meme noun
1: an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture
Memes (discrete units of knowledge, gossip, jokes and so on) are to culture what genes are to life. Just as biological evolution is driven by the survival of the fittest genes in the gene pool, cultural evolution may be driven by the most successful memes.Some believe in Trump so badly they can’t comprehend the mistake they made in voting for him. They literally soak up his pronouncements into the sponges of their minds, devouring any memes that seem to justify their support for him and whatever else he wants them to believe.
—Richard Dawkins—Merriam-Webster Dictionary
I don’t think the public sees any harm in memes, but what about impressionable children? This might be a silly example, but as a child, I watched Rocky and Bullwinkle. It was funny. But now, as an adult watching the same episodes, I can see that that cartoon show was sexually explicit, its manifestations carefully hidden in the dialog, its dirty jokes having gone over my head as a child.
Did this and other children’s shows have an effect on my thinking as I grew up? Did I have beliefs that weren’t really mine? The memes of comedies, cartoons, TV shows in general can infect us mentally without our being aware of what’s happening.
People who claim that Covid-19 is a hoax and that the CDC’s recommendation to wear masks is “fake advice” echo their leader’s pronouncements, and in doing so demonstrate the reality of their own infection – first of all by his memes and, in many cases, as a consequence, by Covid-19…after they attend a Trump rally or crowd into a bar or stadium to watch a car race. Dealing with people so infected is close to impossible. Their viral infection by meme is harder to treat than their Covid-19 infection…and more dangerous for America.
| Copyright © 2020 by Sharon Stoner |
Bravo, Sharon. A beautiful extension of Goines’ refections on Nazis and Trumpzis. And the Covid-19 example, masterful!
ReplyDeleteExcellent and thought provoking piece, Sharon, but I have to ask: Why would an adult want to re-watch the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons they watched as a child?
ReplyDeleteMany people for many years have been believing the buzz-phrase myth of the politicians they voted for, and have never bothered to confront the reality of those politicians. If there is good news in Covid-19, it is that many people who don't take it seriously will deservedly die from it, and the rest of us will no longer have to deal with them or the memes and myths they perpetuate.