Quotation: “ As internet scholar Ryan Milner notes in the introduction to his new book on memes, ‘it’s hard to imagine a major pop cultural or political moment that doesn’t inspire its own constellation of mediated remix, play, and commentary’. Similarly, digital culture scholar Limor Shifman has argued that our media landscape is governed by a ‘hyper-memetric logic’ where ‘almost every major public event sprouts a stream of memes’ ” (Miltner 412).
Comment: The word ‘meme’ itself is defined as ‘that which is imitated’ or ‘imitated thing’. This article shines a light on the purpose, reasoning, and meaning behind the use of a meme. As internet scholar Ryan Milner notes in the introduction to his new book on memes, “it’s hard to imagine a major pop cultural or political moment that doesn’t inspire its own constellation of mediated remix, play, and commentary”. Milner here emulates what Miltner tries to express throughout the entire chapter. People enjoy using their skills on the internet to story tell and create content for viewers. Creators use what they know. When there are trending pop culture or political moments relevant and thriving, it’s so easy for one to use what they see and create memes. Memes allow different audiences to make their own meanings from the same media content. A meme can symbolize something for someone and mean something totally different to someone with a different perspective. That’s the beauty in memes. For example, with any political meme, it will be understood by all, but for a Democrat the meme may mean something different to an Independent or Republican. When creators use common knowledge it allows for a great appeal to readers/the audience. Another great thing about memes is that people create for fun. People use relevant moments to create enjoyable memes. Miltner in her passage states how people create for fun and for reaction, not for money! This is yet another piece of beauty in the making of memes. There is no expected or needed response. Creators, create. Memes are meant to be fun, readable and tell a story or multiple stories for that matter!
Question: Are there any topics that you feel should not be made/allowed to be made into memes? Are there topics that cross the line when it comes to creating memes?
