Pearce - LOLs of Nations
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Transcript of Pearce - LOLs of Nations
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LOLs of
Nations:
Understanding
Global Memes#LOLnations
ANDRES MONROY-HERNANDEZ @ANDRESMH
BEN VALENTINE @BENNNYV
ELENA AGAPIE @ELENAAGP
KATY PEARCE @KATYPEARCE
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AFFORDANCES OF MEMES FOR POLITICAL DISSENT AND SUPRESSION
04
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(a) a group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form, and/or stance, which
(b) are created with an awareness of each other, and (c) are circulated, imitated, and/or transformed via the
Internet by many users (Shifman, 2013)
MEMES DEFINED
#LOLnations
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AFFORDANCES
OF MEMES
micro-macro sharing is essential to memes and is a form of networked individualismin which technology enables a new osmotic self that absorbs elements from multiple networks, which is personalized, while still networked (Wellman & Rainie, 2012)
often in the form of repackaging or imitation, remix or mimicry (Shifman, 2013)
SHARENESS
REPRODUCE
traceable and measurable creates competition (Shifman, 2013)
memes eschew attribution and the anonymity of them enables freedom (Davison, 2012)
COMPETITIVE & SELECTIVE
ANONYMOUS
#LOLnations
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POLITICAL SUBVERSION?
Memes could play a role in political participation as persuasion or advocacy; grassroots action; cheap; enjoyable; display of criticism (Shifman, 2013)
And memes certainly are part of political subversion….
BUT THESE SAME
AFFORDANCES THAT
ENABLE MEMES USED
AS TOOLS OF
SUBVERSIONS ARE THE
SAME AFFORDANCES
THAT MAKE THEM
TOOLS OF
REPRESSION.#LOLnations
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DICTATOR TOOLS OF CONTROL
BOASTING SUPPORT
CONTROL NON-SUPPORTERS
THROUGH BLACKMAIL,
HARASSMENT, COERCION
CONTROL NON-SUPPORTERS
THROUGH MATERIAL
ENTICEMENT
CONTROL INFORMATION FLOW
STAGE POLITICAL DRAMA TO
UNDERMINE OPPONENTS
#LOLnations Schatz (2009)
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STAGE POLITICAL DRAMA
TO UNDERMINE OPPONENTS
#LOLnations
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STAGE POLITICAL DRAMA
TO UNDERMINE OPPONENTS
#LOLnations
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CONTROL
INFORMATION
FLOW
#LOLnations
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CONTROL NON-
SUPPORTERS THROUGH
BLACKMAIL, HARASSMENT,
COERCION
#LOLnations
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COMPETITIVE & SELECTIVE
BOASTING SUPPORT
#LOLnations
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OPPOSITION MEMES EXIST
Donkey Bloggers BulistanHeydar Aliyev
Facebook PageHarlem Shake
• Anti-government video
• 24 & 30 months in jail, 17 months served
• Satirical YouTube channel
• Conscription, harassment, beatings, family losing jobs, asylum
• Parody & meme Facebook page
• Administrators arrested a year ago today, trial still not over
• Harlem Shake video
• Participant arrested for hooliganism, trial ongoing
#LOLnations
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• Memes are great. The ability to share, reproduce, and be anonymous are all affordances of memes that can be assets for those looking to politically engage, even at great risk.
• But all of these affordances, as well as the ability to quantify results, also allow dictators to stage political drama to undermine people, control non-supporters through blackmail, harassment, and coercion, control information flow, and boast about support.
• And when there is inequality in resources –financial and power, the dictators win the meme war. For now.
TAKEAWAY
#LOLnations
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THANK YOUFOR YOURTIME
KATY PEARCE, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR,
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION,
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
@KATYPEARCE