Memes. Memasics. There is so much pleasant and important content in this word for users of social networks. The main source of likes for some and the opportunity to practice wit for others. Nowadays, anything can become a meme. Even the work of a seemingly serious artist. the site collected 10 musicians who became memes thanks to their songs or their behavior in public.
Rick Astley
British pop singer Rick Astley can be considered the most famous music meme. In 2008, someone came up with the idea of giving a link to Astley’s main hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” to fans of the game Grand Theft Auto instead of the website address of the new part of the shooter.
That day the world changed. The Internet has acquired the term “tricroll” - to deceive people by sending them a video for “Never Gonna Give You Up” instead of the required link. Rick Astley himself received his former popularity and won the “Best Act Ever” nomination at the MTV Europe Awards in the same 2008.
Adele
The idol of all Desperate Housewives, Adele, became a joke in the fall of 2015. Then she released the lead single “Hello” from the album “25”. Meme models immediately picked up the words “hello, it’s me i was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet” and began making short, humorous videos. In one of these, for example, Adele and Lionel Richie were crossed.
Radiohead
In 2011, Garth Jennings directed Radiohead's video for the single "Lotus Flower" from the album The King Of Limbs. The strange movements of Thom Yorke were loved by the public. YouTube user Nick DenBoer especially liked the video. He did a skit called, ahem, "Thom Yorke Slams a Dead Fish on a Washing Machine."
Drake
Aubrey Graham also became famous for his dance curtsies. The video for "Hotline Bling" immediately went viral. Parodies of it have been made by everyone and everything - from actor Seth Rogen to the current US President Donald Trump. The craftsmen also did not stand aside and combined the video with “Fraer” by Mikhail Krug.
Justin Hurwitz
The composer of La La Land wrote the song "Another Day Of Sun" that opens the film. The scene, shot in one shot, began to be remade in their own way. For example, Jimmy Fallon used it at the Golden Globe Awards. And recently, one American schoolboy made a version of the scene in which he invites the leading actress Emma Stone to the prom. If we take parodies from the CIS countries, the most popular can be considered the version from the show “Evening Urgant”.
Mushrooms
Last month, the gang from the Kruzheva label released the track “The Ice Is Melting.” The hype around the song was serious and in some cases even unhealthy. Nowadays you can’t go to YouTube without stumbling upon yet another parody, which are now really sprouting up like mushrooms. “The Ice Is Melting” was sung on the same “Evening Urgant” show by the Tajiks, the football team and many others. Even the guys from the series “Friends” were partying to it.
Kanye West
In terms of memes, Kanye West is something like his wife Kim Kardashian for the paparazzi. It doesn’t surprise anyone anymore, but people still pay attention. West became the hero of jokes not only because of his music, but also because of his behavior. His character, to put it mildly, is not easy. Just look at his Twitter account, where he insulted his colleagues and at times spoke complete nonsense.
Among the Kanye memes, you can remember the photo from 2014, which was called “Sad Kanye.” Here you can also include a parody of the “Bound 2” video, filmed by Seth Rogen and James Franco around the same time. On YouTube, this video can only be viewed without sound, since the copyright holder has well-founded claims about the illegal use of the song.
Yuri Loza
Russian rock(?) musician Yuri Loza has again found himself in the spotlight due to his controversial and mostly dubious statements. First he accused Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones of unprofessionalism. Then he rolled a barrel at The Beatles. Then he began to speak out on topics that usually musicians are not particularly versed in. Loza has become a kind of common noun, which is used to call people “there is a plug in every barrel.”
Bad Raiders
The Australian synth-pop duo released the song “Shooting Stars” in 2009, which became a local hit in their homeland. It turned into a meme in 2015, when imageboard users began to insert the track into all sorts of videos - from crookedly drawn puppet characters to dancing gorillas. The most popular video with this song was this one, below. The musicians themselves know about the memetic nature of their song and consider this fact funny.
Eduard Khil
In terms of popularity, only Eduard Khil can compare with Rick Astley in terms of musical memes. His vocalization “I’m so happy, because I’m coming home” surfaced on YouTube and quickly became popular not only in the CIS countries, but also in the West. This video pleased everyone - with its surroundings, manner of performance and Gil himself. Netizens nicknamed him “Mr.Trololo” and even attached the then popular “trollface” in one of the video collages instead of Gil’s face. With this video, it was customary to troll the opponent in the comments.
A girl cheerleader from the USA became famous throughout the Internet thanks to the expression on her face during her performance. It had such an indescribable mixture of anticipation of victory, triumph and self-confidence that it simply could not help but become a meme. Some recognized their girlfriends in the cheerleader, others recognized their pets.
Memes appear in different ways on the Internet. Someone simply asks a classmate to take a funny photo, hoping for a lot of likes (), but 13-year-old Ryan Cummings from North Carolina did not think or guess, but still became popular.
In early January, the girl participated in a cheerleading competition, in which her team performed well. But Ryan became famous not because of her skillful movements, but because of her facial expressions. It appears in the video starting at 2:24.
It so happened that another girl cheerleader noticed this moment in the video and shared it on Twitter. With the caption “This is the attitude.”
Hundreds of thousands of people who liked and reposted this video on Twitter could not unsee this facial expression that spoke volumes. A GIF was almost immediately made from the video, and the result was expected: it became a meme because it was ideal for describing many situations. It seems even the weird one was less popular.
Naturally, at first many people remembered the well-known problem in relationships, when you try to get an explanation from your partner, but he remains silent (be careful with this,).
Relatable Quotes
He: “Maybe stop looking at me like that? She: “How to watch?”
There have been many uses of the meme related to studying.
Bae
When a teacher asks me a question, thinking I'm not listening, but I still answer correctly.Kelsi Mahfouz
The way teachers look at me when I think I’ll save money on textbooks, but they know how much the books they require cost.
Well, those who left school and/or university behind tweeted about the most pressing issues - workdays and clients.
Topher-kun
When a buyer asks for a manager, and he tells him the same thing that I already said.It seems that everyone could find something of their own, hidden in this meme.
Shannon
When I know I have screenshots that could ruin lives.What Internet jokes do we come across most often?
With the development of the World Wide Web, users are finding more and more new methods of communication. One of the most original ways of exchanging information has now become memes - viral ironic and witty drawings, photos and demotivators.
1. Troll and rage faces
These funny faces, seemingly drawn by a child, have been conquering the Internet since 2008. Millions of users today use them when creating demotivators or as comments on posts to express a variety of emotions - from happiness and tenderness, to grief and awkwardness. Initially, these pictures were created for simple comic comics on various forums. But thanks to their simplicity, which clearly conveys feelings, they soon became recognizable to any user. For example, what a “trollface” is, it’s simply unnecessary to explain - everyone knows this face.
2. Movie memes
Travolta is confused. 20 years after the release of Quentin Tarantino’s cult film “Pulp Fiction,” Internet users gave new life to the character Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta in the film. Just a few seconds of doubt and confusion in Travolta’s performance today fit very organically into the frames of other popular films, as well as into current news videos or simply iconic life situations.
The Great Gatsby. Internet users really liked the shot with actor Leonardo DiCaprio from the movie “The Great Gatsby.”
With different captions, this picture is used to illustrate either cynicism, sarcasm, or borderline humor.
A shot of the character Boromir along with the first part of his catchphrase from The Lord of the Rings is one of the most recognizable memes today. However, few people remember that in the film itself he said: “One does not simply walk into Mordor.” That is, “You can’t just go into Mordor.”
Internet users are already accustomed to ending Boromir’s phrase in their own way, depending on what process or event they want to ridicule.
Meme about Karl. Not everyone knows where Internet trolls got the pictures with a boy in a big hat and his crying father. This meme originated from the post-apocalyptic American TV series The Walking Dead. In fact, according to the original plot, there is nothing funny in these pictures. After all, they depict the moment when the main character of the series, Rick, realizes that his wife died in childbirth, after which he begins to cry and scream, and his son Carl, in shock, just stands and is silent.
The episode first began to be laughed at when it appeared on YouTube in 2013 in a re-edited version called "Rick Finds Out His Son Carl Is Gay."
But Carl truly became a meme at the behest of the American publication Buzzfeed, which posted the material “The 19 Best Dad Jokes from Rick.” Then the beginning of all the demativators with the boy in the hat began.
Facepalm or hand. If you come across terribly stupid or mediocre material on the Internet, this picture, without further ado, will help convey all your feelings to the author of the publication. A lowered head with a hand covering his face very clearly explains to anyone - “you did this in vain.” This gesture became especially popular when performed by the captain from the American TV series Star Trek.
3. Memes with real people
Disaster girl. In 2007, photographer Dave Roth, while walking with his daughter Zoe, saw a firefighter training session and photographed his daughter against the backdrop of a house that had been deliberately set on fire.
Sasha Fokin. The Ukrainian boy Sasha also distinguished himself on the Internet. The teenager appeared on a TV show on one of the domestic channels, during which all his favorite games were removed from 11-year-old Sasha’s computer. It was the hero’s reaction to the tragic loss that formed the basis of the meme. Nowadays it is used when someone loses something very important for virtual life.
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Yao Ming. The image of Chinese basketball player Yao Ming has become a famous meme thanks to the interesting facial expression that the cameras were able to capture. Yao Ming Face is used online as a reaction to unwise words or to show contempt.
