Week5.Narratives that Motivate Responses to memes
I will analyze these two sets of memes this week. The first group is called "Texts From Hillary" and the second group is called "Binders full of women".
During the 2012 election campaign. On April 4, 2012, a 2-panel image containing separate photographs of President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both texting, were posted on a Tumblr blog. It imagines an exchange between the two, with Obama casually asking Clinton "whatchu doing?" to which she responds, "Running the world" There is a symmetrical juxtaposition between its verbal and visual content. Obama is relaxed, positioned as lying down while simultaneous reading and texting. Clinton has a solemn expression, is wearing Sunglasses, and appears to be reading messages on her PDA while working on a large stack of reading material.
This meme produced an explosive reaction, and people actively recreated and spread this meme. I have two more examples here. One is that other leaders like Obama are discussing Justin Bieber's new song, Hillary texts them "Back to work boys." Another is a news anchor asking: "Who run the world?" Hillary replied "Girls."
These three memes are very humorous. They highlight Hillary's witty, capable, independent qualities as a female politician. The comparison with Obama and others highlights the concentration of women in political situations or work situations. This is why this meme has been sought after by people (especially feminists).
Binders Full of Women is a direct quote said by the former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney while answering a question from an audience member during the second session of the 2012 United States presidential election debates held in October 2012.
Immediately after Romney's remark went on-air, image macros captioned with Romney’s “binder” response began circulating on Twitter, as well as the launch of parody blogs Binders Full of Women on Tumblr and novelty account @RomneysBinder on Twitter.
Mitt Romney's inappropriate remarks caused feminist opposition on the Internet. A large number of memes with the theme of "Blinders full of women" are manufactured and distributed. I have two more examples here, one is Romney holding all women's blinders, with funny online language. The other is to combine the first group of meme, Hillary Clinton replied in a satirical tone.
Both groups are memes about gender in the political arena. The first group expressed the power of women with a positive attitude, while the second group ridiculed the "sexist" politicians. They seem to express the expression of humor, but in fact have a great impact on politics. "Memes and virals have played an important role within this new landscape of Web-based political partici- pation, both in grassroots and top-down campaigns." (Shifman, 2014, p. 122)
First of all, these two sets of memes are created and spread by people themselves. This is called “grassroots action.” At the beginning of the communication, there was no political purpose, but in the end such behavior did have some influence on the political election. This shows that memes can link the personal and the political to empower coordinated action by citizens. (Shifman, 2014) We can have a certain impact on politics through the creation and dissemination of actions.
Then, these two sets of memes reflect another role of memes: memes as modes of expression and public discussion. (Shifman, 2014) The creation of memes first provides a new place for people to discuss political events, and people can make humorous memes. To express your own political opinions. "meme spaces of polyvocal expression in which multiple opinions and identities are negotiated" (Shifman, 2014, p. 123) As expressed by memes above, people are both a citizen who cares about politics and a feminist maintenance. Multiple identities are implemented here.
These two sets of memes are the embodiment of the feminist movement in the online world. Feminists express their political positions in a support or satirical form. I want to know more about the relationship between memes and the feminist movement, and the influence of the memes culture on politics.
Texts From Hillary
During the 2012 election campaign. On April 4, 2012, a 2-panel image containing separate photographs of President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, both texting, were posted on a Tumblr blog. It imagines an exchange between the two, with Obama casually asking Clinton "whatchu doing?" to which she responds, "Running the world" There is a symmetrical juxtaposition between its verbal and visual content. Obama is relaxed, positioned as lying down while simultaneous reading and texting. Clinton has a solemn expression, is wearing Sunglasses, and appears to be reading messages on her PDA while working on a large stack of reading material.
This meme produced an explosive reaction, and people actively recreated and spread this meme. I have two more examples here. One is that other leaders like Obama are discussing Justin Bieber's new song, Hillary texts them "Back to work boys." Another is a news anchor asking: "Who run the world?" Hillary replied "Girls."
These three memes are very humorous. They highlight Hillary's witty, capable, independent qualities as a female politician. The comparison with Obama and others highlights the concentration of women in political situations or work situations. This is why this meme has been sought after by people (especially feminists).
Binders full of women
Binders Full of Women is a direct quote said by the former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney while answering a question from an audience member during the second session of the 2012 United States presidential election debates held in October 2012.
Immediately after Romney's remark went on-air, image macros captioned with Romney’s “binder” response began circulating on Twitter, as well as the launch of parody blogs Binders Full of Women on Tumblr and novelty account @RomneysBinder on Twitter.
Mitt Romney's inappropriate remarks caused feminist opposition on the Internet. A large number of memes with the theme of "Blinders full of women" are manufactured and distributed. I have two more examples here, one is Romney holding all women's blinders, with funny online language. The other is to combine the first group of meme, Hillary Clinton replied in a satirical tone.
Both groups are memes about gender in the political arena. The first group expressed the power of women with a positive attitude, while the second group ridiculed the "sexist" politicians. They seem to express the expression of humor, but in fact have a great impact on politics. "Memes and virals have played an important role within this new landscape of Web-based political partici- pation, both in grassroots and top-down campaigns." (Shifman, 2014, p. 122)
First of all, these two sets of memes are created and spread by people themselves. This is called “grassroots action.” At the beginning of the communication, there was no political purpose, but in the end such behavior did have some influence on the political election. This shows that memes can link the personal and the political to empower coordinated action by citizens. (Shifman, 2014) We can have a certain impact on politics through the creation and dissemination of actions.
Then, these two sets of memes reflect another role of memes: memes as modes of expression and public discussion. (Shifman, 2014) The creation of memes first provides a new place for people to discuss political events, and people can make humorous memes. To express your own political opinions. "meme spaces of polyvocal expression in which multiple opinions and identities are negotiated" (Shifman, 2014, p. 123) As expressed by memes above, people are both a citizen who cares about politics and a feminist maintenance. Multiple identities are implemented here.
These two sets of memes are the embodiment of the feminist movement in the online world. Feminists express their political positions in a support or satirical form. I want to know more about the relationship between memes and the feminist movement, and the influence of the memes culture on politics.
This is an interesting example with good meme descriptions and reflection on political framing of women. However, the examples you use are quite dated, as I asked you to pick topic appearing in the news in the last 12 months.
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