The legacy of Pepe the Frog… (R.I.P)
The concept of memes are often quite difficult for one to articulate in words. Memes, in the simplest of terms, is something that is spread within a culture. This can include something that is culturally unique or something that is of social nature. Memes can represent a feeling or a joke that exists in a particular time. For example, from the moment the U.S. election started, up until now, there have been multiple Donald Trump memes (the memes now are mostly to just cope with this disastrous presidency… ). Not only do memes exist in a particular time, but they also are particular to cultures. For example, memes shared in Brazil , may not translate the same way to another group of people, like Canadians.
As a person who frequents social networking sites, I enjoy the sharing and creation of memes! Personally, I love memes with dark humor and relatable animal memes such as Kermit the frog…
But, the meme that has a special place in my heart is…“Pepe the frog”
Pepe the frog has quite the longevity on the internet. I first started frequently seeing Pepe the frog when I was on Tumblr very often. Tumblr users have remixed Pepe the frog so much, it is difficult to pick out the original. Not too long after, Pepe the frog started becoming popular on Facebook.
The story of Pepe the frog starts when it made its first appearance in the comic entitled “Boy’s Club” by Matt Furie. The comic depicts four roommates named Brett, Andy, Landwolf, and Pepe, and their life together as slackers. Pepe the frog can be describes as an anthromorphic frog that has a body similar to that of a human.
Pepe the frog gained popularity through the social networking sites of MySpace and 4chan in 2008. As the years progressed, Pepe the Frog had continued to gain popularity on 4chan and soon crossed over through Tumblr where the meme has been remixed extensively.
However, Pepe the frog has emerged in a new context when it became a new alt-right symbol. The ADL has utilized Pepe the Frog as a symbol of hate by placing it under their hate database. The ADL had claimed that Pepe the frog was racist, although not all Pepe memes were racist. Pepe as a racism symbol originated through the fact that Pepe the frog was used frequently throughout the recent U.S election. One of the major uses was when Donald Trump Jr. tweeted a remixed version of “The Expendables” movie poster with “The Deplorables”, a direct backlash to something Hillary Clinton said. The poster included a Donald-Pepe remix, and was something that the alt-right movement loved. Pepe the from was now reclaimed and meant something else to a different group of people.
Although it seems that the Pepe the frog meme was something so good, that turned so bad, there is still a glimmer of hope. Matt Furie, the creator of Pepe the frog, just earlier this year in May, was interviewed by CBC. Due the hate symbol that Pepe the frog represented, Matt killed off his character drawing him in a coffin to symbolize his death. However, in the interview, Matt states that Pepe’s end leads to a new beginning and that “Pepe the frog will rise from the ashes like a Phoenix”. His goal is to revive Pepe in a new crowdfunded initiative that will depict Pepe in a new light.
The transformative process in which this meme has gone through is still something that amazes me. Although it seems as the legacy of Pepe has ended on a sour note, Pepe the frog still has a special place in my heart as the relatable frog.
