Worthwhile analysis

The purpose of this assignment is to identify and examine messaging you may have come across in various social media platforms. Find a topic that interests you and that you think will produce a worthwhile analysis. Think about your own feelings/reactions, and then, find evidence from the text (brand/meme) to support your ideas. Use at least one source (you do not need a scholarly source for this assignment).

Organize your ideas using this structure:
Body paragraph 1: Provide background: when did the message of the brand/meme appear (social, historical, cultural, economic, or political context)? Why do you think it gained traction-what audience does it engage?
Body paragraph 2: Provide some visual analysis as well as some insight as to rhetorical elements presented by the brand/meme (ie. think about the Florida’s Natural orange juice ad from July 6 or the La Mer video from July 20), including associated paraphernalia or imagery (ie. clothing, logos, flags, slogans, gestures, song lyrics, posters, videos, manifestoes, etc.), if applicable. What appeals or messages (specific values, belonging, shared experience, desire for change, etc.) are communicated to the viewer? Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. (Consider what is suggested or hinted at, not just what is explicitly stated.)
Body paragraph 3: What kinds of effects do you think this brand/meme had on society? If it has stayed relevant for some years, why do you think it has staying power? Did it help to establish community and belonging amongst a group of people? Did it help to mobilize a group of people to take action and achieve a certain goal?

OPTION A
Choose a commercial brand, political group, social class, sports team, or military branch, etc. Examine its presentation of rhetorical elements and appeals.

Some Topics (or choose one of your own):
-Fashion: romanticization of colonial time periods (Chanel’s 2012 “Bombay” collection); women’s clothing trends (masculine suits and shoulder pads) and feminism in the 1980s; appropriation of indigenous cultures (DSquared/DSquaw; trend of wearing native headdress, ie. Pharrell), etc.
-Advertising: sexuality (ie. American Apparel), class affiliations/aspirations, sports teams (calls for renaming)
-Videogames: gender, violence, community networks, etc.
-Music/videos: nationalist, feminist (Beyonce’s Lemonade), misogynist, genre crossovers (“Old Town Road” or another)
-Film/TV: exoticizing or othering of cultures/religions (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
-Politics: narratives of immigration, national pride, western expansion
-History: rhetoric used to justify slavery, internment, or genocide
-a topic of your own (check with me)

OPTION B
Choose a meme (or group of memes) or hashtag, TikTok trend (cringe dance), Facebook challenge (Ice Bucket, planking), or conspiracy theory. Examine its appearance on social media and the impact on its audience.

Some Memes (or choose one of your own):
Hey Girl, Condescending Wonka, Sad Keanu, Woman Yelling at Cat (Smudge), Grumpy Cat, Success Kid, OK Boomer, Doge, Awkward Look Monkey Puppet, This is Fine, Literally No One, Salt Bae, Confused Girl, Overly Attached Girlfriend, Triggered, K-Pop hashtags, etc., or one not listed here. See a handy database of memes here: Know Your Meme.

Merriam-Webster defines a meme as an “an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture” or “an amusing or interesting item (such as a captioned picture or video) . . . that is spread widely online.” Richard Dawkins, who coined the term, wrote, “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.”
Limor Shifman defined memes as “(a) a group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form, and/or stance; (b) that were created with awareness of each other; and (c) were circulated, imitated, and transformed via the internet by multiple users” (see /henryjenkins.org).