The End (Again)

Last semester, I ended this blog on what I though was a fitting note: using the first ever meme to tie together the entire blog in a meaningful way.

This time, I have no such plan.

Unfortunately, I didn't think about continuing this blog early enough, leaving me in a bit of an awkward situation when it comes to crafting a final post once again. However, when choosing this week's meme, I thought about everything we'd learned in this class so far, and decided to capitalize on the kairos of misfortune that always seems to lead to darkly humorous memes.

This is why I always fly Southwest. 

By now, most of you will have heard about the doctor who was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight to make room for employees, which sent the Internet into a frenzy of condemnation and protest, and placed further scrutiny on the already-questionable policies employed by many major airlines regarding booking, security, and customer service. However, it also sent the resident memeologists of the Internet into a production frenzy, eager to capitalize on the frankly repulsive treatment of Dr. Dao for the sake of humor. Though anyone who made these memes probably had no malicious intent, it does raise the question: why are people so quick to make memes out of tragedies? 

True to the idea of coming full circle, I alluded to this phenomenon in my very first post while discussing the curious lifespan of memes surrounding Harambe the gorilla. Karl Marx tells us: "History repeats itself, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." Though the old man was referring to the downfall and replacement of regimes by the working class, his statement rings true for meme culture, too. At what point, you may be tempted to ask, is it acceptable to mine a tragedy for humor? Is it even acceptable at all? Sure, one man being dragged off a plane isn't a tragedy so much as a public relations nightmare for United and the Chicago Police, but the idea of making light of a terrible thing is something that usually provokes disgust and condemnation, not laughter. At least, not until the Internet came along. 

It shouldn't surprise you to learn that technology has desensitized people to violence and tragedy at levels unseen in previous generations. For example, the more we watch Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, the less disturbed we are when faced with exposure to real sex, violence, murder, and what have you; this argument is frequently used by lawmakers and parents' groups when trying to explain the rise in mass shootings and incidents of child psychosis. Thus, it stands to reason that teenagers with a dark sense of humor and perfect timing are able to whip up memes that we can't help but laugh at, even though we know deep down that the issue isn't really meant to be made light of. 

The moral and societal implications that meme culture raises are interesting, to say the least, especially considering that technology and its reach into our lives is only continuing to expand. Are we truly becoming less sensitive and empathetic towards tragedies, or is our own collective concept of humor evolving along with technology? Is there such a thing as "too soon" in the digital age? 

Beyond the base humor of memes, it's these underlying questions that really fascinate me, which is why I've taken almost a whole year to explore them post after post. And if I took a little time off from psychoanalyzing and pondering human nature to laugh at memes, well, who can blame me? 

Washington and the Cherry Tree

Not all that long ago, American schoolchildren were taught a quaint little story about a young George Washington cutting down a cherry tree against his parents' wishes. When confronted about his crime, young Washington decided he couldn't lie, and owned up about axing the tree. What a nice story, right? Except for the fact that it's completely made up. Archaeological evidence shows that there were never any cherry trees at Ferry Farm, and that the story had been fabricated by Washington's biographer, Mason Locke Weems, to enhance the president's heroic image. Removing it from any school curriculum really had no impact on anyone's perception of Washington. This is a classic example of revisionist history, in which scholars investigate and sometimes correct fallacies found in historical narratives.

Looks real to me... 

Much like real history, "Fake History" also focuses on changing the details, though for humorous effect rather than, you know, historical accuracy or whatever. This meme series first originated on reddit, using Spongebob screenshots and captioning them with semi-historical statements, though they've since branched out to include other media properties. No one, it seems, is safe from the ravages of time. 

Revisionists have their work cut out for them when it comes to making changes, and not all of those changes are necessarily made for the right reasons. People's identities are hugely influenced by history, and an attempt to change that history often causes intense controversy and backlash due to its personal nature. People have been editing history for a long time, since the days of Plutarch and Tacitus, but modern historical revisionism emerged shortly after the end of World War I, and would alter the way scholars and everyday citizens alike viewed historical preservation. 

