Internet Memes

The dawn of a new age in comedy
What Is A Meme?

 The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes a
  meme as: an idea, behaviour, style, or usage that
  spreads from person to person within a culture.

 In relation to the internet, this means any bit of
  media, be it an image, video, sound file etc. that
  is popularly spread across a forum, blog,
  bookmarking or media sharing site that is then
  easily recognised or parodied is a meme.
Trollface.jpg                                                      Left,
                                                                      Whynne‟s
                                                                      drawing of
                                                                      „Rapist
                                                                      Rodent‟.

 Trollface originated from a DeviantArt post by
  an artist named Whynne, illustrating the                  Right,
  pointless nature of „Trolling‟ on 4Chan. This                  an
                                                       example of
  expression was then developed in the                   the basic
  popularly known Trollface of today.                     image of
 The act of „trolling‟ is to intentionally sabotage      Trollface

  a debate/argument or to say/do things to
  antagonise another member. A basic example
  of this would be to convince a Muse fan that a
  member of Muse was dead.
 There are now many derivatives of the
  Trollface, including Trollmom and Trolldad-
  illustrating the jokey but annoying nature of
  most parents, Trolljock- to show the
  scumbaggy nature of Jocks, and Trollgeek.
Rebecca Black - Friday
   On February 10th 2011, ArkMusicFactory uploaded a music video by one of their
    aspiring „artists‟ named Rebecca Black. The video depicted Rebecca disclosing
    the activities of her day, including getting ready for school, going to school, going
    to a party and being at the said party.
   The video was up for a month before it was posted on „The Daily What‟ website.
    It was not well received with most people laughing at the songs pointlessness
    and the singers inept ability to actually sing.
   Within weeks, the video had over 150,000,000 views and countless parodies
    either copying the Lyrics of the original or creating new ones for Saturday or
    Sunday.
   Rebecca Black received much abuse and as a result, removed the video from
    YouTube, only to upload it herself later on.
   Despite the horrible reception for the song, the video officially launched
    Rebecca‟s Career, leading her onto countless talkshows, a new song and a
    cameo in Katy Perry‟s TGIF music video.
   The Original - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0
   A Parody - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Chelwb6Ja4
   Another Parody - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npgdw5Zb7TY
Bed Intruder Song
   On July 28th, 2010, North Alabama‟s NBC affiliate WAFF-48 News reported that
    local police are searching for a man who broke into a home then got into bed with
    a woman. The woman‟s brother, Antoine Dodson, rushed to her room after
    hearing his sister scream. After a brief struggle, the intruder escaped through a
    window. Antoine said the suspect left behind his shirt and fingerprints.
   WAFF-48 sent a correspondent to speak with the victims, which resulted in the
    following report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXPgjsB0Xm0&feature
   On July 30th, the Gregory Brothers‟ of „Autotune The News‟ released the “Bed
    Intruder Song”, which would rise to popularity as the 25th most bought song on
    the main iTunes charts when it was released, selling more than 10,000 copies in
    the first two days of its availability.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw&feature
   The Parody song itself became the main focus to the general public, spawning
    countless parodies and covers of the song from around the world.
   The Original Parody by the Gregory Bothers now has over 90,000,000 views and
    the song entered America‟s Billboard 100 chart at the height of it‟s popularity.

Internet Memes

  • 1.
    Internet Memes The dawnof a new age in comedy
  • 2.
    What Is AMeme?  The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes a meme as: an idea, behaviour, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture.  In relation to the internet, this means any bit of media, be it an image, video, sound file etc. that is popularly spread across a forum, blog, bookmarking or media sharing site that is then easily recognised or parodied is a meme.
  • 3.
    Trollface.jpg Left, Whynne‟s drawing of „Rapist Rodent‟.  Trollface originated from a DeviantArt post by an artist named Whynne, illustrating the Right, pointless nature of „Trolling‟ on 4Chan. This an example of expression was then developed in the the basic popularly known Trollface of today. image of  The act of „trolling‟ is to intentionally sabotage Trollface a debate/argument or to say/do things to antagonise another member. A basic example of this would be to convince a Muse fan that a member of Muse was dead.  There are now many derivatives of the Trollface, including Trollmom and Trolldad- illustrating the jokey but annoying nature of most parents, Trolljock- to show the scumbaggy nature of Jocks, and Trollgeek.
  • 4.
    Rebecca Black -Friday  On February 10th 2011, ArkMusicFactory uploaded a music video by one of their aspiring „artists‟ named Rebecca Black. The video depicted Rebecca disclosing the activities of her day, including getting ready for school, going to school, going to a party and being at the said party.  The video was up for a month before it was posted on „The Daily What‟ website. It was not well received with most people laughing at the songs pointlessness and the singers inept ability to actually sing.  Within weeks, the video had over 150,000,000 views and countless parodies either copying the Lyrics of the original or creating new ones for Saturday or Sunday.  Rebecca Black received much abuse and as a result, removed the video from YouTube, only to upload it herself later on.  Despite the horrible reception for the song, the video officially launched Rebecca‟s Career, leading her onto countless talkshows, a new song and a cameo in Katy Perry‟s TGIF music video.  The Original - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0  A Parody - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Chelwb6Ja4  Another Parody - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npgdw5Zb7TY
  • 5.
    Bed Intruder Song  On July 28th, 2010, North Alabama‟s NBC affiliate WAFF-48 News reported that local police are searching for a man who broke into a home then got into bed with a woman. The woman‟s brother, Antoine Dodson, rushed to her room after hearing his sister scream. After a brief struggle, the intruder escaped through a window. Antoine said the suspect left behind his shirt and fingerprints.  WAFF-48 sent a correspondent to speak with the victims, which resulted in the following report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXPgjsB0Xm0&feature  On July 30th, the Gregory Brothers‟ of „Autotune The News‟ released the “Bed Intruder Song”, which would rise to popularity as the 25th most bought song on the main iTunes charts when it was released, selling more than 10,000 copies in the first two days of its availability. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtZfW2z9dw&feature  The Parody song itself became the main focus to the general public, spawning countless parodies and covers of the song from around the world.  The Original Parody by the Gregory Bothers now has over 90,000,000 views and the song entered America‟s Billboard 100 chart at the height of it‟s popularity.

Editor's Notes

  • #4 Images from http://www.ragemaker.net/images/Malicious%20-%20Troll.htmlInformation from http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/trollface-coolface-problem#.TqfxCN4r2dA
  • #5 Information from http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rebecca-black-friday#.Tqf6Bt4r2dB
  • #6 Information from http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/antoine-dodson-bed-intruder#.Tqf5It4r2dA