The importance of memes

Abstract

Internet memes can be defined as ‘multimodal artefacts remixed by countless participants, employing popular culture for public commentary’ (Milner, 2013: 2357). They come in the form of still images, images with a phrase, GIFs (Graphic Interchange Format, an animated image) and videos. They are a daily part of our digital lives, whether they be ‘political’, ‘branded’ or just a bit of fun. Internet memes appear on our social media news feeds giving us a laugh, many times at the expense of politicians like US President Donald Trump, his adversaries, Boris Johnson, as well as political events such as Brexit, all foregrounding a storm of allegations of Russian and Alt-Right interference in Western politics. Both Anastasia Denisova’s and Bradley E. Wiggins’s books examine memes in depth, making them essential reading for those of us interested in this new(ish) area of study. Although they are oriented around different case studies and approaches, they both consider the importance of Internet memes.