This Is Maia's Analysis of a Meme. Change My Mind.

-

Since the original photo’s upload in 2018, the “Change My Mind” meme has circulated the internet in several formats and thereby reaching several audiences. Conservative podcaster Steven Crowder, known as @scrowder on Twitter, prompted students at Texas Christian University to change his mind surrounding his belief that male privilege is a myth. In the image, Crowder is pictured seated at a table with a camera, microphone, script, and mugs that read “Louder with Crowder”- the name of both his Youtube channel and podcast. According to Know Your Meme (2018), a photoshopped version of the image was posted the following day (February 19th) on Twitter. That same day, Reddit users posted their own photoshopped versions of Crowder and his sign in the /r/dankmemes subreddit, enabling the widespread use and popularization of the “Change My Mind” meme format. 

According to Jack Bratich’s definition of memes in his paper “Occupy All the Dispositifs: Memes, Media Ecologies, and Emergent Bodies Politic” a meme can be characterized as the imitation and transfer of ‘‘a piece of culture, typically a joke, which gains influence through online transmission.’’ (Bratich, 2014, p. 65) The “Change My Mind” meme format exemplifies just that. After gaining traction in the Reddit community, the meme continued to thrive on Twitter whilst being shared across all major social media networks including Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. 

The format further satisfies Bratich’s definition of a meme through its variability, specifically its “adaptation to local contexts, especially related to types of people, space, state alignments.” (Bratich, 2014, p. 65) Attached are some examples of the seemingly limitless uses to the “Change My Mind” format. Some adaptations are political, for example, the version saying “America is a free nation. Change my mind.” accompanied by a photo edited to look like Crowder is being handled with excessive force by police. The images also comment on global health, one stating “Coronavirus is a hoax. Change my mind.” alongside a person who has dropped to the ground. Other variants include cultural references, as well as economic and social commentary. 

The format is widely accessible, easily changeable by simply overlaying text, and can be relatable from niche audiences to the average spectator. On account of not only Bratich but the hundreds of thousands of likes and shares “Change My Mind” has accumulated, this meme would be considered a success. 

References

Know Your Meme. (2018, February 20). Steven Crowder’s “Change My Mind” Campus Sign. Know Your Meme. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/steven-crowders-change-my-mind-campus-sign

Bratich, J. (2013). Occupy All the Dispositifs: Memes, Media Ecologies, and Emergent Bodies Politic. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 11(1), 64-73. doi:10.1080/14791420.2013.827351











Comments

  1. RosanaOctober 14, 2020 at 8:22 PM

    You have activated Bratich ideas in your post exceptionally Maia. I didn't know about this meme, and your explanation contextualized it for me. As I said in another post, part of the memes' success is the humor of de-contextualizing the original image or text, which, in turn, requires the audience to know the original meaning prior to its re-signification and re-circulation, just like in parody. What I find interesting is how, many times people "bump into" the memes, before they actually have any contact with the original context, something that makes the original event to be difficult to interpret without that humorous filter...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Analysis of “Distracted Boyfriend” meme - Bruna Oliveira

-
Image
The meme that I chose to analyse is called “distracted boyfriend” and I believe most people that have twitter have probably seen it. The meme is a man looking at another woman while walking with his girlfriend, who looks shocked about it. It was a picture taken by the spanish Antom Guillem for a campaign (Hindustan Times, 2017). So while there are some misconceptions about the picture being about a real situation, it is nothing but models. The meaning of the picture itself is already explicit despite the many memes that were created with it. The meme first emerged on a turkish Facebook group but it did not become famous until it came to instagram and twitter. An instagram account posted the picture with the caption “Tag your friend/ who falls in love every month”, which overpassed 28.500 likes. Then a twitter account posted it with the girlfriend being “capitalism” and the distracted boyfriend being “youth” looking at “socialism”. So the meme went viral and was adapted to various issue...
Read more

Lauren's 5 Step Critical Analysis to Sophie's Article

-
  Lauren Mitchell: This is a critical analysis of Sophie’s post of the USA Today article about Trump’s polarizing statement surrounding the inaction and ineffectiveness of “blue states” in response to COVID-19. I agree with Sophie’s argument that although the language is eye-catching, the article uses direct quotes and contextualizes these statements to inform the reader, regardless of their political standing.  Description: COVID-19 has highlighted the political intricacies of countries around the world, in a federalist system in the U.S. it highlights the different emergency management systems and healthcare access that vary from state to state. The USA Today article explores the validity of Trump’s recent statements that insinuate states that are run by a democrat, or are historically more democratic, are the reason for the high death rates from the virus.  Analysis: A prominent trend in the article is the use of more theatrical quotes by politicians, and a focus on th...
Read more

Media Rituals - Araí Yegros C.

-
Image
 In ancient Rome, the poet Ovid stated that the true goal of public speech (or the media in today's world) is to entertain us while instructing us. He was ver pessimistic about the human reluctance to be taught things, as he believed human beings still have much to learn. On the other hand, he looked without too much dread at our strong natural inclination to entertainment, as he dreamed of combining the two. With immense effort and wit of  media directors and producers, this could become a reality, as I believe there is always a lesson to be learned even in the most vacuous of reality TV shows.  Even though I don't fully agree that all media can potentially elevate human character, it does indeed create a very strong sense of community and unity even between people who would not have a shared culture otherwise. One could make the argument that fandoms create their own ritual categories as fans go on pilgrimages to filming sites (GoT, LOTR) and demand millions of dollars ...
Read more