Post 5: Considering the Relationship between Online and Offline Authority in Shaping Meme Messages

Kirsten Jacobson
kirsten.jacobson123@gmail.com

My research and reflection this week set in the perspective of Aguilars idea of both genres and frames, and finding meaning in the meme collection I have gathered so far through those terms. So far my collection of memes seems to have a strong overlying presence of the 'promoting' and 'playful' genre. 
Almost all of the memes in my collection so far shed a positive view of the Buddhist community in the sense of having a promoting genre, in other words, these memes highlight the peaceful nature of the faith and those who identify within the faith by often depicting peaceful prayer and inner thought as making someone better or less hateful than people outside the community who participate in popular culture and violence. An example of this being one of my first memes I presented in which someone is meditating and the text overlay sarcastically states that other people are out there fighting wars while he is just praying.
Aspects of religious authority could definitely inform someone and their reading of my collection of religious internet memes. Knowing the importance of Buddha and his relationship with prayer will help a person understand that people making these memes are coming from an insider perspective that believes strongly in following the path of Buddha, the ultimate religious authority in their faith.

Link to memes

Image result for buddhist memes

Image result for buddhist memes


Comments

  1. Soup Twin-1November 14, 2017 at 8:16 AM

    Good general discussion, but make sure you provide more detail the common features that are being stereotyped in your memes. Remember illustrating your claims, like unpacking in detail a couple of memes that exemplify your argument, will be important for your final paper.

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