Internet Memes. Humor in late modernity and encroachment upon

Internet Memes. Humor in late modernity and encroachment
upon the mainstream
Charalambos Konstantineas, George Vlachos
Internet Memes are only a small part of the global Internet culture. While only a
fragment, it is growing steadily, becoming more intense and special; it is beginning
to propose different moral codes of communication and language between the
shareholders of the community. Memes recommend a certain point of view, a point
that is sometimes
considered unorthodox in a modernistic approach.
Our goal initially is to define with the greatest possible clarity the term “internet
memes” and demonstrate its relationship with the emerging internet sociology.
Then, we will attempt to link the subculture of internet memes and especially the
humor it promotes to the general attitude of post-modernism that struggles to
dominate the western world, with the help of post-modern considerations, primarily,
by the French thinkers of the second half of the 20th century. We see that the humor
of internet memes sometimes seems to be immoral, callous and malicious, but this is
the case only from the perspective of the grand narratives of modernity, not so much
the political ones but the social narratives of the appropriate.
Finally, we will consider the cases of internet memes that escaped from the small
community of those who create and enjoy them and passed into the mainstream
culture. Here it’s easy to find the classic complex of "authenticity"; Memes that
started as concepts of a chosen few and initiated and then became “property” of
many and uninitiated cannot enjoy the support of their creators anymore. We will try
to investigate why this is happening, but also it is important to see what kind of
memes passed into the light of humorous popular culture. In this case our hypothesis
is that the morality of grand narratives that defines "funny" still puts restrictions.
Keywords: Internet memes, internet subcultures, humor, mainstream, postmodernism, morality
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1. Memes and Culture ; An Archaeology
The word meme itself is very recent and was initially articulated and used as a
conceptual tool by Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book “The Selfish Gene”. Memes
in essence are actions, notions, behaviors and mostly ideas that are transferred
amongst individuals within the realms of the community. The root of the word meme
is greek and is derived by the verb “mimoumai”, meaning to copy, to reproduce. The
word meme must be differentiated by the word gene which is of a similar
morphology, specifically: While memes spread horizontally within the bounds of a
society and are subject to conversion depending on specific social catalysts, genes on
the other hand predominantly represent information spread vertically, waiting
patiently for the next generation to do so.
The fact that the term “meme” is fairly new does not prevent us from interpreting
the history of mankind through its scope. Therefore both pre-modern and modern
civilization could be inevitably viewed from such an angle. Language, religion,
technological advancement, even fashion trends are results of a circular process that
includes conceiving and disclosing an idea by one person, embracing it, conversing
it and finally republishing it by another person. Thus it is evident that when
speaking of memes it is impossible not to speak of culture as well.
One could argue that memes can be seen as the basic ingredient of an important
sociological concept, which is the norm. Norms are behavioral patterns that exist in
order to differentiate certain human behaviors into two categories; acceptable and
unacceptable. They also play a major part in the socialization of the subject;
becoming internalized and externalized by individuals, they perpetuate their
reproduction within a society. It would be easy to correlate norms with memes, as
both concepts require the same host in order to survive which is none other than
humans.
This is a lato sensu approach of memes. However the aim of the study is to
observe internet memes. The objective of stricto sensu memes is to humor and on
certain occasions their humor seems alien and controversial as we will discuss later
on.
Internet memes can be defined as words or phrases, images, comics and videos,
containing pop culture references in certain cases, which enter the public sphere of
the Internet. They spread rapidly, they transform and depending on their success they
are forgotten or become established as parts of that public sphere. It is remarkable
that for the first time we are considering an extremely wide, if not global, public
sphere, for its boundaries match those of the World Wide Web. The noticeable
impact of a meme, published and shared between millions of people within a day,
along with the dubious nature that they sometimes display, is bearing the fruits for a
new system of norms. This new system considers “Important Others” parents,
classmates and in general anybody’s physical presence as well as a giant network of
anonymous users of a giant community such as the Internet.
Fora and imageboards created in the early 00’s that functioned as communicative
channels were responsible for the initial creation of Internet memes. The social
environments that had arisen through online interaction induced the establishment of
cyber-communities which gradually developed an internal consistency along with an
idiosyncratic etiquette and a written or unwritten code of conduct, depending on the
nature of the community. In the years that followed the introduction of video sharing
websites and social networks was catalytic to the accelerated spread of Internet
memes. This led to a shift from a state of exclusivity within closed circuits of users
to a state of mass recognizability and acceptance by the public which is not only
affiliated to the Internet but also to more traditional and massive media such as
television.
Humor/Ethics
The humorous element is a very strong factor of coherence for Internet users that
consider themselves members of particular cyber-communities. The manner of
communication, that is characterized firstly by «textuality», in combination with the
use of images, signals the birth of the Internet memes. In their turn, Internet memes
functioned as the cement that kept those communities firm and alert. Alert
communities are those that feature a strong element of interactivity, the instant and
rapid feedback of ideas and notions that in the end compose the essence of a cybercommunity, an essence that incorporates the concept of individualization as well.
