-

  

Memes are a huge part of the internet. Images that have no context or that we could see as something normal gain lots of power in order to travel the world. This is the case of the success kid, who is an internet sensation. This meme has become one of the most famous and most used memes in the world. It’s a simple image of a baby, Sam Griner, who is in the beach trying to eat a hand full of sand, while he is doing a facial expression indicating achievement. This picture was taken back in 2007 and is still used to this day. Sammy is 13 years old now and is still amazed that the meme is used.  

The picture was taken by his parents on the beach in Florida, and they never imagined the image to get this popularity. The image wasn’t seen as success kid at first, but it got an aggressive view (I hate sand castles) due to his facial expression. However, as time went by, it got a different meaning and ended up as success kid. Sam states that he sometimes feels embarrassed because of this meme he doesn’t even remember taking. He wants to be remembered for something he has actually achieved and not for that picture. He doesn’t think the picture is bad, but he also states that its not good either, as stated in newstatesman web page.

This meme has impacted many people in different ways. It has affected those who see it by making them laugh, by the creators of the different memes gaining fame… But the meme also helped Sam’s dad, Justin, who needed a kidney transplant and wasn’t able to afford it. They used the meme in order to generate funds and to being able to pay the bills, which saved Justin’s life.  

Finally, we have to add the importance of the meme spreading and as Virno says in Bratich´s book (Pg. 65), “the dependence on presence of outsiders makes a joke a peculiarly public action” allowing us to connect with others and spread the news.  

20m. “El Niño De 'Success Kid' Cuenta La Historia Detrás Del Meme y Cómo Su Éxito Salvó La Vida De Su Padre.” Www.20minutos.Es - Últimas Noticias, 16 Oct. 2019, www.20minutos.es/gonzoo/noticia/nino-success-kid-historia-detras-meme-como-salvo-vida-padre-3647371/0/?autoref=true.

Amelia Tait Follow @@ameliargh !function(d, et al. Living the Meme: What Happened to Success Kid?, 7 Dec. 2016, www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2016/12/living-meme-what-happened-success-kid.

Jack Braitch Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies Occupy All the Dispositifs: Memes, Media Ecologies, and Emergent Bodies Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2014



Comments

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