By Katie LeJeune
A screaming Meryl Streep, 80’s one-hit-wonder sensation Rick
Astley, and the kids’ television show LazyTown.
First impressions won’t help in figuring out the connection between the items
on this list, unless, that is, you know your memes.
The word meme was first coined by Richard Dawkins, a British
scientist, in his book
The Selfish Gene
(1976). Back then, the word meme meant “a unit of cultural transmission.” Its
current definition
is still true to its roots, but
Internet
memes, the focus here, are a little more specific. While still allowing the vague
freedom associated with previous definitions, the Merriam-Webster description
takes into consideration the visual aspects brought forward via the Internet’s
nature. But to some, technical definitions don’t truly capture the essence of
memes.
“It’s its own form of comedy,” explained self-proclaimed
meme connoisseur Jonathan Eldredge, “but not everyone understands it.”
Eldredge’s best friend Ryan Purvas, another connoisseur,
joined in: “It’s just something that people make to laugh at.” He shrugged,
adding, “Like, not everyone will find an offensive meme funny, but some people
will.”

Looking at context of memes is important in understanding
them, and a large part of that stems from
where
we find memes. For connoisseurs Eldredge and Purvas, there’s a big difference
in the where, but not in the why.
Eldredge gets most of his memes from Facebook site
communities dedicated to memes and video games (
Melee Hell in particular
was brought up several times). Purvas prefers mobile apps like Instagram and
iFunny. Both are able to reap the benefits.
“It’s like, not everyone is comedic,” explained Eldredge.
“The easiest way to make someone laugh is to share a meme.”
It’s also the easiest way to make friends, and no one knows
that better than Eldredge. “Me and Ryan, we bonded more over memes than
actually being friends.” He looks beside him at Purvas, who dabs slowly, as if
to emphasize the point. “It’s like, literally this person would understand this
completely, and so you share memes,” Eldredge summarizes.
This is the first in a
series of articles that will look at what makes memes go viral, as well as how
we’ve ended up using them to communicate. If you’d like to contribute your
thoughts on memes, send an email to lssc.angler@gmail.com, subject line: “re: what makes a meme.”