COVID MEMES
MEME FOLKLORE RESEARCH
We will explore the uses of memes by various groups in the folklore, what values they convey to us with their memes and how do they function as a way for us to communicate to each other. Why do we usually laugh at certain events in our lives?
WHY HAVE WE RELIED ON MEMES
Literature scholar and author Gina Barreca maintains that “laughing together is as close as you can get without touching”.
Throughout the stressful times of covid, we definitely need some part in our daily lives to distract us from what's happening (Rayfield 2021)
There are a few theories and constructs that could help us understand why we find them so amusing and maybe why certain memes have been created.
Relief Theory
The relief theory, suggests that laugher could be a good form of releasing certain pent up energy. The Relief Theory is an hydraulic explanation in which laughter does in the nervous system what a pressure-relief valve does in a steam boiler. (Morreall 2012) Especially with all the lockdowns, and information being thrown at us, a lot of emotions are boiling in our systems
Superiority Theory
The superiority theory is he idea that we laugh at something or a situation that we feel superior to. We might feel superior, unthreatened and it control. Making memes could be that sense of control that we are needing in this pandemic, especially because we cant really control others and how they are handling this pandemic
Communal Coping Construct
Communal coping refers to a process when an entire group, a community, or a couple experiences the same stressful situation (e.g., facing natural disasters, forcing entire communities to address the uncertainty and stress).(Isabel 2019) and has implied a collective attempt to deal with the stressor. In this situation or communities have had to deal with a global pandemic. We are more likely to laugh at memes we find relatable, our humor has helped us identify with one another.
WHO MAKES MEMES
There are a variety of platform where the communities can send and make memes for one another, such as reddit, Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc. Although the humor of Millennials are slightly different than the humor of Gen-z, they both contribute greatly to the meme library.
MEME STYLES
The pandemic memes can range from very ironic memes, to relatable memes. Or can be an image and text hoping to change how most people have viewed this pandemic. diffusion of innovations is a model that attempts to describe how novel products, practices, or ideas are adopted by members of a social system(Boslough)
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
For some memes, the folk groups could be hoping for a change or for people to see how life is through the humor. Change is measured by the numbers of people, groups, or institutions adopting the innovation over time (Watts) For all we know, memes could be a way of story telling to future generations to show how we handled the pandemic.
