ROBERT SNOW
The Muse (Memorial University)

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. (CUP) — You may not realize it, but you are part of a growing Internet trend. (No, you haven’t been secretly recorded and posted on YouTube.) By simply using the Internet, you are part of a global, online community that creates and spreads Internet memes.

The term may be unfamiliar but the content isn’t. LOLCats and the Christian Bale rant are two, commonly-searched memes. One of the most popular is “David After Dentist,” wherein seven-year-old David is trying to come to terms with the light-headed feeling of anesthesia after a trip to the dentist.

The video has received over 71 million hits on YouTube and spawned a few giggle-worthy one-liners: “Is this real life?” and “I feel funny; why is this happening to me?”

But the memes all have one thing in common: As they spread from person to person, new versions and parodies are created. This results in a unique piece of culture that both entertains and connects its audience.

Memes take multiple forms, but they are set apart from a commonplace, viral video in how they are copied and altered by Internet users. Chris Menning, a community manager for the website KnowYourMeme.com, highlights the constantly changing nature of memes.

“Basically, a meme is a handy, theoretical unit of culture that undergoes natural selection in its replication,” he said. “On the Internet, this often comes in the form of an image, phrase or video that inspires people to manipulate it, pass it around and oftentimes seek out more of it.”

KnowYourMeme.com — based in New York City — is specifically designed to track memes, analyze their content and report on the different opinions of each trend. The site incorporates detailed articles on most known memes and their writers use web-traffic tracking tools, like Google Trends, to track how popular a meme becomes over the course of weeks and months.

The site also posts video episodes in which “Internet Scientists” explain how a meme began and why it’s spreading.

One important aspect of memes is how they show off the artistic skill and creativity of their creators. “Alternate Universe” is one such meme that is made up of images depicting popular characters re-imagined as part of other worlds — highly-realistic illustrations of Super Mario characters, for example. These images are posted purely for fun and they rarely carry a complicated message.

A popular trend now is to create memes consisting of auto-tuned remixes of viral videos, some of which display the creator’s legitimate musical talent. YouTube musical group The Gregory Brothers are an excellent example, with their Auto Tune The News series and the wildly popular “Double Rainbow” and “Bed Intruder” songs. The Gregory Brothers have even begun to earn a profit from memes by releasing their remixes on iTunes.

“Bed Intruder”

An informal survey of students at Memorial University in Newfoundland showed how most students are well aware of memes, but not all students see them as art.

“They just give you a good laugh. They’re a good two-minute break from your average day,” said Josh Whelan, a fourth-year economics and math student.

Katherine Laite, a history and archaeology student, disagrees, saying that many memes can be artistic.

Menning agrees.

“I’ve seen a lot of very creative pieces that were based on Internet memes. A concept like ”˜Longcat,’ for instance, provides a great forum for skilful artists to express themselves. But it’s important to note where the skill comes from. Memes themselves are contagious media, but each new iteration is shaped by the skill and creativity of each person through which it passes.”

Art or not, Menning believes that memes are here to stay.

“Culture is fundamentally made out of memes like words, pictures and concepts. As long as we are social animals who communicate with one another and as long as there is an Internet, there will be Internet memes.”