People encounter memes in their everyday lives, whether it be on message boards, social media websites, or in conversations with friends and colleagues, memes are an inescapable aspect of American society. The first use of the term “meme” was by Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and author, who first used the term to describe the spread of cultural information between individuals within a culture. Internet memes, in particular, are used to spread the culture of the internet among internet users. Websites such as Reddit and 4chan are amongst the most well-known websites responsible for the spread and creation of internet memes. Internet memes impact various aspects of American society, but have the most profound impact on both American
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The use of the term as the name for such pictures however, fits closely with Dawkins’ definition of a meme. Dawkins himself stated that the contemporary definition of a meme to describe humorous pictures has “… been appropriated for a subset…,” of a meme (Richard Dawkins on the internet, 2013). Memes have played and continue to play a profound role in contemporary society and have even been used in a wide variety of instances such as explaining people’s opinions on certain social issues as well as in major modern political …show more content…
In regards to the republic presidential candidate, Donald Trump, memes have been used to not only criticize his appearance, but to also criticize his beliefs. The various Donald Trump memes on the internet do not follow a shared format like those of the “Bernie vs. Hilary” memes, but do share a similar purpose, to criticize Donald Trump’s appearance, highly controversial statements, and beliefs. The main focus of many Donald Trump memes are his appearance. Trumps appearance, such as his hair and skin tone, have been the main focus of many Donald Trump memes. Other Donald Trump memes however, criticize his highly controversial options such as the belief that Mexico is sending criminals to the United States. Memes have also been used to criticize Hilary Clinton. There are memes which depict Hilary Clintons robotic demeanor as well as her poor attempts to connect with young
The use of the term as the name for such pictures however, fits closely with Dawkins’ definition of a meme. Dawkins himself stated that the contemporary definition of a meme to describe humorous pictures has “… been appropriated for a subset…,” of a meme (Richard Dawkins on the internet, 2013). Memes have played and continue to play a profound role in contemporary society and have even been used in a wide variety of instances such as explaining people’s opinions on certain social issues as well as in major modern political …show more content…
In regards to the republic presidential candidate, Donald Trump, memes have been used to not only criticize his appearance, but to also criticize his beliefs. The various Donald Trump memes on the internet do not follow a shared format like those of the “Bernie vs. Hilary” memes, but do share a similar purpose, to criticize Donald Trump’s appearance, highly controversial statements, and beliefs. The main focus of many Donald Trump memes are his appearance. Trumps appearance, such as his hair and skin tone, have been the main focus of many Donald Trump memes. Other Donald Trump memes however, criticize his highly controversial options such as the belief that Mexico is sending criminals to the United States. Memes have also been used to criticize Hilary Clinton. There are memes which depict Hilary Clintons robotic demeanor as well as her poor attempts to connect with young