popular media and daily issues. It's so deeply entrenched in millennial circles that I'm confident memes will continue to hold their own in terms of popularity.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

No Sex And Upstate New York

A modern-day reincarnation of Carrie Bradshaw's classic column

1976
Pinterest

Around the age of 12, when I was deciding whether or not to be gay, Satan appeared on my left shoulder. “Ramsssey,” he said with that telltale lisp. “Come over to our side. We have crazy partiessss.” He made a strong case, bouncing up and down on my shoulder with six-pack abs and form-fitting Calvin Kleins. An angel popped up on the other shoulder and was going to warn me about something, but Satan interrupted- “Shut up, you crusty-ass bitch!’ The angel was pretty crusty. She disappeared, and from that moment forward I was gay.

Keep Reading... Show less
Featured

To The Classes That Follow

I want you to want to make the most of the years that are prior to Senior year

3631
To The Classes That Follow
Senior Year Is Here And I Am So Not Ready For It

I was you not that long ago. I was once an eager freshman, a searching sophomore, and a know-it-all junior. Now? Now I am a risk taker. Not the type that gets you in trouble with your parents, but the type that changes your future. Senior year is exciting. A lot of awesome things come along with being the top-dog of the school, but you, right now, are building the foundation for the next 4 years that you will spend in high school. I know you've heard it all. "Get involved", "You'll regret not going to prom", "You're going to miss this". As redundant as these seem, they're true. Although I am just at the beginning of my senior year, I am realizing how many lasts I am encountering.

Keep Reading... Show less
Featured

The Power Of Prayer Saved My Best Friend's Life

At the end of the day, there is something out there bigger than all of us, and to me, that is the power of prayer.

4061
Julie Derrer

Imagine this:

Keep Reading... Show less
Featured

Why Driving Drives Me Crazy

the highways are home

3208

With Halloween quickly approaching, I have been talking to coworkers about what scares us. There are always the obvious things like clowns, spiders, heights, etc. But me? There are a number things I don't like: trusting strangers, being yelled at, being in life or death situations, parallel parking. All of these are included when you get behind the wheel of a car.

Keep Reading... Show less
Baseball Spring Training Is A Blast In Arizona
Patricia Vicente

Nothing gets me more pumped up than the nice weather and the sights and sounds of the baseball season quickly approaching.

Keep Reading... Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments