MEME Warfare // Electronic Disturbance

Melissa Chow
6^th June, 2017

              The first article has a fascination with memes, but I have to disagree with Boyd’s definition of a meme. It’s not that complicated although I also believe a meme is a very abstract idea. Boyd uses a previous campaign about Billionaires backing both presidential candidates for the 2000 election and in many ways compares it to a meme. No. I honestly think meme culture is such a huge thing now because we want to forget what is going on in the world right now, especially how frustrating the political sphere has become. I think memes can have underlining themes that point towards a particular political party, but for the most part they are more about daily life. Take it from someone who often encounters memes on the internet, most don’t have a political spin. I think one could argue that the many jokes about the Pepsi ad were political. Well, I think they were only political because the Pepsi ad was, but if the Pepsi ad had been equally dumb but taking advantage of something else, then I think the memes would be similar. Memes are really about making fun of things that are well-known, (Trump memes are very hot right now) and things that a lot of people can relate to, like everyday actions. I’m going to be completely honest, and say that I don’t really understand the point of the second reading, “Electronic Disturbance”. Or well, I’m not saying that all of it was useless, but that most of it was. It’s mostly a narrative and a lot of it is not necessary to know. I understand it’s a wild time for you young philosophers, but I could not care less that there was nothing to do in Tallahassee but do cocaine. Like, I understood the point after the first time cocaine was mentioned. I’m good. When Dominguez finally starts talking about the “electronic” part, I thought, “YES, FINALLY.” But even then, I don’t think it could justify all the unnecessary filler that came with it.