The Internet Memes phenomenon

Sujets

• Internet studies
• Phénomène
• Mème

Informations

• Publié par: Afapla
• Publié le: 21 mai 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 65
• Licence : En savoir +
  Paternité, pas d'utilisation commerciale
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

The

“Internet Memes”

phenomenon, in the light of

“The work

of Art in the age of the Mechanical Reproduction”

, by Walter

Benjamin (1936)

The popular phenomenon of the Internet memes, which emerged in the late

90’s via emails, and developed up to today through social sharing websites

(such as

http://9gag.com/ http://www.4chan.org/

), is quite an example of

what technical improvements and the democratization of the computer use

have done to the means of creation (even if memes are not considered as art,

they still require technical skills and creativity, and sometimes talent). They

use a pre-existing picture, video, or line from a movie, TV show or an ad, and

stage it in totally different contexts and uses (often referring to previous

memes or to a specific generational background), in a sort of moral and

intellectual hijacking serving a humorous purpose via repetition. From the

original medium derive hundreds of parodic versions, some of which

becoming viral on social networks and very famous on the Web.

The interesting fact is that neither the original nor the memes deriving from it

were at any point “Art”, but still, they participate in the creation of a new

common cultural background, that knows no boundaries, citizenship, and

that is totally free of any materialistic or capitalist concerns (unlike what

Benjamin says of cinema): memes belong to the Internet community, they are

meant to be seen and shared freely, they do not need a testimony of

“authenticity” and are not intended for any kind of pursuit of wealth or

immortality through remembrance; and what is even more fascinating with

that phenomenon, is that there is no known creator of memes (there are no

“meme celebrities”, their creators remain forever unknown to the public,

thought their work is seen and shared by millions of people), and there are

multiples sources were memes can be found (and not one established source

or website). Potentially, everyone one of us could become a meme creator,

and have our creation shared by millions of people from around the world.

As Andy Warhol (who could be seen as a kind of fore-father of memes) once

said: “

In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes”,

which for

post Cold War generations is becoming a reality

.

The lifetime of a meme is

indeed very short (only a few weeks), and although it will stay forever on the

World Wide Web, it is usually replaced by a newer “funnier” one, as if the

increasing and almost infinite number of potential sources and creators of

memes made them “single-serving amusements”. On the other hand, their

immateriality (we cannot touch or smell a meme, and there is never an

“original” one, and they are not linked to a pre-existing exercise), as well as

their nameless creators, could also explain why we could consider them as

“aura-less” creations accessible only for recreation and only for a very short

period of time.

The original picture

Memes deriving from it

see also:

http://www.topito.com/top-images-sarkozy-trollcadero

Memes have become the symptom of a generation that no longer uses or rely

on traditional or “old” medias, such as television or newspaper, and wishes to

interact as swiftly as possible with an ever increasing audience on any

subjects. The immediacy and the consequences of the reactions produced by

memes is as new to the population of the 21st century as cinema was for

Benjamin, and their long term effect on society is not yet theorised or known,

although traditional medias tend to be outworn by this phenomenon, and

thus worried about the Internet in general (maybe because of the

generational side of it, or maybe in a hidden admission of weakness).

The original: Rebecca Black “Friday”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0

Derived in memes:

http://www.quickmeme.com/Awkward-Rebecca-Black/?upcoming

Taken from “Sponge Bob Square Pants”

Extract from “

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21CMDyPuGo

Derived in memes:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/world/europe/botched-restoration-of-ecce-homo-fresco-shocks-spain.html?_r=0

Memes also created a new form of expression, with their own codes and

rules, just as cinema did with our perception of the world. They express in a

light, short and funny way everyday problems, secret habits or thoughts,

opinions on the world we live in, in an attempt to reassure oneself of its

membership to a broader yet not recognisable community of friendly

strangers that will never judge you (but will judge your wit through your

memes).

Taken from “

Futurama

”

It is yet interesting to point that memes are always in English, and tend to be

of Western origins (mainly from the USA), as if they were yet another effect of

the globalization: if they are intended to be universal, they are only

understandable for Western raised people under the age of 35, provided that

they are English speakers who watched a lot of television as kids. Memes

makers (and their readers) form a kind of private and exclusive circle, a

society within the society, where there is no leader or archetypal figure, no

“chosen one” or celebrity, no class distinction, religious issues or taboos, as if

the masses forming this society were now allowed, with the help of the

computer and internet technology, to be their own authority in their own

little circle, away from the “real world”. And it becomes even more interesting

to see that people spending the largest amount of time on computers are

teenagers and young adults, as if they were, for the time being, the only ones

aware of what sociological upheaval this technology has had on our everyday

lives and world, or at least the only ones not afraid to admit it and use it to

their advantage.

As a conclusion, memes, even if their are not works of art, can be used to

prove Benjamin’s theory: the more mechanised (and now computer-based)

our world is, the more our perception of art and creation is changed, the less

our humanness (through senses) and ancient/Judeo-Christian background

are used. Yet, we still manage to get around that, and put some of our

humanity and our upbringing back into cold devices. Just as prints were

supposed to kill writing, photography to kill painting, cinema to kill theatres,

internet will not destroy art as we know it, nor human interactions, it will

only open new doors of perception and possibilities that were until now not

even conceivable, and that still wait to be invented or recognize.