Political Memes - What do YOU think?

 

    Political Memes - what do YOU think?

Memes appeal to cultures and sub-cultures and are used to communicate messages and change the beliefs and actions of society. Specifically, political memes are always circulating, especially from this past election. Memes are typically made with images, different graphics and dialogue. Usually when people create memes, they do not attach their names to them and they end up circling social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The freedom of not attaching their name to their graphics allows them to publish questionable material without revealing their identity.

When people think of political memes, it might come with a negative connotation because people assume that people are only being "mocked" or "made fun of". Politicians are supposed to be honest people, that are a big piece of the government that runs our nation and memes have become a new way to "expose" them in this generation. It may not be nice to see Donald Trump with high-concentrated orange toned skin, or someone making fun of Joe Biden's stutter, but at the end of the day it is apart of the first amendment.

I personally think that sometimes meme's can be very informative and in order to understand them, you need to have some sort of background knowledge. When I see a meme that I don't understand the context of, I tend to open a tab and do some research. As much as it may sound crazy, memes are an easy way to get information across for those who are curious or unaware. I remember when Governor Cuomo was making restrictions in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic regarding New York City, and they were circulating all over the internet. I first discovered that Cuomo was closing all indoor dining through a meme reposted on Facebook - and that's what I mean! Memes can get information across and they are easy to understand. I quickly searched 'NYC indoor dining ban' and there it was as the top article. A meme was able to get across valuable and truthful information on something I was unaware of.

On the contrary, memes can be very misleading and even easily offensive. Many people have complained that memes are ill-mannered because of the graphics and dialogue. The cover photo I selected for this post explains just that. Comedy dying in 2021 because people are getting offended. People have the right to be offended, but many of these viral memes have loose ends tied with them.

At the end of the day memes are apart of the first amendment because of free speech and expression and I don't see them dying out anytime soon.