Analysis of a meme - Neyl Benkirane

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 Neyl Benkirane

Professor Vivar

CMM 1400

Meme analysis: 

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For me, the main message, and the main concept that the presentation Will the Revolution Be Memed? by Jack Z. Batrich, is that the “meme world” in general is a two-faced coin. One side of the coin is the meme world being represented and used as a marketing method, using the properties mentioned by Batrich, such as mimicry, imitation, invention, or mutation, as a form of meme-production to spread an idea. An example of this could be all the memes created and used for and by the 8M movement, in order to inform, mobilize, and share the feminist movement. The other side of the coin is the meme world seen as a critique or a joke. Batrich mentioned tons of cases where memes were used as propaganda and as a mocking instrument, with the intention of diminishing a movement, an idea, or even a person. An example Batrich made reference to in his presentation, could be the pictures posted and created by Alt-Right, a Twitter account, as the meme I chose. In general, these pictures have a retro art style, appealing to the 1980s vaporwave style, the video games visuals, and also some kind of futurism, and their purpose is to spread fascist messages with an ironic tone. 

            I think everything has a different purpose depending on who and how is being used, and memes are now tools that need to be studied in the same way as new cultural movements, since it is a new way to see and understand the world. From an ethical perspective, there are also different perspectives, since it will depend on the purpose of the meme and the purpose of its distribution. The memes that are connected to a movement, idea/ideology, or a person that are not a very good example of what’s ethic, won’t be an example of ethical values. In the other hand, there are memes that are perfect examples of ethics, as for example many anti-cancer campaigns that use memes to create visual representations of what battling cancer suppose and why should people be aware of it.

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