A Conceptual Framework

Opening Questions: There were some questions about the readings, mainly we discussed that the chapter assigned was present some of the “macro” level issues that we would be addressing throughout the course of the semester. Another point that was raised was the concept of who determined the authenticity of the use of any given meme. This comment allowed me to briefly discuss the role Stuart Hall would play in the analysis of memetic artifacts today and for the rest of the semester.

“Time for Review:” We addressed the three main review questions. The first question asked, “what are the fundamental differences between gifs, memes, and tropes?” We talked about that gifs were one of the platforms used in the transmission of memes as they consisted of moving images that had a small enough file size that they could be shared easily. Tropes are mediated shortcuts that content creators use to give the audience more information about how to respond to a particular situation within a piece of content, provide a way to “read” a character, explain the context of a particular scene, or something else that gives the audience knowledge based on the repeated uses of that mediated shortcuts in previous mediated works. Memetic artifacts are multilayer mediated works that can use tropes as a layer of context and can be transmitted via gifs.

The next question we addressed was “what role does intertextuality play in our understanding of memetic artifacts?” The class basically answered that some of the layers inform the viewer that the person is looking at a meme and they have been “trained” in the past how to read that piece of content. The visual components of the meme provide the audience a deeper read of the meme based on the intellectual property that is being referenced in the artifact. Textual content provides the nuance of what the meme is communicating, normally through simple language.

Lastly, we dove into the third and final question. “How does Gestalt Theory help us understand the power of memetic artifacts?” The best answer that the class could come up with was that the multilayer nature of the memetic artifact means that the layers work together to communicate a message far beyond the ability of the individual layer to communicate.

Readings: There were five points that I wanted to highlight from the texts. Culture and social networks made up a majority of the reading from the first chapter. I mentioned that memetic artifacts are examined via a cultural framework that is made up of a series of paradigms that creates a series of fragmented “shared social experiences” and is often shared via some form of social network as a way of expressing the norms of a given community. We spent some time discussing the “10-year challenge” as one of those norms as something that people created and shared via Facebook. We also discuss why shared this particular template could be a problem as it gives Facebook a resource to data mine.

Cultural expressions via memetic artifacts are often transmitted and remixed almost instantaneously was the second point raised during the readings. We used the “Map of South America” meme as a way of showing how far memetic artifacts are created from the moment of initial actions (e.g., @is_meguca sharing her tweet to the remixes of that original work with the Pikachu Surprised meme).

The third point was going beyond the original definition of memetic artifacts from the “Memes vs. Tropes session by adding the idea that those multilayered remixed constructions can have additional cultural and social contextual layers based on external reactions and interactions to the memetic artifacts. This point allowed me to introduce the discussed raised by the Wired article “That Viral Video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Dancing Is a Meta-Meme.” The primary discussion point was that this video was used by Larry Lessig as a means of explaining not just remix culture but how copyright laws were harming the ability of others to use mediated works to express themselves online.

The fourth and fifth points are directly related. The fourth point was needing to look at Stuart Hall’s analysis of the encoding/decoding of communication processes to understand the conceptual framework of studying memetic artifacts. We used the Lisztomania/Brat Pack Mashup to bring in Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding theory and specifically the three different readings to cultural and mediated works. We briefly covered how memes could be read using Hall’s model. The class wanted to use the Biden/Obama and apply those memes to Hall’s reading. One of the dominant readings could be that Biden was really a friendly older kooky politician that truly enjoys being around Obama, One of the oppositional readings could be that this meme is all an act to make Biden more likable in the eyes of the American public while he is damaging the American political system. A negotiated reading could be that this might be propaganda promoting Biden, but it mostly harmless memetic humor. The fifth point was a warning not to over apply Hall’s theories. This is the first major theory we have used in class.

Focus Questions:

How do memetic artifacts “craft meaningful experiences for ourselves and each other?”
Why does culture act as an “engine of social change” or as a “web of significance through which we perceive, and operate in, the material world?”
How does our study of memetic artifacts help with the process of meaning-making, identify formation, and communication using existing practices and symbols?
How does Hall’s dominant, negotiated, and oppositional readings help us understand the fragmented “shared social experiences” that happen when reading memetic artifacts?
How does the creation of memetic artifacts give “affordances” (Shaw, 2017, 594) within social networks?

We only had time to address one of the focus questions. The third question was the one selected by the group and dig into it. “Communication using existing practices and symbols” became a natural way to begin the conversation. It seems that the class focused on the concept that memetic artifacts basically “codified” existing practices and symbols within the context of the memetic artifacts. Those practices and symbols form one of the layers used in the expression of the artifacts. It acts as a cultural layer within the meme that adds to the complexity of the work.

Identify formation was a little easy to discuss once we finish going over “communication using existing practices and symbols” as the memetic artifacts act as the guideposts for communities online. I discussed briefly four different types of communities. We talked about communities of locus or location that there were “inside jokes and references” that the communities use to build a sense of civic engagement. Communities of interest use a similar approach to communicate knowledge about a hobby or some specialized field of knowledge. Communities of practice use this type of memetic artifacts to make the workday lighter. Communities of convenience use this type of memes to express shared social experience. One example I would have used in this case for identity formation in a community of convenience would be that “Polar Bear Up” has a very specific meaning for Ohio Northern University students. A person needs to either be a member of those communities or study those communities to understand the references.

Today theme/topic of study:

A Conceptual Framework

Opening Musical Playlist:

Readings:

Theories:

Memetic Artifacts:

Summary:

Focus Questions:

Next Class:

“Cultural Lens”

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