Meme mi mi...

The meme.

I enjoy these a lot. I really do. I'm part of a group on facebook that basically does nothing but compile these things (in the form of de-motivational posters), the majority of them being original creations by members of the group - and the number of images grows exponentially. What is a meme?

Well, according to the Urban Dictionary, the meme is:

"1. meme
(noun)

1 : an idea, belief or belief system, or pattern of behavior that spreads throughout a culture either vertically by cultural inheritance (as by parents to children) or horizontally by cultural acquisition (as by peers, information media, and entertainment media)

2 : a pervasive thought or thought pattern that replicates itself via cultural means; a parasitic code, a virus of the mind especially contagious to children and the impressionable"

Well that's all well and good, but what does that mean to the average person? You've seen tons of memes. In fact, my posting of a definition was probably totally unnecessary. The internet meme is basically any image, sound, phrase - anything - that gets passed around, via emails, links posted in forums, blogs, etc.

Anyone with access to the internet since 2000 or earlier has seen their share of memes - here are some of my favorites over the years.

1998: One of the oldest memorable meme’s, Deidre LaCarte created a website as a homage to her pet, “Hampton Hamster,” using 4 animated gif repeated over and over again, and a sped-up version of the opening to “Whistle Stop,” the opening credits song to Disney’s animated Robin Hood. Eventually, due to copyright laws, Disney had it taken down – but the idea and image by that time had spread through the net to thousands of people everywhere.

1999: The Blair Witch. Now, I’m sure several of you out there are going “That movie sucked.” Shut up. The only reason you didn’t like it was because it was fake – and that made you angry, either because you believed it was real at some point or another, or because you didn’t want to suspend your disbelief. The most famous of all the scenes is of course the only girl character sobbing into the camera (You can’t convince me that someone who can conjure snot when they cry isn’t a first rate actor when it comes to tears) spawned innumerable spoofs and parodies, including a bump on Cartoon Network featuring Shaggy from Scooby Doo saying “I’m so hungry” instead of “I’m so sorry.”

2000: Goatse. Enough said. I won’t post a link or image, because I don’t know what friends or family read this blog, and whether or not they know it’s me behind these posts, I don’t want it coming back to me that I posted an image of Goatse. Those of you who don’t know what Goatse is – google at your own risk. Those of you who do, this is a favorite for these reasons:

-By the time I saw this image, I was a budding net troll. I was not shocked, nor grossed out. Instead, I wondered – who, how, and why? One of the first things I noticed was that he wore a wedding ring. Does his wife know he can do this…? For all we know, she was the one holding the camera.

-This is one of the few images I’ve heard of that was actually banned/removed from several sites that did nothing but promote the image. I’m not talking about getting censored out of blogs, or it getting posted in inappropriate places – I’m talking about sites set up for nothing but the purpose of displaying the image. Yet the powers that be attempted to take it down (futile as the attempt was, as mirrors of the image had popped up like a venereal disease of the world wide web).

2004: Gary Brolsma lips synchs the song Dragosta Din Tei by O-Zone, and inadvertently achieves world-wide fame via the meme, and earns the title of “The Numa Numa Guy.” This dude made a ton of money in the process, appearing on several cable daytime talk shows, and actually inspired the songwriter to make a new song.

2005: Ben Schultz – aka, LEEEEEEEEROY JENKINS! Screws over his guild, "Pals for Life,” by charging into battle, negating their planned tactical assault (he was afk during the planning) on the PvP realm of the Laughing Skull. The entire guild is slaughtered, but hey, at least Leeroy still had chicken.

2005: The Ultimate Showdown song and flash video is released onto the net, pitting no fewer than 54 fighters against each other in the animation, all of which are taken from pop culture of the 80’s and 90’s. Not all are mentioned in the song itself, nor do all die, but you get points if you can remember the winner before the end of the video.

2005 (man, a lot of these came out in 2005, didn’t they?): The “Ask a Ninja” series. There are too many amazingly funny eps for me to post just one, so I’ll just post a link.

2006: Ok Go releases “Here it Goes Again,” with an amazingly low budget video featuring the band doing intricate choreography on treadmills. The first time I saw it, I must have watched it three times in a row, pondering whether or not some friends and I should attempt it. We never did – but I still get a kick out of watching Ok Go do it.

2007: An inexplicable video of a young girl eating a comically large cookie in front of what appears to be a large boa constrictor eating a man eating a large fish pops up on various websites. Link here.

2008: Dancing Matt – the Matt in the question “Where the Hell is Matt.” A guy that video tapes himself dancing in various countries around the world. Just one dance. Over and over. It’s weird – but I love it. I saw the first video sometime during or in the years following 2000, but the third was released just this past June, and features the most countries, with a total of 42 - well worth the watch. The music is beautiful, and there's several moments where you'll sort of wonder how the guy got there - there's scenes of him dancing underwater, with natives in New Guinea, and a troupe of dancers in India. Somehow I like this one best: it makes me laugh, and it fills me with a certain amount of hope that people all around the world - of all ages, professions, genders and backgrounds - given the chance to dance, laugh and have a good time (even with a stranger), will.

As a closer to this post, I give you Weezer's "Pork and Beans" music video, which parodies (and even guest stars!) several internet stars.

I hope it was a fun trip down memory lane. Enjoy it - or don't. I don't give a crap. :}