9.3: Power of Memes - Assessment
- Page ID
- 248567
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Introduction
Using the ‘OK Boomer’ meme as case study, Morgan Anderson and Gabriel Keehn argue that memes—while dismissed by many as little more than silly internet content—harbor far greater political, social, and cultural potentials: “the speed at which memes can be consumed, altered, and shared, in addition to their widespread accessibility, have made them a unique form of social communication with… fascinating implications for political consciousness building” (57). We explored this power and potential in class, too, using meme formats to spread messages, critiques, and other sentiments to promote the causes we believe in.
However, this viral consciousness-raising—this ability to generate awareness and conversation around any given issue through the sharing of an easy-to-create, easy-to-customize base image—can be directed towards movements, ideas, and politics we may not align with, and may in fact be outright dangerous. Being able to analyze, make sense of, and spot out a politically-motivated meme, in other words, is becoming an ever-more important skill in our ever-more meme-ified world.
With these thoughts in mind, the following writing activity asks you to think critically about what larger messages can be presented within a meme trend you’re familiar with.
Assessment
- Step One: Find a Meme
- This one’s easy: find a meme. But not just any meme; I want you to find a meme that is commenting on some larger social/cultural/political phenomenon. Please share a link to your meme below, or attach the image to your post.
- Step Two: Identify a Position
- What position is upheld by the meme? What leads you to this conclusion? Do you feel as though the meme properly speaks to the issue at hand?
- Step Three: Reflect
- What do you think the potential real-world effects of the meme might be? How might this meme contribute—positively or negatively—to larger political, social, and cultural movements?