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.