Sad Keanu. Actor Keanu Reeves became a victim of photoshoppers after a successful paparazzi photo. Photographers caught the actor in the park, sitting on a bench with a pie in his hand. The actor looked quite sad, but it was this look of him in hundreds of photoshopped images that made his photo one of the most famous memes on the Internet.
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Cheerful Leo. A photograph of actor Leonardo DiCaprio striding down the street and swinging his arms unnaturally strongly appeared during the filming of the film Inception. The photo instantly spread across the Internet and became the victim of thousands of photoshoots. The satisfied actor visited the moon, escaped from the Titanic and found himself in all situations where his happy smile was completely inappropriate.
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Putin on horseback. Russian President Vladimir Putin was also affected by the fate of the photoshoot victim. His naked torso, which he “shone” while riding a horse, became the reason for the appearance of hundreds of funny memes.
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Girl with soap bubbles. A little girl in a yellow raincoat, who funny runs somewhere with soap bubbles, became the heroine of the Internet space already in 2009. Since then, she has run away from everyone - bears, explosions and dinosaurs.
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What kid? The history of this funny meme, which is used to express complete misunderstanding, is no less epic than the expression on the hero’s face itself. A well-known meme was a screenshot from an educational video for children on how to properly use the toilet.
Successful child. Users turned a photo of little Sammy holding sand in his fist, about to eat it, into a meme - a symbol of success. The baby's gesture was perceived as a manifestation of an imperious character and began to be used to mean the successful resolution of certain cases. It should be noted that Sammy’s worldwide popularity thanks to the meme helped him raise money for an operation for his father.
4. Animal memes
It should be noted that users express their opinions on the Internet not only with the help of movie footage and funny drawn faces. Animals often become Internet stars, and later famous memes. Thanks to a special facial expression or a successful photo, the smaller brothers manage to portray a whole palette of emotions - from sarcasm to surprise.
"Angry cat" In particular, among the most famous animals among users is the Grumpy Cat. The image of a dissatisfied cat, which owes its popularity to an incorrect bite, is most often used to express dissatisfaction or complete indifference to something. It should be noted that the cat became the “meme of the year” in 2013.
"Johnny Catswill" The funny shot, which later became a famous meme, was taken by the cat’s owner quite by accident while playing with the animal. However, after getting onto the Internet, the furry one became a “blogger,” supposedly taking pictures against the backdrop of interesting events.
"Damned fox." A separate point worth remembering is the fox - a not very successful work by taxidermist Adele Morse - which became very popular in the CIS countries, reminiscent of a sad drug addict in its appearance.
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If you are an active Internet user, then you have probably come across the buzzword “meme” more than once or twice on the Internet. However, no matter who you ask, no one can really explain who this term belongs to and what it even means. So what are memes? Let's try to figure this out together.
History of memes
It was he who notified humanity about the existence of so-called “meme viruses.” As an answer to the question “What are memes?” the scientist explained that in the early stages he could only survive if he had strength and endurance. Gradually, these qualities were improved and fixed in the genes, but as civilization progressed, physical data faded into the background. Now the first place was occupied by human intelligence. Accordingly, according to Dawkins, there had to be something that would be responsible for the development of mental abilities. It is this “something” that the scientist dubbed a meme.
What are memes?
If you are asked this question, start your story by saying that the term is based on the ancient Greek word “mimesis,” which translates as “imitation.” In essence, the meme is a kind of mental virus, which is confirmed by the methods of its spread. The meme “goes to the people” through films, jokes, advertising slogans, songs, comics, etc.
In order to understand what memes are, it is necessary to understand their main function - it is precisely to spread. We should also not forget that memes can transform during the transmission process. We can say that they participate in a kind of natural selection: the most viable memes instantly become popular and exist for a very long time, while the weak ones are forgotten quite quickly.
Spreading
How does the above mentioned happen? All memes are pure information that could theoretically interest a person or an entire social group. The more participants in this group, the stronger and more active the meme will be. An example is religion: an idea captures the imagination of a group of people. From now on, their main task is to broadcast this idea to the broad masses, and the more they discuss it, the more powerful the meme becomes. Think about it: exactly corresponds to the spread of the concept of God. No one knows exactly how it arose, but there is no doubt that for certain social groups the idea of God seems very attractive.
It gives answers to seemingly insoluble questions and allows you to justify your own existence. In addition, most existing religions are based on the idea that after death a person will be rewarded in the form of eternal bliss. It is therefore not surprising that this meme is so widespread and capable of influencing the consciousness of the masses.
With the development of social networks, various funny pictures and photos, videos, demotivators, and so on are gaining popularity. Newcomers to the Internet and social networks such as VKontakte, Facebook, Twitter often do not understand what a meme is. Meanwhile, there are more and more memes. Let's try to figure out what it is and what memes are for.
What are VKontakte memes?