Obviously, the reasons behind the war were both numerous and deeply complicated, and there was more than enough resentment smoldering between everyone involved. Some historians remained objective, struggling to explain the logic behind the world's deadliest conflict, while others decided to lay the blame squarely at Germany's feet. And of course, we all know how Germany revised their own history, allowing patriotism and nationalism to set the stage for another global conflict. 

Even when it's trying to simply correct the facts, historical revisionism is seen in a predominantly negative light, and not without justification. President Bush used the term "revisionist historians" to describe journalists who, in his mind, were wrongful questioning the reasons behind the invasion of Iraq. For years, historians have debated the circumstances surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy, blaming everyone from communist radicals to Soviets to aliens instead of Lee Harvey Oswald. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly denied the existence of the Holocaust, and America has repeatedly been criticized for overly justifying the use of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II. 

In the end, revisionist history is rarely accepted, sometimes due to credibility issues, and sometimes because people dislike having their perceptions, many of which are personal, changed. For example, most people know that Mary Todd Lincoln had her share of mental health issues, but most people would scoff if a historian came along and said the same about President Lincoln himself. Regardless of if it were true, the popular image of him is such a large part of American culture that changing it is nearly impossible. 

Ultimately, all history is revisionist in some way or another, because humans cannot be completely objective. One thing history will agree on, however, is that memes may very well be mankind's greatest accomplishment. And you can quote me on that, too. 

Ouch.

IT'S RAW!

Is being a perfectionist a highly desirable trait that guarantees high standards and total reliability, or a psychological flaw indicative of delusions of grandeur and delay? Is that drive healthy or destructive? Who better to answer that question than the world's most perfection-obsessed chef?

Chef Ramsay is known for occasional meltdowns. 

Gordon Ramsay is the host of four network TV shows with millions of viewers a week, owner of twenty-four restaurants worldwide, holder of seven coveted Michelin stars, an avid triathlete, and husband and father of four. How does he balance it all while maintaining his famously less-than-sunny disposition? Those who know him all have the same answer. He's a perfectionist. 

Born from humble origins in Scotland, Ramsay almost didn't make it through culinary school, landing his first job in a hotel restaurant that taught him two things: how to cook and how so many chefs took shortcuts at the cost of good food. In 1998, he opened his first restaurant in London, earning himself three Michelin stars and catapulting his way to culinary super-stardom. “I turn into a different beast when I’ve got a chef’s jacket on," he admitted to Variety in 2013.  "I’m not very good at just saying, ‘Try a little bit harder next time. Hold my hand and win this quarter million dollars.’ Do you have any idea in the real world what kind of chef you need to be to earn a quarter million dollars as a prize? I didn’t have a pot to piss in for 10 years. So I bring that kind of discipline into it. I don’t think the contestants realize how lucky they are. They don’t have it that bad.” 

That's a lot of oil.

Clearly, Ramsay's high standards are what got him to the heights he's at today. But is such religious attention to detail always a one-way ticket to success? Some view perfectionism as constant nitpicking, looking for a little smudge on a stainless pane of glass. But many of us also talk about "the perfect wedding" or "the perfect holiday", and describe a delicious meal as "utter perfection." Perfectionism is routinely encouraged in athletics and academics, and entails high standards, organization, and persistence. However, it's also been linked as a causation of serious psychopathy, implying that love and approval from yourself and others can only be achieved through complete adherence to impossibly high standards. 

Clinically speaking, psychologists view perfectionism as almost always a crutch. Perfectionists are often haunted by a fear of failure, low self-esteem, and easily distressed. It can involve having harsh criteria to judge your behavior and that of others, and lead to unrealistic expectations of authority figures like parents, teachers, and bosses. A perfectionist is harsh, often cruelly blunt, and rigid when it comes to their passions. So where does perfectionism come from? The answer: parents. As with many psychological troubles, parents being critical and overly demanding leads to the development of insecurities and responsive behaviors, as we unconsciously adhere to our parents' expectations even into adulthood. 

