The
Cultural Logic of Cultural-based Meme Genres by Limor Shifman focuses on the
multifaceted meanings behind memes. Often, internet memes are regarded as
whimsical sets of pictures that help kill time on a slow day. While true,
Shifman also argues that memes have cultural significance that is often
overlooked. While dissecting the
undertone meanings behind internet memes, Shifman refers to the phenomenon as a
hypersignification; which essentially is another way of describing the subversive
meanings and symbols that are conveyed by a message.
In the
article, Shifman breaks down the idea of hypersignification in internet memes
with three categories: photo fads, reaction photoshop, and stock character
macros. Photo fads deal with memes that trend based off an original homemade
photo; reaction photoshop entails memes that have been altered from its original
photo; and stock character macros studies memes that use ordinary stock photos that
are placed within the context of the comical meme. The meme in focus, Successful
Black Man, would be considered a stock character macro.
Shifman notes that the purpose of
stock photography is to provide standard images that display basic human
emotions and activities; in turn, they rely on social stereotypes and scripts
to get a message across. A photo of a
father and daughter playing catch on a lawn with a white picket fence suggest
the script of a happy (perhaps nuclear) family; likewise, a photo of a
middle-aged woman loading a minivan with sporting good supplies suggest the
idea of a “soccer mom” taking her children to or from a soccer game.
The hypersignification of stock
character macros allows the reader to see alternative possible meanings of the
Successful Black Man meme. The meme consist of black man with a straight face
wearing a business suit in front of a brown backdrop; the top of the page reads
an aggressive statement that is later changed into the beginning of a positive/healthy
statement when the viewer reads the bottom portion of the page (close to a
set-up/punchline format). Shifman notes
that the meme would not make any sense if black men were not perceived as
aggressive. Shifman also notes that the original stock photo was titled “handsome
African American business man dressed in a black suit.” The makers of the stock
photo could have just titled it handsome man in black suit, but by doing so, they
wuld have challenged the general notion that a handsome man in a suit would not
be a young black man.
The article also states that while
looking into the hypersignification of an image can show progressive meanings,
it can also show the opposite effect. With this meme, for instance, it uses the
image in a way the article notes is rooted in racism. Although it can be seen
as opposing racial stereotypes by having the punchline contradict the
stereotypical set-up, Shifman notes that the use of the image and the irony
within the meme can dismiss racial prejudices that minorities face. Memes such
as this make racism seem like “only a joke.”
Work Cited
Shifman, L. (2014) The cultural
logic of photo-based meme genres. Journal
of Visual Culture, 3, 340-458.
Wow, yes. "Rooted in racism"... also rooted in an odd narcissism... I've not seen this one before, but the assumptions made here are very negative and harsh.
ReplyDeleteYou find, in Shifman, the content applicable to your meme. Yes, meme's can produce severe statements disguised as innocuous jokes. This one is as subtle as a slap to the face... this is a very deep form of narcissism here: not only is this guy totally focused on his work out over everything else, but he also approaches the notion of family and children with the same casual shrug. Are there many uses for this stock macro character? Do all of these memes make racist assumptions about the general attitude of successful African-American men? You mentioned "hypersignification" as "another way of describing the subversive meanings and symbols that are conveyed by a message." Is this meme always used to subvert the credibility of the Successful Black Man?
This is pretty good work. Please catch up.