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...
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...
— rudy mustang™ (@roostermustache) March 2, 2017
I just want to start off by saying how much I love this meme. I laugh every time I see it regardless of what the caption is. You did a great job of explaining the psychology behind why it is so funny. I'm always interested to read why each meme becomes so popular, and I liked hearing the story behind the meme's creation. Good post!
ReplyDeleteI love that you used this meme because I’ve been seeing it everywhere but never knew where it came from! I was interested to actually hear the background behind it. As always, great job with this blog, I enjoy reading these posts every week!
ReplyDelete