So, is Chef Ramsay a psychopathic perfectionist? Well, anyone who's been kicked off Hell's Kitchen would probably say yes. I'll let you decide that one for yourselves; in the meantime, his high culinary standards will at least reward society with plenty more TV seasons of shouting, swearing, and facepalming galore. 

Are You Feeling It Now, Mr. Krabs?

Be honest with me: you felt like this at least once during the election news cycle.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that this country's current political climate is full of news that's, shall we say, less than trustworthy. No, I'm not talking about CNN, or the "failing" New York Times, or even Breitbart. I'm talking about those disreputable articles your grandparents show you, proud that the "mainstream" media has finally accepted the fact that Hillary Clinton is a secret Russian spy.

Seems legit. 

With all of this information flying around, it's easy to feel like poor Mr. Krabs, surrounded by a mob complaining about the side effects of Pretty Patties. Since President Trump's first press conference, in which he labeled CNN's Jim Acosta "fake news" and refused to answer his questions, the term has exploded in use, especially in the president's numerous daily tweets. But where did the term come from, and why does the president use it so much? 

Political propaganda is nothing new; Roman emperor Octavian employed a disinformation campaign against his enemy Marc Antony, later changing his name to Augustus and spreading a youthful, vivacious image of himself throughout the empire into his old age. It also has a rich history in American politics; during the election of 1828, Andrew Jackson famously started a rumor that his opponent, John Quincy Adams, had procured an American girl to service the sexual appetites of the Tsar of Russia. The difference between this century's news media and that in the past is obvious, the Internet allows social media users to exchange information like never before, including to an especially gullible audience. Now, I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence here, merely stating that it's easier to confirm people's biases than it's ever been: 62% of Americans use social media as their primary source of news, with 44% of that being Facebook. 

I think this counts as a childhood rite of passage. 

Combined with technological ease of access to fake news sites, the 2016 election proved a fertile breeding ground for fake news stories in regards to the narrative backdrop. Of course, Donald Trump was a key ingredient; he frequently described himself as a political outsider, labeled Hillary Clinton as "crooked", and wanted to "drain the swamp" of Washington. Alongside all of that, he courted conspiracy theories like no other: claiming Ted Cruz's father helped assassinate JFK, Barack Obama hadn't been born in the U.S., and that climate change was a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese. With all of these outlandish statements flying around, it's not hard to see how someone politically uninformed could believe an insane headline like "Hillary sold weapons to ISIS." 

Many critics have blamed the rise of the "filter bubble", a phenomenon showing social media users what they like and tend to agree with, and hiding things they don't. Critics claim that this distorts a neutral media playing field, as stories with outlandish headlines will obviously get clicked on the most. It's not hard to see this working in practice; after all, a hardcore liberal probably isn't going to retweet Fox News left and right. Facebook and Twitter even have algorithms that calculate the content you're likely to see on your pages, the same way search engines like Google will save your shopping history and throw ads at you while you're trying to do homework. 

Facebook and Twitter have already vowed to fight this rising tide of fake news since the election, cracking down on fake news sites spreading misinformation, but in this digital age, it's hard to suppress any kind of information for long. Until then, we'll just have to take a page out of Mr. Krabs' book, and let all of the rumors and conspiracies spiral around us without getting too close. 

Back To The Grind

If ever there was a time that I was in desperate need of emojis to add to my posts, this would be it.

