The Origins and Evolution of Memes
Over a brief period, the world’s usage of the internet has changed drastically. Today, people are using the internet to suit their personal needs. Internet users have their bubbles, within which they browse for the content which suits their interests. The internet has suitably evolved to provide users precisely the type of content they need. Google has started personalising advertisements. According to Google, personalising advertisements enables these ads to “reach users based on their interests and demographics.” Suitable ads are created based on the websites you visit and the cookies on your browser. YouTube analyses the kind of videos you want to watch and recommends videos based on your interests and the prior videos you have watched. It almost feels like YouTube has crawled into your head and can predict exactly what you want to watch next. This whole-scale privatisation has seen several positive reviews as it eliminates unwanted content, thereby keeping the user focussed on his/her interests. The line between the internet showing what you want and asking exactly how much the internet knows about you is a very fine one.
I belong to a generation that surfs the web primarily to gather information about the things I like and for fun. Statistics show a massive influx of people surfing the internet as a hobby or just for fun. 92% of users surf the internet to check mail, 83% as a hobby and 62% surf the net purely for fun. Today, there is never a dull moment on the internet.
The roots of memes:
A significant source of fun on the internet is attained through looking at memes. Memes have the incredible ability to be able to connect and relate to a broad audience. It does not burst the bubble; it simply makes it large enough to accommodate more people to relate to you and how you feel. This is why memes function well both with large audiences and specific groups of people who use them as an inside joke. There are several layers to a meme, ensuring that different people understand and perceive a meme differently. More the layers a meme has, the greater its longevity. Online content is constantly chopped and changed by creative users who use popular pictures and images to create memes. Memes are the perfect fodder for an internet culture shaped by large-scale creative participation and sharing of viral images and videos. Meme creators use captions to express their opinions and ideas.
The meme’s origins surprisingly has its roots in the world of academia, specifically in evolutionary biology. The term “meme” was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book, “The Selfish Gene”. The word comes from the Greek word “mimema”, meaning “imitated”. Supposedly, Dawkins shortened the Greek word to make it rhyme with gene, a fitting similarity as memes thrive on the evolution of cultures to maintain their relevance and for their survival. (Aslan)
The first meme was the sideways “smiley” :-). It was created in 1982 by Scott E. Fahlman, an American computer scientist. The usage of punctuations to show emotion started trending among internet users, leading to the “emoticon” meme.
Evolution of Memes:
Here is a list of some events in history which led to the making of viral memes. The list also includes memes that made it big regarding reach and visibility across several online platforms.
1998: Hamster Dance
1999: The Matrix, Star Wars 1
2001: Shrek
2002: Star Wars 2
2003: The Room (Hi Mark)
2004: Numa Numa
2005: Star Wars 3
2006: Game of Thrones, Snakes on a Plane, Pulp Fiction, Lamb Sauce (Gordon Ramsay), Lolcats (animal reactions as meme templates)
2007: Invention of the image macros (Image on which text, in the form of a caption, is added to make a meme). Examples: That escalated quickly!, Oh I’m so sorry, One does not simply. Techno Viking, Conspiracy memes
2008: Invention of rage comics as memes (Example: Trollface, Pepe)
2009: First Games/Gameplay moments as memes: Minecraft
2010: Epic Sax guy, Ainsley Harriott
2011: Vaporwave, Skyrim gameplay, montage parodies
2012: Bane’s dialogues in The Dark Knight Rises
2013: Doge, Harlem Shake, Vine
2014: Invention of dank memes (Memes which are ironically overdone), Ayy Lmao, my name Jeff, Shrek is love,
2015: Invention of Deep-fried memes (Subjecting an image or sound to many filters, making it grainy), Hotline Bling, Deez Nuts, Usage of famous cartoon shows as memes (Spongebob, Tom & Jerry,
2016: Invention of surreal memes (Artistically bizarre images or video clips whose humour is derived from sheer absurdity) Lemme smash, Harambe, We are number one, Big smoke’s order (GTA San Andreas), Dat boi, PPAP, Shooting Stars
2017: Man’s not hot, You so precious, spaget,
2018: Bitconnect, Do you know de way, Flextape, Avengers Infinity War
2019: Avengers Endgame, Keanu Reeves, Me and the boys, stonks, two women yelling at a cat, Area 51, Joker, Drew Scranlon breaking the fourth wall.
