Writing Prompt

Question

Why are memes such a powerful form of communication?
Meme: an image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations.
The Rise of the Meme

These silly images do more than just make us laugh.
By Mary Kate Frank with reporting by Alex Lim-Chua Wee

Have you seen the video of Pedro Pascal eating a sandwich? In a clip that became wildly popular
earlier this year, the Mandalorian star bites into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and chews
silently, staring into space.
The clip comes from Pascal’s appearance on a food show, but it quickly became a meme—a piece of
digital content that is copied, tweaked, and shared online. People have added sad piano music, loud
crunching sounds, dancing cats, and funny captions. Versions of the meme have been viewed
millions of times.
Funny, right? Of course.
But memes can do a lot more than make us laugh. Memes offer us a way to connect with each
other, to express ourselves, to be creative and clever. Indeed, memes have become an important
form of communication.
New Meanings
Memes may seem like a new phenomenon, but they’ve existed in various forms for thousands of
years. The term meme can refer to any idea or behavior that is passed from person to person. A
scientist named Richard Dawkins is credited with coining the term in 1976—decades before
smartphones and the internet became part of our everyday lives.

Dawkins noted that as memes spread, they take on new meanings. Here’s an example: In the
lead-up to World War II, the British government designed a motivational poster that read “Keep
Calm and Carry On.” The message was meant to ease people’s fears during a frightening time.
In 2000, the poster resurfaced and became trendy. People began putting lighthearted spins on the
original wording, like “Keep Calm and Eat Tacos” and “Keep Calm and Game On.” Countless takes
appeared, on everything from T-shirts to mugs to greeting cards.
The 1939 poster had become a meme.

Millions of Memes

Memes as we know them now emerged in the early 2000s with the rise of the internet. Back then,
uploading and editing photos took time, so early memes were pretty basic. One of the most iconic
was a picture of a fluffy cat with a caption that read: “I Can Has Cheezburger?” After it was posted
online in 2007, thousands of people created their own silly cat memes, now known collectively as
LOLCats.

These days, memes are much easier to make. Digital tools allow you to riff on existing memes or to
create entirely new ones with just a few clicks or taps. Today, more than one million memes are
shared every day on Instagram alone.
But the ease of meme-making isn’t the only reason memes are everywhere. It’s also because they’re
a great way to communicate, says Will Styler, a linguist at the University of California, San Diego.

Memes have the power to capture a moment, an attitude, or a feeling in a way that anyone can
understand. Creating and sharing them can make stressful situations easier to handle—even
funny—and make you feel less alone.
“Oftentimes we use memes to express things that are too complicated to express through words,”
Styler says.
Memes in Museums
Memes don’t just reflect the feelings and ideas of individuals though. They can also tell us a lot
about our society. That’s according to Ricky Sans, the head of memes at Meta, the company that
owns Instagram.
Sans predicts that the memes we’re making and sharing today will one day be artifacts in
museums, where future generations will be able to study them to better understand what our lives
were like in the 21st century. After all, memes can provide insights into a society’s values and
customs at a given moment in time.
Take that Pedro Pascal sandwich meme. What might people 1,000 years from now learn from it?
They might learn that Pascal was a big star in 2023. They might get a sense of what we found funny.
They might conclude that sandwiches were a popular food.
Maybe they would even be inspired to try an ancient dish: peanut butter and jelly.

Answer 1

The Power of Memes: A Window into Our Lives

In an age dominated by digital communication, memes have emerged as one of the most potent forms of expression. They do more than just evoke laughter; they encapsulate our thoughts, feelings, and societal trends, all within a few images, phrases, or snippets of video. As humor and relatability intertwine through a shared understanding, memes become a universal language that transcends barriers and connects people from all walks of life.

A Historical Context

While memes may seem like a byproduct of the internet age, their roots stretch back centuries. Richard Dawkins introduced the term in 1976 to describe how ideas, behaviors, and cultural phenomena spread among people. Just like genes transmit biological characteristics, memes propagate cultural ones, evolving along the way to adapt to new contexts. The evolution of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster into various humorous iterations demonstrates how a simple idea can take on multiple meanings and reach different audiences over time.

The Digital Revolution and the Age of the Meme

The early 2000s marked a significant shift in the dissemination of memes, made possible by the rapid growth of the internet. Basic memes, such as the iconic “I Can Has Cheezburger?” cat, paved the way for a new kind of creativity. The accessibility and ease of creating and sharing memes today—more than a million shared on platforms like Instagram daily—have made it possible for everyone, regardless of artistic skill, to contribute to this digital dialogue.

Will Styler, a linguist, emphasizes that memes serve as an effective means of communication, capturing complex emotions and social phenomena in ways that often elude direct expression. They can provide comic relief in stressful situations and foster solidarity among individuals who feel isolated in their experiences.

Mirrors of Society

Memes are not merely transient jokes but also reflections of contemporary culture and societal values. As noted by Ricky Sans from Meta, the memes crafted today will likely inform future generations about our lives in the 21st century, shedding light on the humor, sentiments, and trends that defined our times. The Pedro Pascal sandwich meme, for instance, could reveal the cultural significance of celebrity, humor, and food preferences in 2023. It offers tantalizing clues about the shared experiences and social dynamics of today, illuminating what we found entertaining or relatable.

The Future and Cultural Preservation

As memes continue to evolve, they function as modern folklore, capturing the zeitgeist in a format that is easily consumable and shareable. This suggests that memes will eventually take their place in the annals of history, much like political cartoons or traditional art forms. As future generations sift through our digital legacy, memes may provide unique insights into our collective consciousness—our fears, joys, and absurdities.

In summary, memes have transformed into a powerful form of communication that transcends simple entertainment. They encapsulate the shared human experience and cultural shifts, offering a glimpse into what it means to live in an increasingly digital world. As we create, share, and repurpose these snippets of humor and insight, we not only connect with one another but also leave a rich tapestry of our culture for future generations to explore. So, the next time you share a meme, remember that it might just be more than a silly joke; it is a piece of our shared history, a fragment of our contemporary narrative.