August 29, 2015 - It’s All about Meme . . . Meme. MEme.
MEME.
We are all milling about within the morphing boundaries of
the world’s largest party: The Intergalactic Kegger. We arrive, are handed a
plastic cup full of beer, and mingle in the crowd until we find someone, or some
group, to talk to. We are also trying desperately to not eventually find
ourselves in the parking lot, drinking alone, and debating whether or not to go
home. When we finally find the gumption to say something to someone, or some
group of someones, we often choose the form of the meme simply out of a
sense of wanting to fit in. You’ve seen them a thousand times before on FB. They are those
cheeky quips that pretend to announce an idea, voice a pet peeve, or offer a
political bon mot, with some vaguely
connected image we are supposed to recognize.
From Wikipedia:
The word meme is a shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme
(from Ancient Greek μίμημα pronounced [míːmɛːma] mīmēma, "imitated
thing", from μιμεῖσθαι mimeisthai, "to imitate", from μῖμος mimos,
"mime")[4]
coined by British evolutionary biologist Richard
Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976)[1][5] as a
concept for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas
and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catchphrases,
fashion, and the technology of building arches.[6]
The meme is an imitation of thought or expression, by
definition. It is, in its current manifestation, an image with a short text
message designed to illicit a laugh, a frown, or even a moment of indignation,
yet . . . all too often the message is unclear and lacking a universal basis of
understanding. It is the ‘in’ joke, or the unspoken nod between the ‘cool’
kids, about something they pretend to understand yet something an outsider
could never ‘get’ - an insecure intention to draw the line between those that
‘know’ and those that don’t and by comparison define the ‘in’ crowd and its
identity.
Memes come in all sorts of forms. From the political statement,
short and incendiary by intention and often lacking a factual basis, to the
cute animated image of a yellow Minion declaring something creepy and/or
suspicious, yet inciting a simulacrum of deep thought– enough punch to make you
watch out for danger around your ankles as one of them might be scurrying about
with a large kitchen knife. These short quips have one thing in common, whether
they are inspirational messages, political bombshells, or simply one person’s
exaggerated passion for monster trucks. They are all imitation and, therefore,
incomplete. From a lack of full understanding by those of us NOT in the know, they
are only meaningful to the creator of the meme. As if, milling about in this
intergalactic kegger, we were only succeeding in connecting with ourselves.
Hyperbole, by definition, is the act of exaggeration, and in
this ever-morphing, growing, and overwhelming party of who knows what, we seem
to be only seeking out ourselves to listen to. We want to be heard but can only
express ourselves in terms of something we alone fully understand, if at all. This
is the current state of evolution in our society. We sense but cannot define
(read: irrationally fear) the trend of growing monumental interconnectivity. We
must be heard and we must be a part of the ‘cool’ kids if we are to survive the
tsunami of crap, all the while not comprehending the fact that quite soon, High School
will be over. We exaggerate our message and shun precision and true insight
because that would be ‘uncool’. We post what we believe is so outrageous that
it can’t help but be noticed, can not help but make us noticed in the process,
and in so doing further obscure what we might otherwise have to say.
The meme is an imitation of communication and, by extension,
an imitation of profundity. It is a pre-adolescent demand for attention
without much forethought, much like our need for attention from our parents - if
we don’t say something provocative or ‘out there’ we simply won’t be heard by
mommy or daddy.
This party that we all find ourselves attending has only
just started. Our society is connected now. It is connected by wires, by
political agenda, by inspirational aphorism, by reference to iconic images and
television shows we watched as children, and connected by the need to feel connected.
And we are connected to each other by a degree of magnitude never before seen
in history. Once we evolve out of the infantile stages of me, me, me, we will
begin to embrace messages from other people, to understand how they resonate
within us, but not until we move through adolescence and into an emotionally
functional adulthood where our hitherto reserved thoughts, feelings, and
intentions have a place in the greater web that is our world. We will no longer
need to be a part of the ‘cool’ kids and we will finally let go of the fear
that we are marginalized. And we will realize, much as we have done years after
high school’s period of disaffected suffering, we always had value and we
always had something clear, precise, and worthwhile to say. We just needed the
courage to say it.
I look forward to the day. Perhaps there will still be some
beer left in the kegs. In either case, there is simply much too much going on at
this mad party and I will be one of the last to leave.
G. M. Potter can be found on –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmpotterhome
He is the author of the recently published short story collection,
Clowns and Buffoons: Short Stories
Available on