A meme is information about a particular phenomenon in life, conveyed with sarcasm or irony (most often memes are placed in pictures or photos). Memes spread very quickly across the Internet and social networks, precisely because they cause a smile and laughter. Users who see a meme for the first time most often send it to their friends, and they, in turn, send it to theirs.
Initially, anecdotes, jokes and funny videos spread so quickly across the Internet, but at the beginning of this century people came up with the idea of captioning pictures with funny phrases. This turned out to be in demand on the Internet, since not many VKontakte users like to read long posts (there is even a phrase “I couldn’t master it, there’s a lot of bukof”).
Memes are short sayings or funny pictures that instantly attract an audience. Most often, their creators are guided by such popular topics as politics, sports, everyday life (getting up early, for example).
History of the term
We figured out what the word “meme” means, but where did such a term come from? The word was first used by Richard Dawkins in a 1976 book. There, a “meme” was a cultural information that could be multiplied. The study of such information is called “memetics”.
The original word used was "mime", as Professor Dawkins derived the term from a Greek word, but we no longer use this obsolete version. After the book’s release, journalists and media compared memes as understood by Dawkins and the information that was rapidly gaining popularity. They concluded that they were one and the same.
In the mid-90s, a book by the American Douglas Rushkoff was published, which described the same phenomena as in Dawkins’ book. But Rushkoff chose another word - “media virus” (remember viral advertising - funny videos that covertly advertise something).
Later, some researchers also studied this phenomenon and used the term “meme” in their books.
How to make memes?
To create a good meme, you need to carefully monitor current information happening in the world, and, of course, have a sense of humor. After all, if a meme is not funny, it simply will not become popular. Bringing a smile to the faces of social media users is the main meaning of the meme.
For example, after the Russian national football team failed to make it to the playoffs of the 2016 European Championship, memes about the failure of our football players began to spread very quickly. The creators of such memes simply “got in with the flow” and understood what interests Internet users at the moment.
Memes on everyday topics always spread very quickly, people begin to associate themselves with them. For example, if you create a meme on the topic of laziness or constant lateness to school or work and make it really funny, then the reaction will not be long in coming - you will get a lot of likes and reposts.
Thus, to make a good meme, you need to analyze the situation in the world or write about phenomena that are familiar to everyone.
You can create your own meme using graphic editors, like the Canva service.
How to make a meme from a photo?
You may have noticed that most memes are made from photographs. To create a meme based on a photo, you need to:
- Find a funny photo in good quality;
- If necessary, crop it (so that the photo does not contain unnecessary logos, advertising, etc.);
- Launch Adobe Photoshop or Paint (the latter is included in the standard set of programs for Windows). If you have a Mac or the latest versions of Windows, just right-click on the photo and select “Edit”;
- You can start creating - adding something to the photo and writing text.
Of course, the text should be funny, and not anyhow. After all, your goal is to popularize this meme.
Once the meme is created, you can upload it to your social media accounts and see if you get any likes. If not, you may be missing something or not on track.
There are special groups on VKontakte where users can post homemade memes. If other people like them, you can promote your meme faster.
Stories of popular Internet memes
In this section, we'll look at the history of some popular Internet memes.
MemeMe Gusta - grinning face, translated from Spanish as “I like it.” Initially used only in relation to sexual perversions, it later expanded its sphere of influence and lost its original meaning.
Forever alone - "forever alone". Depicts a guy who has no friends and no girlfriend. He was first seen on the Internet in 2010 in comics. If you are creating a meme on the theme of forever alone, then beware of banal themes like “nobody loves me” or “I got a bad mark.”
Y U No - another meme, which appeared for the first time in the USA, translates as “why?” or “why not you?” The origins of the meme lie in a Japanese manga from 2002, from where the picture spread across all social networks.
Pokerface- this meme came about because of poker players. The term means a face that does not express any emotion, so that no one will guess what cards you have in your hand. In 2009, this meme appeared, showing an indifferent attitude towards something. Chuck Norris is often associated with a poker face, as he is not an emotional person.
What are demotivators?
Demotivators appeared on the Russian-language Internet earlier than memes; some even believe that they were the progenitors of the latter. Demotivator - based on the name, a parody of a motivator. This is a picture that does not motivate people, but rather demotivates them. Usually a picture is depicted on a black background, and under it is a signature in white or yellow font. They were also created for laughs.
The fact is that motivational posters are extremely boring, so people with a sense of humor decided to make people laugh. It is worth saying that they succeeded.
But when people who were far from humor began to make demotivators, there was little funny left. Now demotivators have slowly become obsolete; few people make them anymore, because they have been replaced by more popular memes.
Every day something new appears on the Internet and social networks. Often this “new” is not always understandable to the common man. And, if today we figured out what a meme is. It is not a fact that tomorrow some other unusual phenomenon will not appear that requires clarification.
Video: history of memes
