Meme culture: has society gone too far?
Ever since the “meme” — a self-replicated and spread cultural idea — was first coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins, we’ve studied one closely in hopes of understanding society. Fast forward to the introduction of the World Wide Web, and the transmission of memes have never been quicker or easier. In fact, in 2013, Dawkins had to revamp his original definition by classifying an Internet meme as something “deliberately altered by human creativity”.
If I recall correctly, my earliest memory of a meme was on Tumblr back in 2009. My dashboard consisted of the Rage Guy/Forever Alone Guy along with the Overly-Attached Girlfriend and Success Kid — and I was young. I laughed, clicked ‘reblog’, and without thinking, sent them to my friends.
But as time went by, I found them less entertaining. Memes like Salt Bae went viral and I could not understand why. They were cringe-worthy and the individuals behind them shot up to fame, famous for being famous. And as a society, we gave a man who sprinkled salt on a piece of meat a powerful platform.
In Salt Bae’s case, however, he enjoyed the attention received and profited off it. But not everyone was that lucky.
Take the Overly-Attached Girlfriend as an example: the woman in the video, Laina Morris, was just 20 years old when her YouTube clip made headlines. As part of a Justin Bieber sing-off contest to promote his perfume, Morris submitted a 3-minute cover of Bieber’s “Boyfriend”, altering the lyrics so that it could be called “Girlfriend”. Unfortunately, it set up a recipe for disaster: with Bieber’s obsessive, stalker-like verses and Morris’ vivid expressions, Reddit users shared the clip in various threads. By morning, screenshots of Morris appeared on Quickmeme pages.
It seemed harmless as the video resembled a parody; nevertheless, her face was plastered everywhere for mocking purposes. Men compared current and ex- girlfriends to Morris, and girls who wanted quick replies from their significant others were categorized as “crazy”. It made fun of unhealthy relationships in which one is possessively insecure and turned warning signs into laughable matter.
Next, and more recently, 13-year-old Danielle Bregoli appeared on The Dr. Phil Show after her mother was concerned about Bregoli’s obsession with stealing cars. At one point, Bregoli says, “Cash me ousside, howbow dah?” in a thick accent, which translates to “Catch me outside, how about that?” In other words, it means that “she’ll go out” and “do what she has to do” — referencing a possible fight. The meme has gotten so out of hand that Britt Davis Baptist Church in Georgia has “Cash God inside, howbow dah?” spelt out on its outdoor sign.
Sure, the way she says the statement is unusual, but let’s face the truth: Bregoli says it that way because she’s suffering some sort of mental illness. No average 13-year-old steals cars for fun: she’s on The Dr. Phil Show for a reason, and it’s to get help. The audience’s laughter was what initially prompts her to react and Bregoli follows up by stating that “all these hoes [are] laughing like something [is] funny.” But nothing truly is.
Lastly, the Harambe meme was another controversial subject in 2016. After a Cincinnati Zoo gorilla was shot dead after a 3-year-old boy climbed into his enclosure, many wanted “justice for Harambe” — setting up a petition on Change.org and wanting the zoo and/or the boy’s parents to be held accountable. The petition gained over 338,000 signatures within 48 hours and the hashtags #RIPHarambe and #JusticeForHarambe began trending on Facebook and Twitter. Soon after, Harambe’s image was featured in photos that paid respect to David Bowie, Muhammad Ali, Prince, and Alan Rickman — celebrities who’ve all passed earlier that year.
Guess what? The meme is racist and degrading. At a time when the Black Lives Matter (BLM) peaked, it was apparent that the same anger was not shown to African-American lives taken by police officers. Moreover, it ties in racist ideas about black people and Africa when a Louisiana teacher compared former First Lady Michelle Obama to Harambe with the caption, “They shot the wrong gorilla” and actress Leslie Jones’ features were deemed “similar to Harambe’s”.
The meme also completely disregards human life with little mention of the unfortunate child who was dragged several times in the enclosure, who is indeed, black. The same week saw more than 100 Libyan asylum-seekers drown due to dangerous conditions, but was swept aside because the media had a silver-backed gorilla to report on. Neha Shah from The Independent puts it kindly: “Harambe the Gorilla was 17-years-old when he was shot. The young black boy who fell into his enclosure will grow up to be 21 times more likely to be slain than his white counterparts. If he had been 17-years-old and shot on the same day, would anyone even know his name?”
The “You vs. the guy she tells you not to worry about” meme? Hilarious when you have an ordinary marshmallow next to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. Not so funny when you bring in actual humans and attack them personally.
The “What Are Those?” meme? Hysterical when you zoom into Spongebob’s new boots. Not at all amusing when you publicly shame a man for wearing black work boots you don’t like.
The truth is, our society is twisted: you never know what the Internet will appropriate next, but one thing all memes have in common is the urge to offend — intended or not.
Ultimately, the memes we enjoy are a reflection of who we are and an indication of our culture and priorities. So let’s start by redefining humour. After all, what will people think of us in the future when we share photoshopped images of gorillas only to chuckle at an underlying factor of racism? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