Oh, wait, I have them. 😈💪💥

If you've spent any time on Twitter within the last two weeks or so, you've likely seen this meme going around.

dentist: you need to stop grinding your teeth

student athlete: Stop Grinding?😂 The Grind Never Stops💯 No Breaks😈 We Stay Dream Chasing💪

— Lazy dog (@LaziestCanine) March 11, 2017 

Known as "Student Athlete" for obvious reasons, this popular dialogue meme mocks overly enthusiastic and self-centered student athletes who tend to make themselves the focus of every conversation, and never fail to mention just how physically fit they are. In the meme, someone makes some innocent statement or comment, only to receive a response focused on physical fitness and littered with emojis. Not to disparage student athletes or their commitment to their sport, but I think it's safe to say that we all know someone like this who goes just a bit overboard, and are finally relieved that there's a meme out their to shame them into shutting up for a change. Unless, of course, the fame just goes to their head...

It's not surprising that teenagers often let pride turn into arrogance, especially when they're better at something than everyone else. We all want to be liked, after all, and having your accomplishments recognized by your friends and family is a great feeling. However, there's a certain point where pride over our actions can transform into blatant, narcissistic arrogance, and it's often hard to tell the difference.

According to Hanan Parvez of psychmechanics.com, arrogance, defined as the belief of one's own superiority to others, manifests in behavior for three main reason. The first, as this meme points out, is pride over our achievements; our self-esteem is so boosted by doing something noteworthy and extraordinary that it causes us to look down on others who haven't done the same thing. The second reason is rooted much deeper, serving as a manifestation of insecurity, inferiority, and low self-esteem. In this case, arrogance helps to reject and dismiss others before they have the potential to do the same to you, essentially serving as a self-defense mechanism. The final reason boils down to simple attention-seeking; it goes without saying that everyone tends to notice the arrogant jerk in the corner of the room, even if it's for less than positive reasons. If people see that being arrogant and entitled gets them a lot of attention, it gives them a reason to continue being so in the future.

me : hey
student athlete : 😈💪💦💯🏈🔥
me : how did you say that out loud

— The Duke of San Jose (@fearcely) March 15, 2017 

Psychologists separate pride and arrogance by categorizing pride itself: authentic pride is when we feel good about ourselves and our actions, while hubrisitc pride is a result of egoism and narcissism, and is associated with socially undesirable traits like aggression. So what's the difference, you may ask? Well, people generally don't set out to be arrogant, meaning it's unlikely that being confident in yourself will turn you into an emoji-laden meme for everyone to roll their eyes at. Generally, arrogant people were conditioned to be that way from the get go, or are so insecure that they feel the need to always seek attention for their accomplishments. Basically, if you're worried about becoming arrogant, chances are that it's never going to happen.

FAFSA: List your family members.

Student Athlete: U mean my TEAM⁉️ONE eats, we ALL eat🍽We out here grindin' together💪😤 THAT'S family💯😈

— Gabe Perez (@GabePerez8) March 14, 2017

Face/Off

The cycle of memes, as it should be, is never-ending. As we transition from February into March, it's important to remember all of the brave memes the made this month special: Roll Safe Guy (the previous topic), Kellyanne Conway kneeling, Beyonce at the Grammys...

Oh, yeah, and this one.

The subject of the meme, known pretty straightforwardly as "White Guy Blinking", is Drew Scanlon video editor and podcaster at video game website Giant Bomb. The reaction came about after one of his fellow commentators brought up "farming with my hoe" while playing a game, as seen below.

The miracle of meme birth. 

Though the video is nearly two years old, the meme first took off in early February, earning a spot in the Twitter hall of meme fame with remarkable speed. Though the gif itself is funny enough, and applies to just about any situation, it does make one wonder why we make such interesting- and often hilarious- facial expressions in the first place.

Mark Andrews, professor of psychology at Seton Hill University, might have an answer. According to him, the ability to display visible emotion, be it a subtle sneer, obvious eye roll, or completely hysterical sobbing. Famed scientist Charles Darwin was one of the first to propose this, in his 1871 book The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals. He wrote: "The young and the old of widely different races, both with man and animals, express the same state of mind by the same movements." 

Andrews goes on to state that certain nuanced expressions, including smiles and frowns, are hardwired from the moment that we're born. Studies have shown that infants, even those born blind or with developmental disorders, use facial cues to express emotion before they're even old enough to understand what their expressions meme. For humans, communication is essential for mere survival, and Andrews believes that facial expressions may have evolved as a form of efficiently showing intent and emotion. 

