Memes are cultural units (symbols, practices, styles, etc.) spread by imitation and performed in diverse incarnations. Memes pop up again and again, with the recurrent familiarity of "I Got You, Babe" starting each slightly altered 24-hour-cycle for Bill Murray's Groundhog Day character.
The connection with Punxsutawney Phil is an admitted bit of a stretch, but here are 10 memes that have spun off imitative and diverse incarnations that raise a content consumer's social consciousness, without the consumer needing to think about it.
The "Pepper Spray Everything Cop" meme originated in the November 18, 2011, viral video of Lt. John Pike casually pepper spraying a group of UC Davis students who were seated, arms linked, to support the Occupy Wall Street movement.
It Gets Better
Columnist/editor Dan Savage launched the It Gets Better viral video anti-bullying meme in response to a spate of teen suicides. Celebrities of all backgrounds and grades—from the President of the most powerful nation on earth, Barack Obama, to the queen of reality television, Kim Kardashian—created nuggets of encouragement for put-upon kids. For informing beleaguered children that middle- and high-school hell need not extend into adulthood, It Gets Better is one of the best memes ever devised.
Privilege Denying Dude
According to the popular Know Your Meme site, Privilege Denying Dude's many incarnations were set off by 20-year-old blogger Diane from South Carolina. Privilege Denying Dude's captions satirize patronizing viewpoints on issues such as racism, feminism and gay rights.
Feminist Ryan Gosling
"Hey girl" is the common denominator of the Feminist Ryan Gosling meme stream. The patronizing salutation is generally followed by a detailed appreciation of feminist theory couched as a come-on.
Successful Black Man
The hip-hop vision of young African American males as gangsta, consumerist, sexist louts is challenged by the recurring appearances of Successful Black Man. Make sure to read past the line break for a snap in stereotypical consciousness.
Free Hugs
Australian Juan Mann appears to have launched the Free Hugs real-world meme by accident. Returning to Sydney after his life had topsy turned in London, Mann envied the hugs he saw being flung with abandon in the arrivals lounge. The incidental innovator wrote FREE HUGS on a piece of discarded cardboard and stepped boldly into Sydney's pedestrian flow. That brave gesture created the Free Hugs Campaign, and has spread all across the world, from Tel Aviv to the soundstages of Oprah.
Senior Freshman
Old people. They clog up traffic and take too long at grocery store checkouts. Oh, yeah, they also go back to school and otherwise defy short-sighted expectations. Nola Ochs, the woman in this photograph, broke the Guinness World Record for world’s oldest college graduate in 2007—at age 95. Hopefully Nola matriculated with her sense of humor intact. Much of the meme that spreads her image pokes fun at a stage of life none of us will escape, at least not without fatal consequences.
We're a Culture, Not a Costume
A group of Ohio University students takes credit for a visually arresting campaign that puts trick or treaters on notice that cultural heritage is not something to make a costume out of. The scholars of STAR (Students Teaching About Racism in Society) just wanted to say, "Hey, this is not cool. This is offensive and this shouldn’t be taken lightly."
How People View Me After I Say I'm X
The difference in perception and misinformed perception can be the opposite of subtle. The How People View Me After I Say I'm X is a two-pane cartoon that plays on how initial perceptions can be influenced by cultural and ethnic stereotypes. Know Your Meme puts the origin of this viral slice of social commentary at June 2011.
We Are The 99 Percent
Just who are all these people who are supposedly dissatisfied with America's financial system, and what are their gripes? One sheet of paper and a Magic Marker, multiplied by a multitude, paint the picture. A Mother Jones article, according to Know Your Meme, credits We Are the 99 Percetnt's origination to "a 28-year-old New York activist named Chris, who’s been managing logistics of food drives for Occupy Wall Street."
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