Hopelessly Devoted to Memes

This post is the fourth in a series of blog posts that collect memes-- the modern populist political cartoon. For more discussion of memes, see my previous posts ("Meme Hell," "Son of Meme Hell," and "Revenge of the Meme"). The paragraphs below are adopted from the latter post. 

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The meme has become a homegrown political cartoon: a screen capture of another's tweet, an outright manipulation of an image, or an image from popular culture, with text imprinted on it (memegenerator.net is one source for the creation of original memes). Many memes reference popular culture, drawing from still images taken from television programs or feature films. Some memes feature cartoon characters (SpongeBob SquarePants is an oft-used source for memes, perhaps for its vibrant color and playful characters). Some meme creators include their own imprint or Twitter handle, hoping to attract attention to their 'brand' online; others create memes anonymously. Some organizations, including Anonymous, have become increasingly active in creating memes during this election cycle. 

The memes presented here have been culled from various Facebook groups, and are presented here as a resource and document towards understanding this new and unique manifestation of free speech, and individuals' participation in the political process. The source of these memes-- Facebook-- is by nature transitory, as any meme creator and/or poster may remove their content whenever they choose. It is my view that memes are, by definition, created with the intention of being freely shared, usually by those who support the idea or view presented. Thus, these memes are presented here without attribution. Some of these memes contain adult themes and offensive language; it is unfortunate that these themes have come to dominate the discourse surrounding the American political process. This author does not endorse or condone any specific speech, thoughts, or ideas presented in the memes below. [...]

Memes will exist after the Presidential election of 2016. Some have used memes to comment on local and state elections, as well as larger cultural issues. The development and popularity of the meme is important to understanding how we're using our virtual communication platforms. Memes-- as a society-- are changing the way we talk to each other about what's important to us.