The Persistence Of Memes
It’s true that we all love a good meme, but it seems they have a story of their own to tell.
If there is one word or concept that is definitive of the internet times, it is the meme. While outside of the internet context it can be defined as “an element of a culture or system of behavior passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means”, it has a slightly more nuanced and different meaning when applied to the online context.
Kind of a Big Deal
Online memes tend to be viral, humorous, and morph or change their meaning slightly as they make their way through the internet sphere. There are numerous websites devoted solely to tracking memes, whether it’s knowyourmeme.com, a “website dedicated to documenting Internet phenomena: viral videos, image macros, catchphrases, web celebs and more,” or MemeTracker, “which builds maps of the daily news cycle by analyzing around 900,000 news stories and blog posts per day from 1 million online sources, ranging from mass media to personal blogs.”
These websites can be instructive as far as they tell us what has been popular, but they are not particularly helpful in indicating what will be. That’s because part of the fun of memes is that they are hard to predict, can often seem entirely random and nonsensical, and can often disappear into internet history just as quickly as they arrive. As one Guardian commentator put it, “When it comes to memes, there’s a rule: it is dead as soon as the think pieces come out.”
Short Lived, but Worth It
Due to their somewhat ephemeral and elusive nature, meme tracking is something of a sport for internet enthusiasts; it can be a fun challenge to try and keep up with the unpredictable whims of internet culture. But for reasons not entirely clear, some memes refuse to go away and persist in some form online long after they’ve reached peak virality. This goes against the conventional wisdom that “Usually, when memes go mainstream it means they’re not funny any more. Memes are just in-jokes between people on the internet, and everyone knows jokes are much less funny once you’ve explained them.”
Current Kings of Memes
But for better or for worse, these memes are still with us. Here is a look at some of the most persistent memes of 2016 so far:
Harambe
The gorilla that was shot dead in May at the Cincinnati Zoo has transfixed the internet in ways no one predicted. The “unjust” death of the animal has morphed into thousands of memes, with a recent inexplicable resurgence on Twitter during the opening ceremony of the Olympic games.
“Damn Daniel”
Originating in February, the Twitter video montage of a narrator who is “repeatedly heard praising fellow student Daniel Lara’s look, including his “White Vans” turned into a meme when the phrase itself entered the general lexicon. Inexplicably it hasn’t left since.
Wholesome Meme
Usually memes are sarcastic or cynical—except for when they’re not. The earnest and heartfelt memes on the Twitter account @Wholesomememe —with phrases like “I love my best friend, read all about it”—go against everything we’re told memes should be. And yet, they’re still popular and show no sign of slowing down.
Beyonce
It’s fair to say that all memes can at some level be traced back to Beyonce, and the artists visual album “Lemonade” provided us with many: hot sauce, and Becky with the good hair to name a couple. These references still persist in everyday pop culture despite it being released in April.
“Delete your account”
The ultimate Twitter insult hurled at Donald Trump by Hillary Clinton (actually, more likely by her social media team) is the meme heard round the world. More than a month later, it’s still totally relevant to serve someone with this putdown.