Blog #3: Articulation 3 - Victoria Morgan
For this week's blog post, we have been looking at two examples of media texts that have essentially gone viral in two different time periods. Our task has been to reflect on one of the articulations given and show how they have manifested in two examples of media texts. The third articulation I have chosen is shown to be manifested in the two examples given. It looks at how media messages are being created and spread through culture and society.
The first example I want to discuss is Martin Luther's 95 Theses. The second example I will discuss is the infamous meme of a woman yelling at a cat. It was stated that Martin Luther's theses was created to condemn "...the Roman Catholic Church's sale of indulgences...they don't realize how Luther strategically used the media of his time..." (Mohn, 2016). The main message behind the 95 theses is that the Bible is the central religious authority. Luther's use of the printing press is extremely fitting in relation to memes. It was stated that "The ideas of the Reformation happened because of Luther's words, and because of all the imagery that went along with it..." (Mohn, 2016). This was considered a revolution in regards to the printing press as media was not extremely evolved. Pamphlets were shared throughout the town at markets and taken by cart to other cities to be able to read. It was also stated that "...if Martin Luther was alive today, he would use Twitter..." (Mohn, 2016). The third articulation is evidently manifested in this example I have given as we see the process of distribution, circulation, and finally the consumption of Martin Luther's message. Luther's message was distributed across multiple towns and cities and spread like wildfire. His message was circulated and gained popularity and was read and heard by many.
In regards to a current example that we can all understand easily is the meme I will be describing; the woman yelling at the cat meme. As seen in the photo provided by Dr. Herman, the meme shows a woman, from The Real Housewives series so-called, yelling at a cat; which are two totally different pictures taken at two different times. The creator of this meme found these two pictures and combined them together to create someone that we have all seen...everywhere. Moreover, this meme and many other memes relate to Luther's process of distribution, consumption and circulation. Memes travel fast, and obviously way faster than Martin Luther's message was distributed. As stated earlier, the distribution and circulation, of memes in this matter, have become extremely easy, and something that anyone can do. If you have access to the Internet you are able to send memes to anyone and create memes for yourself. The fact that people can consume memes from anywhere in the world. I have described how memes, just like Luther's message, can be consumed, distributed and consumed by many people.
- Victoria
I have included a link that discusses who the cat is, which I thought was interesting seeing as though the majority of us have no idea who the cat is and where the cat came from!
https://time.com/5762380/woman-yelling-at-cat-meme/
References
Mohn, T. (2016, October 28). Long before Twitter, Martin Luther was a media pioneer. Retrieved November 25, 2021, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/30/arts/design/long-before-twitter-martin-luther-was-a-media-pioneer.html#:~:text=The%20500th%20anniversary%20of%20Luther's,the%20media%20of%20his%20day.
Hey Victoria!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post, well done! I like the way you laid out your arguments and discussed how the meme is a more current example of the 95 Theses because they both are definitely seen in articulation #3. Also, I enjoyed viewing the link explaining who the cat is as I also was unaware!
Another meme I love that has gone viral is the guy tapping his head. I've linked an article explaining this meme: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/02/roll-safe-the-guy-tapping-head-meme-explained.html
Do you have any other favourite memes?
- Kayla
Great post,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your evidence of the third articulation found in Martin Luther's 95 Theses. I think his use of the printing press, typography and images was what made his message so popular for its time. As you stated, we see the process of distribution, circulation and consumption. Looking at the woman yelling at the cat meme, we can see how the internet has made it even easier to help in the production, distributions, circulation and consumption of media texts. People are able to take the original meme and change the text, and post it to whatever social media platform they want for people to see. Thus aiding in the production and circulation of the meme.
Hi Victoria,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post to be very insightful. I find it very interesting how you included the quote by Mohn (2016), about how if Martin Luther had access to Twitter he would probably use it. I believe that this is because he would see how useful and influential Twitter is in our current society. Twitter aids in distributing and sharing content to mass groups of people. Hence why the woman yelling at the cat meme went “viral”. It is very easy to “go viral” on social media, as media is being spread to thousands of people very quickly. What are your thoughts on Twitter? Do you think that Twitter will have lasting positive effects on our society?
Overall great post!
Madelaine Violi