Analysis of 'Meme'
- Lara Soares
- Dec 11, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Nov 13, 2022
What is a meme?
Richard Dawkins (1979) proposes the idea that a significant piece of the human behaviour is not a response to the genes that compose us but to the culture we grow up immersed (Davison, 2012, p. 121). He suggests to call these determinants ‘memes’, arguing that these are either taught to us or learned through experience, being that this last one can either be from personal experience or from observing others (Dawkins, 1976).
There are two differences between genes and memes. The spread of transmission, since genetic changes take generations to occur whether memetic ones can, relatively, happen very quickly and their relative fidelity of form for the reason that memes are open to interpretation and consequently, to variation (Davison, 2012, p. 122).
Internet memes can, however, spread even faster since they are not limited by space or time. In terms of fidelity, these being in a digital form, allows them to be manipulated by everyone (Davison, 2012, p. 123).
An Internet meme is commonly defined as a cultural piece, often a joke, that is passed along from person to person through online transmission (Shifman, 2013, p. 364). Shifman proposes the use of a communication-oriented typology to solve the problem of defining memes by charting. This proposed typology has 3 memetic dimensions: content, form, and stance (Shifman, 2013, p. 362).
These memes can be spread in its original form but often people create derivatives that may even be more spread than the original one (Shifman, 2013, p. 362).
Choice of meme
In September 1994, Friends aired for the first time. This sitcom became world famous and is still popular today for its funny content, being one of the most watched shows on Netflix. The show has originated lots of memes, either from the peculiar situations the characters are found in, the internal jokes that only people who watched it understand but also from the actor’s facial expressions (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Example of Friends memes
Note. From Cosmopolitan, by Anna Lewis, 2018, (https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/g17046737/friends-funniest-memes/)
I will be analysing variations of memes that were originated from Joey’s Tribbiani pleased and then shocked expression in the second episode of the 8th season of this sitcom.
The clip from 4:30 to 4:55 shows the original scene that originated memes such as the ones that follow.
Figure 2: Joey's memes
Note. From Memepedia, by Mememaster, 2020, https://memepedia.ru/surprised-joey/ and from Know your meme, by Megami Tensei – Persona, 2020, https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1695907-megami-tensei-persona
Starting this analysis from the clip’s content, which refers to the ideas and ideologies that it carries (Shifman, 2013, p. 369), the script includes Ross finding out his lost sweater, his red sweater, which his friends know belongs to the father of Rachel’s child. He follows it by saying that he has been looking for it for almost a month, which is also the time that Rachel has been pregnant, this way unknowingly revealing to all of his friends that he is the father of the unborn baby. Both Monica and Phoebe exclaim “Oh my God” by this shocking reveal.
The textual construction is defined by Shifman as the visible manifestation of the message that we got through our senses (Shifman, 2013, p. 369). This second dimension varies in this clip but the one that is used for the derivative memes shows a person, Joey, in the centre of the image. In the first one, Joey shows a satisfied expression and in the second one, it changes to a shocked/surprised face, with his eyes wide open.
The third dimension, stance, is ‘the information about the communicative positioning of the addresser’ (Shifman, 2013, p. 369) and can be divided into three sub-dimensions: participation structures, keying and communication functions (Shifman, 2013, p. 367).
The participation structure concerns the people who participate and the way they do it (Shifman, 2013, p. 367). Ross leaves in the first twelve seconds but makes a reveal to everyone else present without knowing it himself. Phoebe and Monica express their surprise but Joey is the one who creates the derivative memes, not only for his extraordinary face expression but also for how long he took to realise the pun.
Keying is the tone of the participants (Shifman, 2013, p. 369). Besides Ross, who expresses a happy tone, for finding his sweater, and then a disappointed tone, for it being in his sister’s house all along, both Monica and Phoebe key as serious and unexcepted. Later on, Joey almost screams with his surprised and astonished tone.
The only communicative functions presented, for my view, in this clip, is emotional since all this meme is based on the emotional state of the characters.
Figure 3: Derivative meme
Note. From anonymous user, by Twitter, 2019
Analysing now one of this meme’s derivatives, we can say that the form is a part of the original meme, being it two images of the clip. Like we will see ahead, this form will always be the same.
The content though is completely different. The creator of this meme took it all out of the Friends content and presented a common situation for everyone, “the calm before the storm” feeling. The participation structure now summons the viewer by saying “When you”.
Figure 4: Mashup meme
Note. From anonymous user, by Twitter, 2020
I would say that this one derivative can be considered a mashup meme since it combines the originate meme of Joey with Gordon Ramsay show, Kitchen Nightmares.
The content of this meme starts with a positive event, getting a good new job, hence the association with Joey’s pleasant face and then a scaring one, Gordon Ramsay, a great chef, known for his honest feedbacks, entering the kitchen that you run, that is associated with Joey’s scared face.
The form is once more, exactly the same, with Joey in the middle and his iconic face expressions. The order of the pictures is also the same as in the clip and in all the other memes.
In this meme participates Joey, Gordon Ramsay and the viewer, who doesn’t need to actually be a chef to sympathise with the pressure of being judged by Gordon Ramsay. The style of communication used is empathetic because the way the phrases are written makes the reader feel like they are in that situation.
Conclusion
The aim of all these memes, I would say is to cause empathy. Mostly because that is what makes me, and young people like me, share. I retweet something when I relate to it or because it’s very funny. Mostly, when it is both.
Reference list
Anna Lewis. (2018). Cosmopolitan.
Davison, P. (2012). 'The Language of Internet Memes'. In M. Mandiberg (Ed.) The
Social Media Reader. New York University Press.
Mememaster. (2020). Memepedia.
Shifman, L. (2013). Memes in a Digital World: Reconciling with a Conceptual Troublemaker. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 18, 362-377. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcc4.12013
(2020) Surprised Joey. Meming Wiki. https://en.meming.world/wiki/Surprised_Joey
This work was submitted on December 11th 2020 by Lara Soares for the module 'Discourse and Digital Media' as part of my degree English and Creative Writing BA.
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