2020: WW3, Covid-related memes, Among Us, Coffin dance, Vibing cat, Nature is healing
2021: Anakin and Padme, David Marshall helplessly watching as Patrik Schick’s wonder-strike creeps into the goal, Ship blocking the Suez canal, March 2020 vs March 2021, TikTok memes, Short video (Reel) memes
A common observation is that most meme templates are made from memorable movie dialogues, videogames, videos that went insanely viral and popular songs. Cartoons like SpongeBob and Tom & Jerry, along with famous TV shows keep suppling meme templates that never seem to get old, as they are very versatile. We can see the two-way effect memes have on pop culture.
What makes memes distinct from other methods of communication?
It is no secret that images drive social media. Several social sites prioritise visual content over text-based content. It is said that viewers are six times more likely to remember a message if paired with a relevant visual rather than plain text. Memes take you inside the cultural events of a moment. While some memes live on for years and are used sporadically, other memes live a short but explosive life. Since memes are distinct from other forms of communication, they prove to be highly successful in carrying a common meaning to a broad audience. (Varis and Blommaert)
Memes work on commonalities, which sheds light on issues we don’t discuss in everyday life but are happy to talk about online. Modern memes gain traction through being relatable. On Reddit, every fifth meme you see in r/memes is about things you do or feel. Add a suitable caption and image for your mood; you get a meme.
For memes to be understood within a community, they must have a particular format. The base for several memes until three years ago was the ‘advice animal’ template. An advice animal template has a cropped image of a face in the middle of a background. There are two layers of text: one above and one below. The text above is usually the setup, and the text below is usually the punchline. This structure is compact, straightforward to understand. Today, meme templates have done away with ‘bottom text’, and several memes templates cater to relatability by using me/mine/my.
With minimal effort, you can display maximum information to a large audience.
This simplicity helps memes appeal better to the viewer, as images tend to linger for long periods. If you do not know how to use the correct meme, you do not understand the working of memes. These factors make memes a language, and within that language exist attitudes and morals. Once the language is established, it gets easier for members to share opinions and tastes. (Levinson)
Several meme templates have pop culture references or involve famous artists. One of the pioneers of this movement was the Drake meme template (from the video for his 2016 super-hit Hotline bling), where in two actions, he provides a space for memers to talk about what should be done and what should be avoided. Several images are modified and made into templates and if the images themselves are outright strange or funny- like an image of Keanu Reeves sitting on a bench, looking dejected with a sandwich in hand, becomes a template through which a memer can make memes about something sad or upsetting that happened to him/her. I have observed that memes with a celebrity in the template tend to do better than memes with regular templates. Dank memes cater to asocial people and introverts by giving them something to relate to and feel good about themselves.
The process of making memes:
There are several databases of templates across the internet. https://knowyourmeme.com/ has several templates, usually sorted according to popularity, ready for usage. The Meme Generator app also stores a wide variety of templates. The first step of meme-making is being aware of the general mood and what people have to say about certain things. A memer should keep his eyes and ears ready to gather bits of information. Keep asking questions about what people feel about a certain thing, and you have all the ingredients for your caption. After ‘identifying the vibe’ (or conducting a vibe check), a memer must assess what image best matches the mood. Once you have a suitable image and a caption, bring them together to witness the magic. Another suggestion is to save any image or video you find funny and might be of future relevance, just in case they can end up being a meme template in the future. Find an image you see apt to the situation or the public opinion. Try to relate to the popular opinion through a caption. Merge the photo and the caption for your meme. Et voilà!
In Part-2, I will be writing about Memes in India and why it is not yet a household phenomenon.