Individualization is a crucial key word for studying and understanding late
modernity. It refers to the utmost and constant need for the members of a community
(or a society) to redefine themselves freely, without taking into consideration the
strict boundaries imposed by modernity. In a similar manner, this is also the case
with memes. Images, text and practically every structural template of a meme is
subject to constant merging and reshaping, creating new memes known as spin-offs
of their predecessors. Thus, a meme’s structure is not something presumed; its
constant reshaping implies a renewal for the meaning the meme carries as well. With
this in mind, meme communitites are placed among common wealth internet
communities, which aim spread concepts, software as well as images without
placing them under copyright law. As we observe the subject of individualization
though, we encounter a paradox. Total and relentless individualization is open to all;
its mandatory character drives the process of feedback within the community. The
natural person that goes through that process is not “allowed” to claim any of his
work, because memes do not belong to anybody. They are created involuntarily and
spontaneously and any attempts made by particular members of the community to
impose a meme upon the others are met with disapproval towards the meme and its
creator.
While studying the articulation of humorous discourse through cybercommunities and Internet memes, it is important to mention the moral relativism that
seems to direct those communities occasionally. This moral relativism appears to
completely ignore all the ethical contrusctions which normally placed boundaries
upon the liberty of humorous expression. The origins of this moral relativism can be
placed upon the end of modernity’s Grand Narratives and the value system
composed by the majority of the political and social ideological formations, along
with the evaluable norms regarding what can be subject of scoff and ridicule. A new,
looser grid of correlations is formed, but a clash with the former standpoints is
indirect. This speculation is associated with the perspective of thinkers such as
Lyotard, Baudrillard, Derrida, Lipovetsky and Foucault, thinkers that have endorsed
a post-structuralist approach while viewing the world distanced from manichaeistic
dogmas set in the past.
This is also shown in a form of notional equivalence. “Anything goes”, an
irregular flexibility of beliefs and actions, is a common saying found in many
theories regarding late modernity, post-structuralism and post-modernism.
Respectively, in the field of Internet memes, we encounter the attitude “for teh lulz”,
a phrase that suggests an unconditional and unbounded tendency towards bantering
about issues considered off limits due to seriousness or compassion. Based on that
point of view, there is no image of pain, illness or misfortune that deserves to remain
immaculately above a humourous scope.
Gilles Lipovetsky, in his book “The age of void”, argues that, post-modern
humor seems to have been shaped long before its passage to internet culture: ‘the
dominant and unprecedented tonality of the humorous is no longer sarcastic, but
playful’1. ‘Mass humor is no longer founded in a gloomy and bitter background;
today’s humor not only fails to conceal pessimism and be “the courtesy of despair”,
but also tries to exist without density and describe a glistening universe’2. At the
same time we encounter a different humorous approach, more unorthodox compared
to the prevailing.
‘Next to the mass, euphoric and symbiotic humor, an underground, obviously
relaxed, but with a hard, down to earth tonality humor is unveiled’3. ‘A post-modern,
new wave humor, which should not be associated with black humor; the tone is
bleak, imperceptibly provocative, vulgar; it ostentatiously exhibits the emancipation
of the language, the subject and sex’4. Cyber-communities that produce memes seem
to cover the whole range of post-modern humor according to Lipovetsky’s approach.
On one hand we come upon memes demonstrating a sense of humor that avoids
confrontation, respecting the narrative of what is considered appropriate, and on the
other hand we encounter memes in which humor seems immoral, malevolent, and
even violent. Controversial issues (depending on what is considered comical) such as
cancer, AIDS, racism, child pornography, autism, through the textuality and imagery
they utilized by the community members, they are signified as special humorous
style. This results in the recognition of the members of the community among
themselves.
Focusing on the second category, a crucial factor that can interpret this seemingly
immoral stance, beyond the moral relativism of late modernity, is anonymity.
Members of the community may choose to (and they usually do) hide behind the
picture of an avatar, or they may even select to conceal themselves completely
through total anonymity.
The inability to identify the other leads to the expansion of these behaviors. An
anonymous cannot be blamed for anything, for he is not a person recognized by
“real” society. Nevertheless, his humor, his attitude and his actions are existent. And
while the objective existence of the community can be disputed (if we consider
cyber as non-corporeal), the stances of the individuals that form them are utterly real
because their impact in creating and shaping opinions is also real.
It can be hypothesized that digital persona and physical existence are the same.
This is something very difficult to verify empirically because anonymity covers the
tracks of individuals. Usually communities apart from names do not own memory,
they only own names. The vast traffic they experience means that they develop an
equally vast production of memes. Therefore it is almost impossible to track down a
user who created and posted a meme and then blame them for its obscene content.
This means one of two things: On one hand, no lone user can force a meme because
memes are created and adopted entirely and collectively by the community. On the
other hand, already developed and praised memes have been reused and reposted at
such a degree where few can actually remember its creation and the majority of
members of the community consider it to be funny on its own, a sui generis joke,
giving meaning to itself, without any references to its original usage and humorous
context. In the end, memes such as these are capable of evolving over time, with a
lot of them possessing unorthodox humorous features, which shows that the
hypothesis regarding the elimination of political correctness is probably true.
