Bitch Please

Background

The Yao Ming face, also commonly known as the "Bitch Please" or "Dumb Bitch" meme is a rage-style drawing of former NBA star Yao Ming. The contour image of Yao's grin has been typically used as a sarcastic reaction to convey a dismissive tone towards one's input or ideas within online and offline scenarios. The meme originated from a still image captured from a 2009 post-game press conference.

The meme was originally circulated in 2010 on social news website Reddit. The site allows users the opportunity to submit and share self-created images or captions. The "Bitch Please" caption originated from a Reddit forum member who suggested the image looked like Yao was mouthing the phrase "Bitch Please" (Knowyourmeme.com 2012). 

Since its 2010 creation, the meme has spread throughout various aspects of contemporary culture, beyond the sport of basketball. It has been used to convey the notion of dismissal, rejection and sarcasm, to name a few. A search using the keywords "Yao Ming" on Tumblr resulted in the following memes. These memes demonstrate the diversity that has been generated from the Yao image which originated from what would normally have been a routine post-game press conference during the basketball season. Additionally these memes also further affirm the notion that memes are increasingly being used as a tool of communication to express one's opinions in a unique and yet effective manner. 

More than any previous communication medium, the internet has proven to be suitable for large-scale distribution of data and it is no different for the spreadability of memes. Online transmissions also facilitate for higher rates of fidelity because the digital environment allows a higher degree of transfer efficiency (Lankshear & Knobel 2005, 2). The element of fecundity is also improved since computers can produce thousands of copies at a time. As a result the potential for longevity is increased since large volumes of data can be stored and also spread (Lankshear & Knobel 2005, 3) These three properties as introduced by Richard Dawkins (1976) ensure that memes can successfully replicate via online networks. Additionally, the internet transcends cultural and national boundaries, allowing successful memes to spread globally, as shown by the following memes. These memes were collected throughout the web and portray the common theme of using Yao's facial image accompanied by captions in various different languages.

Despite the internet's distinct compatibility for meme circulation, there has been little research directed at the phenomena of memes, such as its potential industrial impacts. As exhibited with the "Bitch Please" meme, despite being a multi-time NBA all-star, Yao Ming has become renowned as an internet meme rather than as one of the greatest basketball players of this generation. A more insightful perspective on this rapidly growing trend will assist in a more precise understanding of the nature of memes and how it is used as a contemporary communication variable. Such study may benefit from both a cultural and an industrial standpoint. 

In reference to the global potential of memes, Shifman (2009, 3) makes an important point in suggesting that a truly successful meme can break linguistic and cultural barriers. This is achieved through translations of captioned texts or particular themes such as an image, incident or event that has been so widely spread and talked about that it has developed a universal meaning, such as the image of Yao's smile. This process not only ensures the meme's longevity but it also increases the possibility for unique textual production with altercations to the meme, potentially creating new meanings (Shifman 2009, 2 -3).

In theory, internet circulated memes can have high fidelity, however most memes will be edited and in some cases users will drastically alter the texts. Despite the mass replication of original versions as well as the creation of counter and new versions of the meme, the core theme of exclamation and sarcasm towards both serious and outlandish socio-cultural scenarios remains prevalent.

The meme is also popular in Yao's home country of China. Interestingly, it appears Chinese net users prefer the original screen cap image over the vectorised drawing. Even so, the core ideology of the meme remains. That is, despite the memes being created and shared in a different language and within a different culture, the memes still deliver the obvious notions of sarcasm and insensitivity that is evident in the english versions of the meme. Below are the most popular Yao memes collected from the Chinese blog website, Weibo:

The dominant global versions of the meme tend to involve situations in culture such as events in our history or everyday situations. The seriousness of the particular event or the circumstance is either dismissed or downplayed by incorporating the contour image of Yao's hearty smile and is usually accompanied with a witty caption to further emphasise the sarcasm of the meme.

In comparison to Jeremy Lin and Brian Scalabrine memes where much of the derived humour came as a result of making fun of cultural stereotypes, the ideologies encoded in the "Bitch Please" memes were of a less serious approach in which the jokes were mostly regarding potentially awkward situations one may encounter in one's personal life. That is not implying the degradation of stereotypes within "Bitch Please" memes do not exist because the collected images from social networks and search engines only covers a segment of the internet. Memes that are shared privately through email and other forms of private exchanges is difficult, if not, impossible to collect.

