Internet Memes and the Critical Process

Media Studies / Eure

The Science of Internet Memes

Directions: Begin by completing the initial steps detailed here, and then follow the critical process outline, including any applicable questions or suggested directions there.

 

Initial Steps

1. Load an Internet browser and locate the meme you were assigned in class.
   1. Use Google to search for the phrase; alternatively, you may use the Internet Meme Timeline, which is available here (as well as through our course website and blog).
2. Load the site, image, and/or video in your browser.
3. Log in to your WordPress account and go to the Dashboard (located at the top of the screen.
4. Select Write: Page.
5. Title this Page “The Critical Process: Internet Memes.”
6. In the body text box of the Page, find the row labeled “Add media.”  Click on the icon for video (or image) and follow the directions provided by WordPress.
7. Once you have embedded your multimedia component, set up the sections of this analytical post by bolding the following headings, leaving space for you to type beneath each one:
   1. Description
   2. Analysis
   3. Interpretation
   4. Evaluation
8. Move on to the directions below, and then look to the next sheet for the critical process outline.

 

To Begin:

1. Watch the video, examine the image, and/or peruse the website for your meme.
2. Look up the meme through Google and/or Wikipedia.
3. Take notes on the information you find in preparation for the critical process outlined below.
4. Type the critical process responses under the appropriate heading on your WordPress Page, and then click Publish.

 

Overall…

…treat this as a kind of formal paper.  You will demarcate it – i.e., separate it – according to the subheadings below, but each of those sections should be clean, coherent and cogent (or well argued).  You must follow standards of written English (no misspellings, no punctuation errors, no LOLspeak, even if you’re reporting on it) and proofread your final product before posting it.  In the end, you will be graded as if this was a paper, despite its unusual formatting and location.

The Science of Internet Memes: Critical Process Outline

Description

Provide the origins of the meme: when and where it first appeared, by whom it was created, how it initially spread.

List approximate views/hits/visits/etc for the meme.  If you can’t locate this information, be very clear about where you looked in trying to find it.

Describe the meme itself in detail: visuals, audio/music, text and/or messages, meaning, etc.  Be specific and focus on this meme; avoid analysis, interpretation, and evaluation here.

Provide any impact the meme has had, such as mainstream coverage, homages, follow-ups, successes, lawsuits – essentially any ramifications that occurred as a result of the meme’s spread.

Analysis

Provide a thorough paragraph or series of paragraphs of comparative analysis.  Compare this meme to others like it (i.e., to similar videos or images), focusing on generalizations about what connects them.  Contrast this meme with other popular ones, focusing on generalizations about what differentiates them.  Look for any of the following, as well as any other analytical elements in the meme:  quality of film, nature of filmmaker, focus of images, type of site spreading images, desire for fame in subject of film or image, presence of Schadenfreude, corruption of language, offensiveness or inoffensiveness, use of humor, depth or lack of depth, length, presence of music, type of music – the list could be much longer than that, but you get the idea.

Interpretation

The key step after analysis: Answer the question, “So what?”  Explain how the patterns you’ve noticed reveal any of the following: the goal of Internet memes, the role of the audience in consuming and spreading Internet memes, the nature of the Internet, the nature of video and/or photography in the 21^st century, the decline of language, the globalization of culture, the “dumbing down” of America, American values, shared world values, our relationship with others, gender roles – again, the list could be much longer.  Incorporate descriptive and analytical details from the previous two sections to prove your interpretation’s validity.  Be specific and insightful.

Evaluation

Finally, provide an evaluative paragraph or sequence of paragraphs about the meme.  Don’t simply assess it as “good” or “bad,” and don’t say that you “like it” or “think it sucks”; use the preceding interpretative discussion as a basis for a true evaluation.  Evaluate whether this meme is worth seeing and/or spreading to others.  Identify what aesthetic value it has (i.e., what superficial beauty or impressiveness there is) as well as what deeper value might be found.  Incorporate your personal response, but connect it to your interpretation: Is your appreciation or disdain indicative of societal trends, or are you fighting the tide of history?