Lebanon Digital Art: February 2013

Josh Creeger

Mr. Todd

2/14/13

Digital Photography and Photoshop

What Is a Meme to Me?

By definition, a meme is a popular fad, often made popular over the internet and social networking sites, such as facebook. Memes usually take the form of a captioned picture, although on occasion memes can take the form of a video or song, such as the recent Harlem Shake, or the ancient Rick Roll. To me, memes are funny, creative, and interesting… mostly. At one point in time, memes meant nothing to the general public, but were an elaborate and beautiful inside joke to a select few people. Memes were generally seen as pointless or stupid. It is easy to understand why they would be described as such, since memes were an inside joke. However, out of absolutely nowhere, memes have become popular fads to the general public in the last 5 years or so. People have taken years old inside jokes and misused them, and companies have even started using memes for marketing.

Every time I see a newer meme, I feel sick. Memes used to be interesting and creative. Now, people who have no idea what these memes were are using them for their own purposes. Sure, memes cannot be owned or possessed, but that does not mean they have to be misused, and that doesn’t mean that people have to kill these jokes. What disgusts me the most though is the combination of memes and pop culture. Memes were designed to insult and make fun of pop culture, and now pop culture has fused with them. Memes are dead. Real memes are dead. That is what memes are to me.