At first glance, internet memes seem to be the humorous part of our digital culture. Indeed, they are! But they also reveal stereotypical thinking, which I will focus on in my analysis. This analysis will investigate thoroughly internet memes from a linguistic viewpoint.
Starting from Richard Dawkins' definition via Susan Blackmore's third replicator theory through to Limor Shifman's critical approach about the state of research concerning memes, Internet memes are also examined from a communication-oriented view. Successful Black Man, Successful White Man, Ordinary Muslim Man and High Expectation Asian Father serve as a basis for my analysis. A combination of Semiotic Analysis and Discourse Analysis is used in order to examine the selected examples.
Both methods were chosen because Internet memes involve written texts as well as signs or images which contain invisible meaning. All results taken together, this thesis will show that Internet memes are still interpreted stereotypically in our multicultural present-day society.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical framework
2.1 Definition of the term meme
3. Internet Memes
3.1. Genres
3.1.1 Photoshop memes
3.1.2 Photo Fads
3.1.3. Flash Mob
3.1.4 Lipsynch
3.1.5 Misheard Lyrics
3.1.6 Recut Trailers
3.1.7 LOL Cats
3.1.8 Rage Comics
3.1.9 Stock Character Macros
3.2 Key features
3.2.1 Fidelity
3.2.2 Fecundity
3.2.3 Longevity
3.2.4 Humor
4. Internet Memes and Humor
5. Internet Memes and Stereotypes
6. Procedure
7. Analysis
7.1 Successful Black Man
7.2 Successful White Man
7.3 Ordinary Muslim Man
7.4 High Expectations Asian Father
7.5 Mashups
8. Results and Discussion
9. Consideration for further research
10. Conclusion
Research Objective and Core Topics
This thesis investigates the phenomenon of Internet memes from a linguistic perspective, specifically focusing on how image macros utilize stereotypes and humor to convey meaning. The primary research goal is to analyze how linguistic features—such as irony, polysemy, and code-switching—are employed within specific meme series to both invoke and subvert stereotypical social expectations.
- The theoretical foundation of memes as cultural replicators and genres of communication.
- Linguistic mechanisms of humor, including incongruity, irony, and lexical relations.
- The intersection of stereotypes, societal perceptions, and digital content.
- A detailed corpus-based analysis of "Advice Animal" style image macros.
- The pedagogical potential of Internet memes in fostering critical awareness of media.
Excerpt from the Book
7.1 Successful Black Man
The character in this meme is called Successful Black Man or “Successful Negro” (Know Your Meme: Internet Meme Database 2016: Successful Black Man). According to the website KYM, the origin of this meme is the website 4chan. The first time it showed up on the Internet was in 2010. In 2016, it achieved 1.672.504 views on KYM. The highest point of interest for the term SBM was in February 2012, which is registered on Google Trends.
The background of the SBM meme series is in a beige and brown color wheel. According to Tracy Edwards-Wright (2012), the color brown is associated with the adjective lazy or lazy person. In the middle of this image, a young African-American man is centered. He is wearing a black suit and a yellow shirt. His appearance is very handsome and smart. He is looking at the viewer, but he has a very vague facial expression which offers many possibilities for interpretation.
This image can be seen as an anti-stereotype. Male African-Americans are usually associated with a slack style. The character in this meme series is dressed in a suit instead of stereotypical Hip-Hop clothes. According to Turner Bowker (2001), suits usually communicate features such as responsibility, status, power and the ability to be successful. These features are not generic associations which are referred to African-Americans. In most cases responsibility, status and power are linked to White successful business people. But more details will be given in my analysis.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter defines Internet memes as a cultural phenomenon and establishes the study's focus on analyzing image memes from a communication and linguistic viewpoint.
2. Theoretical framework: This section reviews the etymology of the term meme, ranging from biological perspectives by Richard Dawkins to modern digital communication theories.
3. Internet Memes: An overview of various meme genres and the key features—fidelity, fecundity, and longevity—that determine their success in digital spaces.
4. Internet Memes and Humor: This chapter discusses humor theories, specifically the Incongruity Theory, and how irony serves as a central mechanism in meme communication.
5. Internet Memes and Stereotypes: An exploration of how cognitive frames and scripts utilize generalizations about social groups to create, and subsequently disrupt, stereotypical images.
6. Procedure: Describes the methodology for collecting a corpus of image memes from the "Know Your Meme" database for subsequent analysis.
7. Analysis: A detailed examination of specific image macro series (SBM, SWM, OMM, HEAF) and mashups, analyzing them through semiotic and discourse analysis.
8. Results and Discussion: Summarizes how linguistic features like puns, misspelling, and heteroglossia function to create humor and how memes reinforce or challenge societal stereotypes.
9. Consideration for further research: Proposes future academic exploration into the educational use of Internet memes in classrooms for teaching media literacy.
10. Conclusion: Synthesizes the main findings, affirming that memes are complex containers of societal discourse that require critical decoding.
Keywords
Internet memes, linguistic features, stereotypes, irony, humor, Incongruity Theory, discourse analysis, image macros, Successful Black Man, Successful White Man, Ordinary Muslim Man, High Expectations Asian Father, semiotics, polysemy, digital communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The work examines Internet memes, specifically image macros, as a unique form of digital communication and as "containers" of complex social stereotypes that are decoded through linguistic mechanisms.
Which central themes are explored?
The central themes include the linguistic analysis of humor, the reproduction and subversion of racial and cultural stereotypes, and the influence of digital content on social perceptions.
What is the primary research goal?
The study aims to identify and analyze how linguistic devices such as irony, polysemy, and syntactic deviations are used in image memes to create ironic twists that comment on established societal biases.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The research employs a combination of Semiotic Analysis and Discourse Analysis to uncover the hidden meanings within the visual and textual components of the selected memes.
What topics are covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section provides a detailed linguistic analysis of four specific "Advice Animal" meme series—Successful Black Man, Successful White Man, Ordinary Muslim Man, and High Expectations Asian Father—and examines cross-meme mashups.
How can this work be characterized by its keywords?
The study is characterized by concepts of internet culture, linguistic features (like heteroglossia and puns), sociological impact (stereotypes), and the memetic communication model.
How does the "Successful Black Man" meme challenge conventional stereotypes?
It utilizes situational irony by pairing a stereotypical premise (e.g., about unemployment or drug use) with a bottom caption that presents a productive, responsible, and professional image of the subject.
What role does polysemy play in the "Ordinary Muslim Man" meme series?
Polysemy allows the author to use slang or double meanings (such as the term "da bomb") to initially evoke a threatening stereotype, only to pivot to an innocuous, everyday meaning that breaks the negative expectation.
How do grammatical errors contribute to the humor in the "High Expectations Asian Father" series?
The deliberate use of imperfect English, including orthographic errors and phonetic spelling, reinforces the stereotype of the strict immigrant parent, while simultaneously acting as a hurdle that requires the reader to decode the actual meaning of the meme.
- Quote paper
- I. Magel (Author), 2016, Stereotypes in Internet Memes. A Linguistic Analysis, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/354386