Final Project: The Exploration of Pop Culture Among the Internet

This Blog post was made in conjunction with the following Podcast and serves as a supplemental tool. Please click the link below and listen to the podcast as you navigate this page. 

Section 1. The Evolution of Memes Among the Internet

As mentioned in the blog podcast, most memes started out with a single picture with white font on the top and bottom of the page. Memes in this format are relatively easy to make and people stuck to using this format for quite some time before newer formats and themes were created. Today, this particular style is not used nearly as much as it used to be on mainstream sites, although a google search of the word "meme" will still bring up several other images like this. 

Here is the popular music video to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give you up." At the moment that this blog post was written, the video has over 575 million views on Youtube and i'm sure that a portion of that has to do with it becoming an internet meme. The official term for pranking someone with this video was coined "Rickrolling" in an obvious reference to the singer's name. This meme in fact had become so popular that it was even referenced in the 2018 Disney film "Ralph Breaks the Internet" in a scene that takes place after the credits. This prank in the form of a meme is not used very often today, but chances are that most millennials (and post millennials) know about this popular trend.  

While memes come in all different shapes, videos, and forms, a large number of memes today come in a type of four square format. This would usually consist of four separate images (often times only a slight change being made to the original image) all relating back to each other, with the final image containing the punchline or joke. Memes in styles like these tend to have the same overall image but with small changes in the text (notice the large blank spaces where text was inserted) allowing for it to be used several times over, with each new one making a different joke or adding another spin on it. This particular meme dubbed "Gru's plan" is about the character from the popular "Despicable Me" franchise and was most popular during March of 2018. This meme usually depicts a three step plan with the third and fourth panel not being the desired result (see Gru's confused expression in the final picture). Other memes from today that don't have a special format or theme are often times nonsensical and are simply used for humorous purposes and are made to evoke laughter. Memes like these can be considered  "dank" which is somewhat of a slang term to describe a meme that is unique or odd. This meme shown to the right is a photoshopped image of celebrity Steve Harvey and otherwise serves no purpose other than to make people laugh or cause discomfort with how the image looks due to Steve Harvey normally possessing facial hair.  For more memes like this, they are easily accessible on apps/sites like IFunny (once an excessively popular app for viewing memes) and instagram using hashtags. 

Section 2. Vines, Tik Tok, and Humor

Vine is responsible for numerous catch phrases and quotes that have been weaved into the dialect among millennials today. In addition as the app rose in popularity, so did it's users. Popular users became known as "vine stars" and were responsible for creating some of the most iconic vines out there. To this day, if someone were to bring up the name "KingBach" or Jay Versace there's a high likelihood that a member of the younger generation would know exactly who they are. However if you're reading this and those two names aren't familiar to you, there are numerous websites detailing the once popular viners like this one. Due to financial troubles however, Vine unexpectedly shut down in 2016 and those creators were left to flock to other sites to publish content. Luckily though, due to the nature of the internet, nothing put out there is truly gone forever. Many people decided to save the most iconic vines and release them as compilations on Youtube (like this video). There are probably hundreds of videos like this many of which have millions of views from people reminiscing back to when Vine was still around. 

Section 3. The Importance and Impact of Online Pop Culture

As mentioned in the linked podcast, pop culture on the internet plays a very key role in the overall culture that millennials share. As I was gathering information about pop culture on the internet I also thought it would be a great addition to gather the input and opinions of members of the age group most affected by things like memes vines and other online trends. So, I decided to conduct short interviews with Lindsey Brubaker and Jack Aaron, two rising sophomores at Christopher Newport University. Both of them have different levels of knowledge about online trends and pop culture but I feel that they were each able to give a bit of insight into the social culture of a typical post millennial. Based upon my own experiences as well as what i've gathered from these interviews and some online research, I think it's clear that internet pop culture serves an important role in the overall social structure of millennials and millennials. 

Me: What website or app do you use where you see the most memes?

Lindsey: Twitter is where I find most of my memes since a lot of the accounts that I follow retweet funny videos and pictures. I don't go on too many other platforms to find memes and stuff but do go on Twitter really often and I see them on there all the time. I even have a group chat with a few friends just for sending each other tweets with funny memes and videos. 

Me: In your own words, describe the app Vine. Has that app affected your life in any sort of way?

Lindsey: Vine was a 6 second video app where many people made and shared content. It was shut down and few years ago,  but now people appreciate vine and have moved their content to other apps for people to enjoy. Vine has definitely had a positive effect on my life; Before we knew every little detail about each other, my friends and I would make vine references on a daily basis. It was a thing we were all familiar with before we were super familiar with each other. 
Me: Has looking at or sharing memes with others ever l lead to a positive experience?

Lindsey: Sharing memes with others allows for friends to share a joke and I think it provides a way for people to grow as friends. A lot of the time people resort to laughter when people get kinda nervous or if there's an uncomfortable silence for example. I think memes tend to help a lot in those kinds of situations.  

Me: What website or app do you use where you see the most memes?

Jack: I use instagram to look at memes the most but i'm also in a fraternity on campus and I see a lot of memes from the other brothers. We have a huge group chat where we can talk and text each other about pretty much anything and we send a lot of memes to each other through that. 

Me: In your own words, describe the app Vine. Has that app affected your life in any sort of way?

Jack: Vine is a social media platform that allows you to create 6 second videos and really bring out your creativity to make them funny and relatable. It absolutely affected my life, its brought about references and sayings that every millennial understands and really just brought a sense of unity to a lot of groups I've been apart of. 

Me: Has looking at or sharing memes with others ever l lead to a positive experience?

Jack: Looking at memes has lead to numerous positive experiences in my life! It's helped me bond with the other members of my fraternity and some of the friends i'm really close with today. I can't remember all the times I've stayed up late at school this past year hanging with friends just pursuing Instagram dying of laughter over memes and funny videos. 

If you believe online pop culture has played a role in your life at one point or another, feel free to leave a message down below in the comment section; internet trends often promote healthy discussion, and I can't think of a better place for healthy discussion than a blog post like this!

Sources:

Interviewee’s:

Jack Aaron and Lindsey Brubaker
https://www.gradedtalon.com/5153/features/why-memes-are-good-for-you/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdkwu2FvFfI&t=321s

https://www.lifewire.com/vine-stars-you-should-be-following-3486121
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/memes/?hl=en
https://ifunny.co/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