Though facial expressions may be largely instinctive, Andrews maintains that there's a learned component, too. Many Asian cultures, for example, teach children to conceal their emotions and refrain from overt facial movement, in favor of a more socially acceptable, pleasant smile. This holds true for any person; it's easy to pick up on certain gestures and tics and adopt them as our own if we see them often enough. I realized I share a lot of facial cues and gestures with my dad when we made the exact same hand gesture while seated across from each other. Talk about being afraid of turning into your parents. 

Perhaps most interestingly, making certain facial expressions may even help us channel those same emotions. Though research is still going on, MRI scans have revealed that making an angry face, for example, is associated with reduced activity in regions of the brain dedicated to feeling empathy and decision making. 

In short, there's a lot more to sarcastic blinking than just...sarcastic blinking. And if you're someone like me who occasionally has a tough time controlling my facial expressions, let out a big sigh of relief, because it might just be a part of who you are. Now, how you choose to feel about that is another matter entirely... 

NASA: so we've found 7 new planets

Pluto: pic.twitter.com/uRXA7s3Xji

— rudy mustang™ (@roostermustache) March 2, 2017

Ignorance Is Bliss

For many of us, the easiest way to get rid of our problems, if not the most effective, is to simply ignore them. Have a mountain of homework that needs to get done before tomorrow? Take a nap instead. Stressing about taking a relationship to the next level? Read 10:29 PM. Like every great struggle to grace the history of mankind, the temptation to shove our various issues to the back burner has been personified in meme form this month. That's right, I'm talking about Roll Safe.

Fascinating. 

If you're anything like me, you've probably seen this one going around, but didn't actually know what it was called. I confess, even I was forced to do a quick Google search to find its official name; maybe memes are starting to become too advanced for me. In any case. here's the story: the man is named Reece Simpson, aka Roll Safe, the subject of a BBC web series called Hood Documentary. The first recorded use of the meme was on some football soccer meme account (thanks, British people), returning with a vengeance in late January to grace everyone's Twitter feeds yet again. 

You can't be broke if you don't check your bank account pic.twitter.com/brpgiWflym

— Ryan (@RyanWindoww) January 23, 2017 

As always,  the meme itself hints at a larger issue lingering behind its self-deprecating surface. Though played up for laughs here, it does address a real issue that affects all of us at one point or another: we frequently ignore our problems until they reach critical mass. The reasons for this are numerous, but psychologist M. Farouk Radwan offers some insight into a few of them in hopes of understanding exactly why.

One of them is plain old laziness, a plague of the human condition since time immemorial. This is what convinces you to stay in your warm, soft bed instead of going to class, even though attendance is mandatory and you'll probably miss something important. The chemicals in our brains have amazing ways of tricking us into seeing something that is so obviously harmful to ourselves as something rational, and even pleasantly acceptable, Thus, it's easier just to shrug when your friends gape at you once you've told them you skipped a chem lab and a midterm to eat dry cereal in bed.

Another reason, with more serious psychological effects, is the fear of taking responsibility. Though this one can play into some meaningless task too, it can also be devastating to our lives and everyone in them. Compared to deliberately shutting off your alarm and rolling over, refusing to admit you killed someone while driving drunk seems like apples and oranges. Granted it's an extreme example, but indicative of the potential problems that can arise from, well, potential problems.

Sure, acknowledging our problems can be unpleasant, and sometimes downright horrible. But the key to tackling them is understanding that we have to face the pain that comes with them, or else they'll only continue to worsen until they balloon into something that's just too big to handle. So if you're sitting there with unfinished homework or a text that really needs to be sent, here's my advice: just do it. 

Wait, wrong meme...

Can't violate the Constitution if you never read it pic.twitter.com/A1KaOY1Rtk

— Tristan (@AyoTristan) February 1, 2017