Political and cultural ideas were marginal in the "Bitch Please" memes which are a distinct contrast when compared with memes of Jeremy Lin and Brian Scalabrine. This point is significant because regardless of the different languages that the meme has been replicated in, the core theme established by the original creators of the meme remains intact. That is, while the meme has continued to evolve and remixed over time, the central ideology of the meme still remains. In the case of "Bitch Please", it is the distinct tone of sarcasm, exclamation and dismissal.

The popularity of "Bitch Please" has also inspired variations of the meme, either incorporating Yao's face or producing new memes featuring images of other popular societal figures such as U.S President Barack Obama and U.S First Lady Michelle Obama.

"Bitch Please" has also inspired commercial innovations from t-shirts to button pins and from drink bottles to poker coins. 

The "Bitch Please" meme even became a tattoo for certain individuals:

Memes stand for many of the contemporary characteristics of cyber culture of collaboration and participation which entices user-created content within a globalised networked environment but they also stand for a number of more significant ideas (Shifman 2009, 3). For instance, along with Yao's hearty smile, there are messages regarding various aspects of culture, from situations we may potentially encounter in our daily lives to important world events. Furthermore, it illuminates a contemporary online culture that is determined to create and share humour, with a distinct disregard for the sensitivity of the core content and the audience. For instance, the image shown in the preceding section of this blog post, of Yao's "bitch please" image in place of a prisoner being executed by a U.S soldier during the Vietnam war, may be disturbing for many audiences and would not be the source of humour in most cultures. Yet, the very notion that such a emotionally sensitive image from history has been used for the sake of humour further emphasises the original 4chan ideology of "doing it for the lolz", and it is an aspect of participatory culture that is clearly thriving. In the case of Jeremy Lin and Brian Scalabrine memes, whilst on the surface, the purpose is to create humour- the embedded ideologies within the dominant macro-images convey opinions of race, class, politics and masculinity.

As evidenced by the meme phenomena, the desire for instant entertainment is more prevalent than ever (Shifman 2011, 3). Social networks like Facebook are feeding this desire perfectly, allowing users to provide commentary on all aspects of culture through a variety of interactive formats such as memes. The field of commentary was once dominated by professional analysts, satirists and artists within mass media. However, largely influenced by contemporary media convergence, the power relations between producer and audience has transformed rapidly in the last decade. The digital environment is now crowded with amateurs equipped with computers and design software that once were exclusively accessible by industry professionals. Sharing the same digital space and using the same tools as professionals, along with a witty sense of humour, amateur textual production can reach a global audience and has the potential to influence audiences on a universal scale. As users, we can also easily scroll and scour for the most popular memes to either consume by ourselves or share with our friends. We can comment and "like" the images we find interesting and in turn this contributes to the meme's success and longevity. Increasingly, narratives are becoming more compact and to the point, where pictures and videos are used to convey a host of different meanings. Clearly, this has been a successful trend and we are gradually outsourcing other means to identity ourselves with. Traditional means of identification such as history, friendship or family ties are being conveyed through images that have become identifiable as a result of mass spread on the internet. This notion is perhaps more so significant in contemporary culture in which communication within the digital environment is heavily emphasised by visual interpretation. Whether we are reading an e-mail or watching a video on YouTube, online communication is largely dependent by our responsive actions to what we see on the computer screen. In that sense, memes seem like a perfect fit for contemporary web communication since it can serve multiple purposes, from humour to everyday conversation, and from contributing knowledge to building consensus. People are increasingly voicing their opinions through widely recognisable images of cats, birds, penguins, celebrities, politicians, athletes, because their voices appear to feel truer than their own, when a meme appears with a noticeable image, it obviously attracts more attention. Beyond the overwhelming desire to identify through iconic images, memes ultimately are fragments of our existence. As exhibited within the more dominant Jeremy Lin and Brian Scalabrine memes, racial and class profiling is a prevalent aspect of contemporary culture and most of us at some point may have purposely or inadvertently appropriated similar sentiments. Conversely, there are times we attempt to approach serious real-life issues with a more casual response, as shown in the Yao Ming memes.

Technological evolution has changed the way people use media and how they relate to each other. These technological changes have bought about a digital revolution where media convergence has transformed the cultural and industrial relationships between people (Jenkins 2006, 33-34). Increasingly, new technology formats allow people to collect, share and remix content, resulting in a scenario where traditional values of consuming information has gradually shifted to producing, managing and sharing information. And currently, memes appear to be the most popular, interesting and resourceful way to do so. 

Dawkins, Richard. 1976. The Selfish Gene, edited by Oxford University Press. New York: Oxford University Press.

Jenkins, Henry. 2006. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press.

Knobel, Michele and Colin Lankshear. 2005. "Memes and affinities: Cultural replication and literacy education." Paper presented at the The Annual NRC, Miami, November 30, 2005.

Knowyourmeme.com. 2012. "Yao Ming Face / Bitch Please." Accessed October 12th. http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/yao-ming-face-bitch-please.

Shifman, Limor. 2011. "An anatomy of a YouTube meme." New Media & Society 14 (2): 187 - 203.

Shifman, Limor. 2009. "Assessing Global Diffusion with Web Memetics: The Spread and Evolution of a Popular Joke". Jerusalem: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The White Mamba

Selected in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft, Brian Scalabrine played 11 seasons in the NBA with 3 different teams. With career statistics of 3.1 points and 2 rebounds per game, Scalabrine was largely considered a non-factor by fans and fellow players. As a joke, fans mockingly proclaim his greatness by giving him the nickname the "White Mamba", which is derived from the "Black Mamba", the nickname of superstar Kobe Bryant. Additionally fans propose outlandish scenarios involving Scalabrine such as featuring him in trade proposals in exchange for the game's marquee players or claiming him to be the "god" of basketball.

Background

The New Jersey Nets selected Brian Scalabrine in the second round of the NBA Draft. Playing on a championship calibre team alongside all-stars Jason Kidd and Vince Carter, Nets' management had hoped Scalabribe would improve over time. However, before his first season had even begun, Scalabrine had already injured himself twice in training camp, resulting in him missing the majority of his two seasons in the league (Robbins 2001). He recovered in time for the NBA play-offs both seasons as the Nets made back-to-back finals appearances. By his forth season (his contract year), his statistics improved to 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, sparking enough interest from other teams such as the Boston Celtics. The Celtics, who were desperate at the time for a young player at the forward position, took a gamble and signed Scalabrine to a 5-year deal (Springer 2005). However, by 2008 the Celtics coaching staff grew increasingly reluctant to play Scalabrine and during the finals series he was not used at all  (Johnson 2011). The Celtics won the NBA championship that season. And despite winning a championship ring with the team, Scalabrine did not play a single minute during the 2008 NBA Finals. Fans and analysts questioned why he was deserving of a 5 year - $15 million dollar contract, let alone an NBA championship (King 2009 & Payne 2009). The warm response he received in New Jersey quickly transformed into jeers in Boston (King 2009). It was also during this time that fans begun to sarcastically proclaim his "greatness".

With continued decline in his playing time and his performances, the Celtics chose not to renew Scalabrine's contract. In the 2010-11 season, he was signed by the Chicago Bulls to a veteran's minimum salary and as expected he was used sparingly, appearing in only 18 games throughout the 82 game regular season (Wojnarowski 2010). This only fuelled basketball fans into further mockery of Scalabrine. His non-factor in games along with his sub-standard statistics inadvertently made Scalabrine one of the most popular players in the NBA. As a result, memes about Scalabrine also became increasingly popular and continue to evolve. 

Discussion concerning Scalabrine begun as early as his first year in the NBA. Perhaps it was not justified at the time given it was his first few seasons in the league since it would have been difficult to predict his development as a player. By the 2008 NBA Finals, Scalabrine jokes were being spread within different mediums on the internet such as comment spaces on YouTube and basketball related websites. And as technology continued to evolve, so did jokes about Scalabrine, spreading onto nearly every medium on the internet, most notably meme communities on Facebook. 

And like Jeremy Lin and the Linsanity phenomenon  it is difficult to explain Scalabrine's online popularity without resorting to stereotypes. It is perhaps with truism that his enthusiastic mannerisms in cheering on his team mates from the sideline are amusing for fans, but that is only among a host of reasons he became viral as a meme on numerous occasions on the internet. A career that spanned 11 seasons which included a 5 year- $15 million dollar contract on a player who was the penultimate 12th man on any team that he was a part of, was perhaps justifiably mocked by fans. There is also another factor to consider, his race. In the premier basketball competition in the world, the NBA, Caucasian players are a minority making up only 18% of total players in the 2011-12 season (Lapchick 2012, 4). And within the minority crop of white players, very few have reached the pinnacle of the sport compared to their African-American counterparts. And also within the minority of Caucasian players, very few have red hair, as comical as it may sound; Scalabrine's fiery red hair has been an integral aspect in his immense popularity. Scalabrine never put up big numbers during his career, nor was he expected to, fans and industry insiders knew he had little to offer on the court. Yet, the consistent mockery of him by fans through the countless internet memes has inadvertently transformed him into a real life cult hero. The trend has spread from commenting about his non-factor on the court to posting video highlights of him. Comments on these highlight reels often convey a sense of approval despite the majority of them being clips of him committing errors or being outplayed by an opponent. These sentiments have transferred to real-life events where chants of "MVP" for him have become common trends during basketball fixtures.  

Despite the fact he is no longer a competitive basketball player, Scalabrine memes consistently remains present within meme communities on the internet. And perhaps, if it were not for all the viral memes that made a mockery of him, he would not have been as popular as he is today. After announcing his retirement from professional basketball, Scalabrine, without any prior broadcasting experience, was hired by broadcast network Comcast to provide "expert" commentary for Boston Celtics basketball matches for the upcoming season (Friedell 2012). Additionally the NBA also released a video package paying tribute to the career of Scalabrine. The NBA's media synergy has traditionally focused on marketing the game's elite performers, promoting the classical sporting myths of achieving greatness through hard work and determination. Yet, they shifted away from this trend and appropriated the consensual sentiment of mockery towards Scalabrine. Perhaps there is no denying that Scalabrine worked equally as hard as his more popular contemporaries. However, his playing style and career statistics suggest he was no more than a less-than-average player. And yet, the NBA chose to craft an advertising package focusing on an internet favourite, who embodies the precise opposite of the distinct images of male masculinity the league has traditionally favoured. 

These themes coincide with Shifman's typology for analysing memes. Particularly the aspect of flawed masculinity. The memes depicts a theme where the men fail to meet the expectations of masculinity that contemporary society have become accustomed to, in appearance, behaviour or performance (Shifman 2011, 190). The fiery haired, pale skinned and non-muscular physique of Brian Scalabrine fails to represent the Western ideals of a male idol. Additionally, his less than impressive playing style and statistics further emphasises his flawed masculinity. We live in a world where players like Scalabrine are mock cheered for their [lack of] accomplishments and his lack of athletic prowess because people can not seem to understand his worth, believing he is undeserving of his position on the team. Conversely, we also live in a society where players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are revered by the masses as heroes, marked by their achievements on the basketball court. It is perhaps this very notion where we are constantly being encouraged to embrace the extraordinary while at the same time reject the ordinary, in which fans have invoked their own version of a "hero". According to Shifman, the consistent theme of flawed masculinity can be seen as an extreme manifestation of contemporary representations of men within mass media (Shifman 2011, 190). Scalabrine memes can be interpreted as a response to the mass marketed images of the over achieving athlete, in which the memes present a far-from-perfect man who fail to fulfil basic expectations in their appearance and performance. Such themes embody a distinct rebellion against professionally crafted star images of hegemonic masculinity and yet at the same time creating new ideologies, providing a unique insight into the psyche of contemporary sport fans. 

The rise of social media and the encouragement of participation that is embedded within it have thrust memes into the daily interactions of web users. It is a phenomenon that deserves our attention. On Facebook alone, there are meme communities for just about everything, from sports to entertainment, from schools to local landmarks and from global events like the Olympics to cultural movements such as gay rights. Similar trends are happening in the world of politics. In response to actor / director Clint Eastwood's criticisms of the Obama government by comparing President Obama to a empty wooden chair, Obama's advisers responded by posting a image on Twitter and Facebok, showing the president sitting at the cabinet table accompanied by the caption "This seat's taken" (Singer 2012). The meme went viral and was the most tweeted during the National Republican Convention, the rallying event of the opposition party. 

"Texts from Hillary" is a Tumblr website that features images of Hilliary Clinton, in her sun glasses, using her mobile phone. The images are connected to photographs of a host of celebrities and political figures, portraying the impression of a back-and-forth conversation between them and Hillary Clinton. Perhaps the most interesting meme from the website is the "conversation" between Clinton and Barack Obama which shows the President laying down on a couch texting on his mobile phone accompanied by the caption "Hey Hill, Whatchu doing?" Clinton responds, "Running the world" (Parker 2012). Whilst the meme may just be another example of the satirical humour that has become so common on the internet, it is also an indication of people's impression of her. The meme went viral and created a buzz among voters, not only signifying her popularity as a possible presidential candidate in 2016 but also the impact viral memes can have. 

Clearly, memes have become a convenient, fun and interesting way for people to converse, debate and bond over similar interests. However, the effects on industries are potentially much greater. Industry administrators may not be particularly pleased that memes may present a negative view of their organisations and equally, star athletes and other culturally prominent figures may not be too happy that memes perceive them in ways that works against their professionally crafted star images. Furthermore, in some cases, by using photographs of everyday normal people as stock images, meme-creators could be inadvertently violating the privacy of certain individuals. A further exploration of the positions fans take when making memes, whether they are creating or exhibiting respect for the less than perfect protagonist , is crucial for understanding the implications of contemporary fandom and the potential influences it can have on athletes, fans and the industry in a digital environment where impression can turn into perception within an instant.

Friedell, Nick. 2012. "Report: Brian Scalabrine retires." Accessed October 17th. http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/8345043/report-chicago-bulls-brian-scalabrine-retiring-boston-celtics-broadcast-booth.

Johnson, K.C. 2011. "Scalabrine still finds ways to contribute: 'No one has been to the Finals more and played less than me!'." Accessed October 8th. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-05-21/sports/ct-spt-0522-bulls-scalabrine-brian-ch20110521_1_brian-scalabrine-tom-thibodeau-pick-and-roll.

King, Jay. 2009. "Chubby, Slow, But Finally Useful: Brian Scalabrine's Player Capsule." Accessed October 3rd. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/182170-chubby-slow-but-finally-useful-brian-scalabrines-player-capsule.

Lapchick, Richard. 2012. The 2012 Racial and Gender Report Card: National Basketball Association. Vol. 2012: The Institute for diverstiy and ethics in sport
Shifman, Limor. 2011. "An anatomy of a YouTube meme." New Media & Society 14 (2): 187 - 203.


            Parker, Suzi. 2012. "Hillary Clinton is finally hip, thanks to a meme." Accessed October 17th. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/post/hillary-clinton-is-finally-hip-thanks-to-meme/2012/04/12/gIQALzOODT_blog.html.

Payne, Greg. 2009. "Brian Scalabrine Could Have a Breakout Season." Accessed October 5th. http://www.celticsblog.com/2009/10/13/1080650/brian-scalabrine-could-have-a.

Robbins, Liz. 2001. "A Healthy Nets Team Is Too Much to Wish For." Accessed October 5. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/27/sports/pro-basketball-a-healthy-nets-team-is-too-much-to-wish-for.html.

Singer, Paul. 2012. "Obama gets most retweets of the GOP convention." Accessed October 18th. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/09/obama-tweet-chair-gop-romney-eastwood/1#.UH93hMXMixw.

Springer, Shira. 2005. "Celtics agree with free agent Scalabrine." Accessed October 5th. http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2005/07/08/celtics_agree_with_free_agent_scalabrine/.

Wojnarowski, Adrian. 2010. "Bulls invite Scalabrine to training camp." Accessed October 3rd. http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-scalabrinebulls092110.

,