Showing posts with label imitation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imitation. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 October 2012

4. Simplicity


Simplicity is a key factor which can make particular memes more successful than others. Part of the appeal of memes is the ease of imitation. Shirky states that because of its simplicity, memes also carry a message for individuals to participate and create their own memes with their own interpretations. For instance the "know your meme" website points to the simplicity of reproduction as one of the main factors for the more successful memes. Many meme communities offer templates for users to create their own memes, allowing them the option to participate, thus making explicit Shirky and Shifman's point that memes also serve as an invitation for participation within communities. This notion not only ensures the longevity of particular memes but also the community itself. The appearance of the editing tools and the ability for the automatic generation of freshly reproduced captioned images further facilitates the notion of simplicity. These tools also allow the standardisation for the memes as the images and font types are exactly the same for each user of the tool, allowing the memes to present a sense of uniformity.

Memes present a similar structure and simple appearance. They are composed of two core elements: an image and text. While there is uniformity in the appearance of memes, many of them carry different definitions, through whatever caption is accompanying it.






































Wednesday, 1 August 2012

Bitch Please!



The majority of memes are easily recognisable through its image or video and if one cannot instantly see the resemblance between the meme and its source text, then the meme will likely be less popular. For example, the Yao Ming face, also known as "Bitch Please", "Dumb Bitch" or "Fuck That Guy" is a rage comic-style drawing of former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming. The image is based on a photograph of Yao, from a press conference in May 2009. According to knowyourmemes.com, the comic drawing of the image first appeared on reddit.com in July 2010. The image has since been commonly used in meme templates and is typically used as a reaction face to depict sarcasm and the portrayal of a dismissive attitude towards a situation, input or opinion. Variations of the stock image include the "Fuck No Guy" which uses Yao's face, edited with a horrified expression.

This meme is particularly interesting because its source text, which is Yao's personality, he is considered to be shy, humble and sincere by most basketball fans. The meme's power relies precisely on the viewer's ability to register his personality traits to understand the sarcastic and satirical nature of the memes and to recognise the new environment into which Yao has been inserted and find humour in the incongruity of the situation.



Original source image:



















Memes: