The most dramatic Nyan Wonka lolz: The anatomy of an Internet meme
Summary
This thesis is an analysis of the cultural elements that determine the success of an Internet meme. The theoretical framework is based on the theories of Richard Dawkins, Limor Shifman, Henry Jenkins et al. and Jean Baudrillard. Additionally, the analysis leans on earlier research done on Internet meme semiotics by Michelle Knobel and Colin Lankshear.
The answer to the research question “What similar cultural elements were present within my highly spreadable Internet meme selection from 2004 till 2015?”, is based on an extensive content analysis of thirty Internet memes that reached their peak popularity between 2004 and 2015. By outlining the shared cultural elements between the most popular Internet memes I was able to identify shared values within the Internet communities of that time. These shared values I divided in referential values, contextual values and ideological values.
Referentially pop culture is the most popular type of reference. Moreover, absurdity plays a leading role in many of my Internet memes. Surprisingly, normalcy plays a highly significant role too. Although most of the protagonists do not subject to the norm, the social criticism that accompanies many of the memes is about subjecting others. I found that in many cases the abnormal or absurd protagonist is used to antagonize. In this way a shared sense of normalcy to the group spreading the meme can be established. And on an ideological level there is a great sense of shared values. People looking for inclusion into the Internet meme affinity space need to understand the shared set of rules and conventions that the propagation of the meme requires. These shared rules and guidelines form the temporary shared identity of the affinity space of that Internet meme. Ironically, many of these Internet memes deal with the subject of normalcy. They celebrate the abnormal but in doing so the people spreading the meme construct normalcy. Ideologically these memes show a distinct white, male, western and heterosexual norm.
Additionally, I analysed whether memes are truly self-explanatory as self-references, or whether knowledge of external references can be vital to the spreading of Internet memes too. I found that not all Internet memes qualify as what Baudrillard dubs hyperrealities. Some still need references to reality to be meaningful to their affinity space.
With the quantitative analysis I compared the trajectories of the Internet memes with their popularity based on the Google search query volume and the themes I found from the content analysis. The Internet memes that scored highest on virality were not all among the most popular Google search queries. However, the highest scoring memes had a higher average of search queries than their lesser scoring counterparts. Google data also showed that these memes all vary in terms of trajectory. A clear trend among Internet memes with a high amount of search queries is that they all spread through a mix of various media and were at some point picked up by the mass media. The other category of Internet memes that spread through message boards, specific websites or social media (BE LIKE BILL, HIPSTER ARIEL, GOOD GUY GREG) more often have a gradual trajectory. I therefore identified two categories. The first is the hype driven Internet meme. That category is driven through a mix that includes the mass media. After a while attention for those Internet memes dies down as the people spreading them lose interest. On the other hand there is the category of Internet memes that gains less sudden popularity and instead gradually gains attention. I define this category as the slow-burning Internet meme.