Meme Report 7/7
You're Not Just My Subscribers, You're Family
Mushroom Wojak
We will get to the full history and symbolism of wojaks someday soon. They have, like most things that have been on the Internet for over ten years, a checkered past and nefarious connections that are not obvious to the casual viewer. They are having a big resurgence right now and have been for the past year or so. The new edition, the Mushroom Wojak is a cute little guy. He’s got a funny little face and no purpose other than he looks like a mushroom. I like him but others have different opinions.
Ocean On Fire
Earlier this week the ocean was on fire! It was much less fun, news wise, than the boat getting stuck in the suez. People also had the wrong take away! They made memes about the people putting out the fire like it wasn’t helping, but it was! They extinguished the fire in five hours with the boats that people were making fun of! Say what you will about the ocean being on fire, but they did put it out. One could go on and on about how we respond to visuals and have the desire to make metaphor where there aren’t any. That person could elaborate on how we are uncurious about the world and constantly fall victim to confirmation bias, especially in pursuit of tortured metaphors. I’m not going to do that because I don’t want to fight with people about the environment.
Family
This meme…. This beautiful wonderful meme… comes to us on a federal holiday and could not be more perfect. I say a lot of memes are old school inspired or remind me of the good old days. This meme however feels right out of 2011. It is so viscerally reminiscent of facebook fan memes. It reminds me of the memes made about Inception back in the day. They are kind of ugly and so so very stupid but they’re perfect. My brain is soothed by looking at them. Vin Diesel and the power of family make me laugh for a few moments. It’s a perfect meme. It's so good. Unlike most memes that are about popular media, I do not believe this is some form of viral underground marketing and if it is, I do not care.
Caroline Calloway Snake Oil
I was on the Caroline Calloway beat before the Natalie story dropped. I love her. She’s my favorite instagram person to check in on. We all have them and she’s mine. I’m on her side on this one. It’s called snake oil. if you buy it that’s on you. If you are up in arms about people buying it, welcome 2021 on the internet. People buy stupid shit. If you are an angered member of the skin care community, please get a grip. Did you guys read the articles that keep coming out about how all of it is a scam anyway? I would take criticism of Caroline more seriously if all of her critics weren’t pearl clutching do-gooders who don’t understand how the world works. Once again, she wins this round.
Tiktok
Get Up Cocksuckers Salute The Flag
This kind of east coast italian vibe makes me miss home. It makes me want to be in a backyard in upstate New York, swimming in a pool while my mom talks to everyone she’s ever met. I want to be on a boat, tubing through a lake, stopping to get ice cream and gas on the way home, watching my aunts flirt with the teenage boys who work at the docks. You have to, as a critic, recognize your biases and mine is that I love this sound because of what memories it evokes in me and not because of the actual quality of the meme. Get up cocksuckers, it’s all over.
We’re doing more random XD humor. It’s a repeat of “oh my god did he call her baby?” from a few months ago but this one makes a lot more sense. Unfortunately that’s bad for the meme. The last thing you want for a meme that doesn’t make any sense is for it to get more coherent. We hate when a bad meme gets worse.
One time my friend said about smoking cigarettes “It’s like getting rid of a headache you didn’t know you had” That’s how I feel about this meme. When was the last time Tiktok did a good old fashioned mean spirited dog pile. This kid gets on Tiktok and uploads a truly heinous video to watch. The other users respond in kind. We take a drag, engage in some light bullying and suddenly the headache is gone.
Believe It or Not Eraserhead Is My Most Spiritual Film
This has tumblr’s fingerprints all over it. We did this back in 2015, edited the original image heavily and, I thought anyway, ran it into the ground. It's also the spiritual sequel to No Nuance November, a trend I now can’t remember how I feel about. Everybody wants to have opinions, no one wants to elaborate on them. More power to you.
I have a soft spot for nerdy music boys. I don’t know anything about music and yet played the cello for six years. Anyone who could make me laugh in Orchestra was my saving grace. This trend is fun. I want to see how far we go with it. I want to hear all the songs we can put those lyrics to. Sky’s the limit boys, let’s see what you got, make me laugh.
As a CC stan I am formally requesting a Sunday edition dissertation on her contributions to the internet and society at large
In further defense of Caroline Calloway's "Snake Oil," she is actually giving people a really good deal on the bottles with the hand drawn logos. These are genuine art objects that will surely only increase in value when she switches to her "more official packaging."