Diggit Magazine

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Memes

File
The Editors
03/04/2024
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Memes are ubiquitous in today's society and many people use them everyday to communicate with one another. From a research perspective, they are much more than simply funny images; they can be understood as cultural units that gain cultural capital as they are shared online. In other words, memes gain cultural influence and this power of memes has been recognized by a variety of actors in society. It is why not only you are using memes, but why they are also deployed by governments, companies, institutions and politicians for strategic purposes. 

In this file we have compiled some of Diggit's best articles, papers and videos on memes. 

Lucie Chateau on Memes and Online Depression Culture

Lucie Chateau on memes and online depression culture

Video
The Editors
18/01/2023

Though memes often appear to be 'fun', memes can also have a dark side. In this video, Lucie Chateau explains what memes are, how memes are used to reproduce certain values and beliefs, and what can happen when memes are not properly understood. 

Dahmer netflix show
© Netflix / Getty Images

Mixing truth and fiction: Jeffrey Dahmer on Netflix

Article
Femke van Bree
20/03/2023
11 minutes to read

The internet is obsessed with Jeffrey Dahmer - especially in the latest Netflix series about him. This paper analyses the content that trivializes Jeffrey Dahmer. How does participatory culture lead to blurred lines between truth and fiction?

Getting through Amazon's The Rings of Power for the memes

Article
Inge Beekmans
18/09/2022
21 minutes to read

Various media have highlighted the racism that imbues the angry reactions of Lord of the Rings fans to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. An analysis of the memes that were created in response to the series.

© Daniel Oberhaus, CC BY-SA 4.0

Elon Musk and his Musketeers' discourse on Twitter

Paper
Juliette Berndsen
17/01/2022
17 minutes to read

Elon Musk and his fans converse easily in memes and jokes on Twitter. While this discourse is slightly bewildering to outsiders, the power Musk holds over his fans can have a serious impact on real-world events such as cryptocurrencies.

The politics of Karen memes

Paper
Pleun Kersten
17/05/2021
10 minutes to read

This article analyzes the 'karen' meme, and how it has evolved as a critique of white supremacy. 

Area 51 raiders
© KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas

Area 51 raiders: from meme to micro-population?

Article
Leonie Milder
03/12/2019
16 minutes to read

A Facebook event called 'Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us' went viral in the summer of 2019 and gave rise to 'Area 51 raiders'. Two million people said they'd be 'going'. Its impact was huge, but are Area 51 raiders a micro-population?

Meme communities and how to meme correctly

Interview
The Editors
03/06/2019

What are memes? And why is it important to study them? Ondřej Procházka is a PhD researcher affiliated with Charles University and Tilburg University. His research focuses on Internet meme communities and their sociolinguistic aspects.

white terrorism, deus vult, crusader, knights templar

White terrorism, white genocide and metapolitics2.0

Column
Ico Maly
15/03/2019
7 minutes to read

The terrorist attack in New Zealand has an offline and an online dimension and it is crucial that we take this online/offline nexus on board when analyzing contemporary white terrorism. says Ico Maly (Tilburg University).

#HalbeWasErbij Pyeongchang meme Halbe Zijlstra
© Twitter inc. 2018 fair usage

Ja hoor, #HalbeWasErbij: over het politiek belang van memes

Column
Jan Blommaert
13/02/2018
7 minutes to read

Politieke communicatie is niet meer het monopolie van politici en politieke verslaggevers. Ze wordt ook gemaakt door miljoenen burgers. De Nederlandse Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Halbe Zijlstra weet er ondertussen alles van.

© www.hintmag.com

Squatting Slavs: a culture, a stereotype or just a meme?

Article
Kristiana Naydenova
16/12/2017
18 minutes to read

Is the Squatting Slav phenomenon helping Slavs express themselves or is it ruining their reputation? This article explores the emergence, historical background, popularization, culture and language of the meme.