Memes
Memes have become the native language of social media thanks to their ability to easily shared and convey a message. A meme is an idea, a behaviour, or style that spreads by means of imitation. Memes have been adopted by many campaigns and movements as a tool for grassroots action, and are capable of capturing mass imagination, promoting freedom of expression and spreading messages quickly. The nature of memes encourages the message to be adapted and reinterpreted as it spreads, making it a collaborative and democratic experience. Of course this is not without its challenges…
With the four questions in mind, browse the following short films and articles and consider how you would respond to those questions in the context of memes:
Watch
“More than just a Meme” – Emily Sands
Memes are not merely a trivial Internet phenomenon; they have created powerful social impacts on individuals and a generation. By discussing the influence of memes, Emily Sands examines the relationship between depression and humour in the effort to fight mental health stigma.
Say What You Meme to Say – Emma Humphries
Self-confessed recovering Social Media Politics Junkie Emma Humphries tells us what she learnt from freeing herself from the confines of her echo-chamber and asks us to be more engaged with civics in our everyday lives, not just on Facebook.
Students are fighting climate change, one TikTok video at a time | ABC News
ABC news reports on the memes and viral campaigns led by a group of young Australians surrounding the global strike for action on climate change.
Memes vs. Putin
Newsweek takes a look at how activists used memes against Putin’s social media censorship.
This is how activists in Russia are using memes against Putin's social media censorship. Read the full story: http://bit.ly/2xqCchs
Posted by Newsweek on Monday, 25 September 2017
Read:
TikTok activism: ‘We’re changing the world in 15 seconds’
Why some teens are using short, shareable social media videos to deal with the big issues affecting them. Here>
How memes became an agent of protest in 2018
#NationalWalkoutDay demonstrated how a generation of protesters can make a message connect and spread like wildfire. Here>
Greta Thunberg Uses ‘how It Started’ Meme To Show Alarming Rise In CO2 Gases
Greta Thunberg is famous for the meme-worthy activism. This article shows how she uses “How it started” meme to address the rise of CO2 gases. Here>
What do you meme? Internet memes as political participation
Are internet memes meaningless displays of popular culture a common ground for discussing social and political issues? Here>