Sheryl Anne B.

Umali
9:00-10:00 am | MWF

WHAT’S IN A MEME?
Sometimes, people catch you smiling while you are on your phone. No, it is not a

sweet message you are reading. It is a meme!

Memes are all over the internet nowadays. They can be found on various social

networking sites, which users continuously circulate. Memes are humorous, parodic, and

sometimes satirical pieces that provide a daily dose of laughter to those who consume them.

Yet, memes are more than just hilarious texts and images we laugh at; they have structures

that interact with audiences, serve a political, industrial, or commercial function, and are

constantly changing, adapting, and evolving.

In his book The Selfish Gene, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins first introduced

the term ‘meme’ in 1976. It came from the Greek word ‘mimema,’ –meaning ‘imitated

thing.’ Dawkins referred to memes as cultural replicators or viruses of the mind. In short,

they are cultural ideas or behaviors that imitate, circulate and replicate throughout a

population. The meme we know today, internet memes, is not far from Dawkins’ explanation.

Likewise, internet memes also contain concepts and ideas and serve purposes that influence

consumers’ behavior.

As we establish that memes have components and purposes, this shines a light on the

idea that memes have structures that interact with audiences. Davidson (2012, p. 123)

proposes three meme components --- manifestation, behavior, and ideal. These three

components work inversely.

Observable and external phenomena are the

manifestation of a meme. This manifestation is the material we

Sheryl Anne B. Umali
9:00-10:00 am | MWF
look at, a still image or a looped moving image (GIF). An example is the Willy Wonka

Meme on the right.

Behavior, on the other hand, creates manifestation. Behavior is a person’s action in

service of the meme. It is how a person utilizes and manipulates words and a photo to create
Example 1. Photo by Bhuyan A. (2018).
the manifestation. Using the same meme as an example, the Architectural Digest,
India.https://assets.architecturaldigest.in/photos/6
008274456e01e341bc35772/master/
words ‘OH, YOU’RE WRITING AN ARTICLE ABOUT w_1600,c_limit/WillyWonkaMeme-Tell-me-

MEME? PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS NEW TREND,’ is manipulated along with

the intrigued face of Willy Wonka. Thus, the way that the elements are combined creates an

overall theme that leads us to the third component.

The ideal is simply the idea conveyed by the meme. As explained earlier, a meme’s

combination of words and images exudes a tone and creates a theme. In the case of the

example used, the ideal is ‘memes are interesting!’ The behavior is determined by the ideal,

resulting in manifestation.

Moreover, memes also have dimensions. Shifman (2013a), as cited in Miltner (2017),

argues that three meme dimensions connect the meme to an audience or are used to create

meanings. These are the form, content, and stance. The form of a meme is the ‘physical

incarnation (similar to manifestation), while the content is the idea expressed in the meme

(ideal). Unlike behavior in the three components, the third dimension of meme, stance, can be

further subdivided into three—the participation structures, keying, and communicative

functions.

Participation structures include who has the right to participate and how they can

participate, while the key to the meme is the tone and communication style. Meanwhile, the

communicative functions involve the communication type that takes place.

Sheryl Anne B. Umali
9:00-10:00 am | MWF
Aside from communicative function as a part of their structure, memes are a

political, activist, or commercial practice Memes are considered a part of the participatory

culture. People voluntarily imitate, replicate and circulate memes at any time. Since political

issues are sensitive topics to discuss, memes became a means to comment and criticize those

in power. People are not afraid to circulate political memes because of the memetic feature of

anonymity, otherwise known as the lack of attribution. Since creators do not want to claim

ownership, memes are replicated and transformed by other people repeatedly until a whole

series of memes are out there using the same template with different themes.

“There is an additional layer of freedom afforded by a lack of attribution,” David

(2012). Not all memes are funny. Sometimes there are satirical or offensive memes. The lack

of attribution functions not only as a layer of freedom but also protection. Since authorities

cannot trace the original meme in a bunch of transformed and replicated ones, people have

the nerve to comment on any political issue as much as they want.

For instance, Filipinos found the Sottocopy meme hilarious. Filipino netizens

circulated this meme online after Tito Sotto allegedly plagiarized

parts of his opposition speech from former US president John F.

Kennedy. Sotto denied the allegations by arguing that translating

Source: kami.com.ph is not plagiarism. Through this meme, some Filipinos could say

plagiarism is not okay. Thus, this meme called out Sotto for this issue.

Furthermore, memes can also be a practice of activism. One illustration is police

brutality in the United States, where black Americans are often arrested or killed due to racist

policing. After George Floyd’s horrific death was

captured in a video, netizens in the US and worldwide

circulated a picture of a clenched fist held up high along

Source: Algorithmic Media Observatory.

Sheryl Anne B. Umali
9:00-10:00 am | MWF
with the bold statement ‘Black Lives Matter (BLM). Along with this, Floyd’s line ‘I can’t

breathe.’ just before exhaling his final breath became a famous statement used in digital

posters, murals, and clothing merchandise. The same goes for the black Americans’ outcry

‘stop killing us.’ Memes about BLM with hashtags helped create a movement that protests

against the long-standing issue of racial profiling and police brutality against black people in

the US.

“Technology has made it possible for the level and extent of the problem to be

publicly documented.” (Diallo & Shattuck, 2020).

Aside from the two practices above, the commodification of

memes in the meme industry also exists. Initially, memes are created to

poke fun, express ideas, or comment on an issue voluntarily by people.

In short, memes are not made to generate money. Since memes became

relevant in the digital world, people have started creating meme brands

to generate profit. Some memes are created to endorse products, and

some memes are the products themselves. The industrial/commercial

memes people consume can be attributed to a creator.

Let us look at Superelmer as an example to give you an idea. Source:

https://web.facebook.com/SuperElmerDS

Superelmer is a Filipino artist that creates short stories, comics, and memes. He has a

Facebook page with more than 1.2 million followers. Last May, he sold his first NFT meme

sale, Running Away Balloon. NFT stands for Non-Fungible Tokens. According to Sharma

(2022), they are cryptographic assets on a blockchain that are distinguished from one another

by their unique identification codes and metadata.

While memes have structures and functions, they continuously change, adapt, and

evolve rapidly. They are subject to growth and change as they are replicated, imitated,
Sheryl Anne B. Umali
9:00-10:00 am | MWF
transformed, and circulated in the digital arena. All sorts of memes discuss various topics

ranging from simple daily living to political and social issues. Online users constantly create

and share memes like texts and other media content. Memes are tools used to express one

person’s most superficial funny thoughts to another. Frequently, they reflect or mirror the

hottest issues and current events happening locally, nationally, and globally. With these, it is

without a doubt that memes can be born every day.

Finally, memes are more than just funny pictures we stumble upon while scrolling

through our social media accounts. They are not only created to entertain but also to express

ideas, comment or criticize, and even spark a movement. Memes are structured pieces that

serve various purposes that evolve. So, the next time a meme makes you laugh or smile, take

a minute to realize what is in a meme.

References:
Algorithmic Media Observatory. (2020, August 4). Memeing about Black Lives Matter.
Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.amo-oma.ca/en/2020/08/04/memeing-
about-black-lives-matter/

Backhauge, C. (2018). Insight into Internet Memes. Research Gate. Retrieved October 7,
2022, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221298121_Insights_into_Internet_Memes
Bhuyan, A. (2018, September 14). Meme Generation | The inside joke that’s taken the
internet by storm. Architectural Digest India. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from
https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/meme-generator/
Sheryl Anne B. Umali
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George Floyd and the History of Police Brutality in America. (n.d.). The Carr Center for
Human Rights - Harvard Kennedy School. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from
https://carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu/publications/george-floyd-and-history-police-
brutality-america

George Floyd and the history of police brutality in America. (2020, June 2).
BostonGlobe.Com. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/01/opinion/george-floyd-history-police-
brutality-america/

Mandiberg, M. (2012a, March 1). [PDF] The Social Media Reader by Michael Mandiberg |
Perlego. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.perlego.com/book/719524/the-
social-media-reader-pdf

Mandiberg, M. (2012b, March 1). [PDF] The Social Media Reader by Michael Mandiberg |
Perlego. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.perlego.com/book/719524/the-
social-media-reader-pdf

Miltner, K. (2018, November). Internet memes.  In J. BurgessA. Marwick, & T. Poell The
sage handbook of social media (pp. 412-428). https://sk.sagepub.com/. Retrieved
October 7, 2022, from https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/the-sage-handbook-of-social-
media/i3302.xml

Non-Fungible Token (NFT): What It Means and How It Works. (2022, June 22).
Investopedia. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/non-
fungible-tokens-nft-5115211

Superelmer. (2022, May 24). Running Away Balloon. Superelmer first NFT meme sale.
Facebook. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from https://web.facebook.com/SuperElmerDS
What Is a Meme? (2022, September 16). Lifewire. Retrieved October 7, 2022, from
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-a-meme-2483702

Yap, K. (2018, November 7). 17 Hilarious Political Memes. Kami.com.ph. Retrieved

October 7, 2022, from https://kami.com.ph/83133-17-hilarious-pinoy-political-
memes-posts-buzzed-internet.html