One Last Time

I guess this is goodbye

In this final blog (sad face) I will showcase one article that will assist in the final analysis of my samples. Then, I will show how this article assists as such while utilizing two memes out of my sample.

Framing the argument

For my final blog post and overall final paper, I will be utilizing the work of Ross and Rivers (2017). This piece examines how memes of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election’s candidates impact how internet users viewed these candidates. This piece not only focuses on politics, which is extremely relevant to my topic but also how gender plays a role in the way that people are depicted. 

Ross and Rivers (2017) state that through users’ engagement with these memes they have involved themselves in political participation that showcase their stance on these political matters. The big take away from this article is when they also say that sharing these images is more than merely sharing their opinion, these users’ goals are to shape how consumers think of those a part of the memes (Ross & Rivers, 2017). Ross and Rivers do caution readers at the end, stating that anyone who has these tools of creation available to them can participate and have a voice and that we must be aware of this notion (2017).

How it works

In this section, I will take what I learned from Ross and Rivers (2017) and apply it to two memes within my sample. This will be an in-depth analysis of not only what these memes are saying, but what they are truly representing. 

Credit: X

For this first example, I will focus on meme sample number five. In this example, we see Hillary Clinton, with a rather nonchalant bored like expression, opposed to Brett Kavanaugh who is visibly upset. The caption of the meme is comparing how Clinton was able to keep her composure after hours of questioning, and this was during another high-profile hearing. While on the other hand, Kavanaugh was unable to keep himself together during the first 20 minutes of his hearing. This meme plays with the notion that woman is too emotional for politics while showcasing a white male who is failing to keep his emotions in check. In how this relates to Ross and Rivers (2017) it is more than just how these two are (or are not) comparable, but also the idea that this creator believes that someone such as Kavanaugh is not fit to holding an elite position within the Supreme Court. This creator was attempting to not only showcase how unstable he is but how the democratic party can remain calm and collected during high profile moments. This meme was to show not only the gendered differences but how we as a nation should not be supporting a man, such as Kavanaugh if they behave like this.

Credit: X

This second example is regarding meme sample number nine. In this, we have a picture of Kavanaugh, obviously emotionally distraught regarding the allegations against him. The caption is stating how there are supporters of President Trump who believe that Kavanaugh is innocent and should be allowed a fair hearing. However, there is a sharp contrast to how these Trump supporters see someone such as whom we can assume as Clinton, and how we should lock her up without any evidence pointing to her guilt. This meme is showing not only the striking contrast between how the two events were handled but how confident supporters aligned themselves and the perspectives they took. This meme is calling out the hypocrisy that exists within the Alt-Right side, hoping to show others how this party does not treat everyone the same because of their political association.

That’s all folks!!!

References:

Ross, A. S., & Rivers, D. J. (2017). Digital cultures of political participation: Internet memes and the 

     discursive delegitimization of the 2016 U.S Presidential candidates. Discourse, Context 

     &Media, 16, 1-11. doi:10.1016/j.dcm.2017.01.001