Following the previous intervention that explored the sense of belonging within memes, I wanted to find a method to collect and visualise how memes evolve beyond the screen. The shift from observing and interpreting to now inviting others to create meaning and see their interpretations. Almost an evolved version of the Offline Artefact Intervention #2.
The plan for this intervention is to create a participatory artifact that allows contributors to reflect on the memes and humor present. Almost behaves as a semiotic playground in which meaning is negotiated through personal reflection. The purpose is not to catalog memes but to understand how they are interpreted and how meaning is built from them.
The exercise book is split up into 4 chapters. The main purpose of the book is for participants to put anything they want into it, from a reaction to an answer. I am still deciding whether I want to share it online so people can input images, links, and font choices, or keep it offline and have participants simply use a pen. By distributing the book, I aim to see how they engage with the prompts and what meanings they attach to them. The responses themselves will become the data, ultimately investigating how memes can transform from their original digital experience.
Memes thrive on remixes and contributions, as told by Marcel Danesi author of Memes and the Future of Pop Culture, he stated that “Meme culture is characterizable as a heterogeneous mixage of cultural forms and can thus be more precisely designated as a “mash-up” culture, rather than a bricolage one” (2019, page 40). Danesi also states that “In meme culture, intertextuality breaks down— memes may, of course, allude to other memes, but the whole allusive structure is unstable given the ephemeral nature of memes themselves. Of course, if the allusive system taps into a long-standing intertextuality, then the meme may acquire historical substantiation” (2019, page 76).
The following are the chapters of the book:
Chapter: 1 – undistinguishable
This section uses the offline artefacts used in Intervention #2. The format of the book versus the questionnaire will offer more chances to input images, reactions, links (if the intervention is distributed digitally which will most likely be the case).
Chapter: 2 – distinguishable
Memes plastered on the walls of The Queen Adelaide were examined to determine whether their inclusion has altered people’s sense of belonging to the space.
Chapter: 3 – extra questions
I am uncertain about the choice of these questions; however, the current ones are “do memes even matter?” and “do memes even matter to YOU?”
Chapter: 4 – extra thoughts
The final section is an empty page where participants can share final thoughts, memes, and opinions.
The pdf of the Meme Book:
The purpose of the intervention is to test whether the shared meme language remains coherent and communal when recontextualised into a participatory form. Some potential challenges include how humor translates outside social media, and even participation might vary depending on how hyper online participants are.
Once I’ve begun the intervention, I hope the feedback gathered will inform how the interpretations of objects and spaces can help post-millennials establish a sense of belonging. The only trouble I hope the intervention will address is the missing link between my two strands of research: how memes can become offline artefacts and transform environments, such as The Queen Adelaide, into spaces of collective identity and cultural resonance.
References:
Danesi, M. (2019) Memes and the future of pop culture. Boston : Brill