Woman yelling at a cat

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The meme I chose is called "Woman yelling at a cat" which is the combination of two images without any relation. Nonetheless, it went viral and it has been used as an emotional moment that argues about the interpretation of phrases and as been used as publicity for brands. The combination of both images began as a reaction of a twitter user on May 1, 2019 who found hilarious how they look together. On the one hand, the woman yelling image was retrieved in 2011 from a scene of the show "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" when Taylor Armstrong was infuriated for emitted comments from a fellow cast member about the abuse, Armstrong had suffered from late husband. In this way, looking only at that part of the and learning about the background story may allow to see this from a totally different perspective. On the other hand, the cat image originated back on 2015 and it was posted by an Ontario resident whose cat was anxious and did not like to be around more cats or visitors. However, when there was no other option, the cat tended to demand certain attention as it was demand his own seat at the dinner table. The owner stated that the cat has a very expressive face and the picture was capture in a moment of dictate for vegetables served on the plate in front of him. Both images who were outdated came to life thanks to the structural joke system that exists among memes. 





This meme satisfies the aesthetic and contextual requirements outlined by Bratich because as mentioned on Occupy All the Dispositifs, "it is an action that undermines and contradicts the prevalent belief-system of a community, thus revealing the transformability of the contemporary form of life", the meme above if images ought to be separated the context will fall in a system of criticism from an emotional point of view. Nonetheless, it was getting the images together that undermine any criticism, belief system and even traditional cultural boundaries by making it hilarious images for add on material-quotes that can relate to many without being irrespecutful. 

References: 

Bratich, J. (2014). Occupy All the Dispositifs: Memes, Media Ecologies, and Emergent Bodies Politic. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, 11(1), 64-73.

Mitchell, A. (2020, October 06). What is The Cat Meme, and Why Is That Woman Yelling? Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a29739536/cat-meme-taylor-armstrong-explained/

Comments

  1. RosanaOctober 14, 2020 at 11:32 PM

    I think your reflection about how memes evolve and become "something else" is really interesting Mishell. When a meme expands and acquires multiple new lives, it is difficult to relate this new versions with the native intend or origin of the image, which gets diluted. This makes me think of how despite of the ephemeral nature of memes, there is clearly a searchable history of the different versions of a meme, all of them with its own story. I like the fact that you brought up the ethical questions regarding re-appropriating images that represent serious events, and using them for comedic purposes.

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