Underground/Mainstream
It was implied previously that obvious difficulties are present within cybercommunities, with humorous stylistic tone becoming the cleavage separating the two
hemispheres of meme culture which are: The Mainstream and the Underground.
The Mainstream is abundant, an active sum of communities with great cultural
influence in the field of mainstream inside and outside of the Internet. These
communities are usually “harmless”, their sense of humor is conventional and it
rarely derails from the norms of the approach imposed by a modern moral
idiosyncrasy. One should also mind another restrictive element which is the fact that
the forums’ rules and guidelines clearly specify what is allowed to be posted.
Anything considered prohibited is deleted as soon as possible. The joyous attitude is
highly appreciated and is considered the most important structural element of these
websites.
In contrast, the underground meme culture shows an irregular humorous mindset,
members of the communities are limited and wish to remain so, believing that the
community’s widening would corrupt its original character. There are no restrictions
regarding the content of the posts and the memes uploaded and shared. It should also
be noted that such a trait has caused legal issues to some fora over time. Finally, a
distinct characteristic held as the cornerstone of these communities is the anonymity
of the users.
While usually underground sub-cultures are formed by members of the
community that have been ostracized from the Mainstream, in the area of memes we
experience the opposite. What we call mainstream meme culture is the offspring of
its members’ reaction to the Underground’s controversy. So, while the more
malevolent perspective of memes exist since the early 00’s, the popular spinoffs have
started flooding the Web seven or eight years later.
What we observe, and what will be our point of focus from now on, is that
memes that have been created within underground communities and later break
through to mainstream communities (along with the necessary stylistic limitations),
are no longer accepted by their original creators, a sign of delegitimization.
An answer has already been given. On many occasions, a meme is shaped in a
way that is compatible with the politically correct environment of mainstream
communities. From that point on it has lost its harshness and its innovative
temperament while at the same time its overuse, caused by a massive mainstream
haven, leads to its rejection by previous enthusiasts.
Such a scope urges us to inevitably treat those underground sub-cultures in the
same manner as we would treat an aesthetic elite. Based on this, we are going to
utilize the viewpoint of A.-I. D. Metaxas regarding the attitude and style of
individuals participating in communities of expression and discourse. Metaxas
suggests an ideal three level categorization, the basis of which is the ease of entrance
as well as settling among those levels:
A society of expression is witnessed whenever a way of
speaking can be selected just by adopting its constant
usage, while those who already use it show a positive
indifference. The style required for an effective intercommunal communication is gained rather easily and the
necessary ritual leading to this gain is a simple practice
upon this expression.
A company of expression is witnessed whenever the style
shared by those who are already its members requires for
an outsider an important time for studying… Those that
control who can earn and maintain that style reveal those
that do not respond positively to its usage and expose them
to the public.
A church of expression is witnessed whenever the expense
of studying a particular style and entering the equivalent
community is high… …control over studying and maintain
the particular style is imposed exclusively by the relentless
judgment of those who have already earned it and
supervise not only the entry and the maintaining upon this
particular style, but the limits of its aesthetic evolution as
well.5
Regarding our approach to the cyber-communities producing memes, the
mainstream communities correspond to a society of expression. On the contrary, the
elite shaping the Underground corresponds to a church of expression. It is easily
comprehended why memes intruding the Mainstream or the ones that are produced
by it, are rejected at large by the underground elite. The rejection occurs precisely
because any attempts of embracing the style and attitude they have created are
regarded as inauthentic, unoriginal and fake. Furthermore these attempts are treated
as an invasion to the space created by a church of expression.
Along these lines, a church of expression can be related to what Bourdieu calls
“happy few”, whose purpose is to keep their uniqueness and their integrity in order
to differentiate themselves from a homogenous crowd. In this case there is always
the separation between what is considered “groundbreaking” or “conventional”,
what is considered “deep” or “shallow” and also what is considered easily
accessible. In relation to memes, the successful caricature of morally ambiguous
subjects achieved by the underground communities may be characterized as
“groundbreaking”. Conversely the conventional approach of the Mainstream is
witnessed through the existent ethically guarded view of the Humourous.
Notes
11 Gilles Lipovetsky, I epohi tou kenou, 120
22 Lipovetsky, I epohi, 120
33 Lipovetsky, I epohi, 122
44 Lipovetsky, I epohi, 122
55 Andreas- Ioannis Metaxas, Proeisagogika gia ton politico logo, 38-39
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Metaxas, Andreas- Ioannis, Proeisagogika gia ton politico logo, Ant. N. Sakkoulas, Athens, 2001
Charalambos Constantineas and George Vlachos are graduates of the Public Administration and Political Science
department of the Law School in Athens. They are interested in the branches of political science and sociology, such as
comparative politics, political sociology, Internet culture and the new social movements.