Meme Culture Reflection

Memes are one of my favorite parts about social media. I can sit scrolling through them for hours laughing to myself about the pictures or videos put to certain relatable or humorous captions. This is why I was extremely excited to get the meme culture assignment, and to learn more about how memes are perceived online and in our culture. The memes that Carmen, Alex and I chose all centered around the recent hurricanes. I thought this topic was particularly interesting because creating a joke out of a disaster that caused devastation and even death is not typically something that would be socially acceptable. However, the fact that these memes are acceptable, and even considered funny, shows that memes may actually be a way for people to process their feelings and de-stress. To me, one of the most interesting presentations was the one on memes in the election. I definitely noticed memes during the election, whether it be during the primaries and focused on Hillary and Bernie or the gaggle of republican candidates, or even during the general when memes were laser focused on opponent the creator did not support. I completely believe that memes played a role in the 2016 election, as may millennial may have been swayed by seeing pictures painting candidates in an unfavorable light. Something I learned through the meme culture presentations was about the Pepe meme. I was shocked by the Neo-Nazi connotations that came with the Pepe meme, as I always just thought it was a funny frog. After the Pepe meme presentation I immediately texted my friend who sends me the meme frequently, as I knew that she would be just as shocked. Meme culture is so interesting because it is all about the context and the subtext. I think this presentation was important to shed light on how memes affect our culture today.