The Meme Manifesto: What They Are and Where They Came From
*I had ChatGPT write this for me personally so I thought I'd share here. Internet history and memetics is such a deep topic!!!
You know those stupidly hilarious, sometimes profound, always shareable little nuggets of culture we call memes? Turns out, they’ve been around way longer than you’d think—like, pre-internet, pre-TV, pre-everything. Memes are older than your grandma’s grandma. They’ve evolved from ancient oral traditions to the pixelated gold we trade on the internet today.
So, what even is a meme? And where did they come from? Let’s break it down for you like the internet-literate (and definitely not entirely degenerate) people we are.
What Even Is a Meme?
Technically speaking, a meme is a unit of cultural information that spreads from person to person. It’s an idea, behavior, or symbol that replicates itself in the cultural bloodstream. Think of it as the viral DNA of human creativity. Richard Dawkins, a dude who wrote The Selfish Gene back in 1976, coined the term. He wasn’t thinking of "cat gifs" or "distracted boyfriend" when he did it, but the principle is the same.
A meme has three defining traits:
- Replication: Memes spread. Whether it’s a picture of a Shiba Inu saying “such wow” or a 13th-century proverb, memes get around.
- Variation: Like a game of cultural telephone, memes evolve as they’re shared. They mutate with every retweet, remix, or drunk group chat.
- Survival of the Fittest: Only the dankest memes thrive. Boring ones? Dead on arrival. The internet (or your medieval ancestors) will have none of it.
Memes: The OG Versions
Believe it or not, the internet didn’t invent memes. Memes existed long before we had Wi-Fi (or even electricity). Some examples of these ancient memes include:
1. Nursery Rhymes and Folk Songs
“Ring Around the Rosie” wasn’t just a way to creep out kids—it was an old-school meme. Passed down orally, it mutated over centuries while spreading cultural stories and norms.
2. Proverbs
Ever hear “The grass is always greener on the other side”? That’s a meme, my dude. These catchy bits of wisdom spread because they’re short, snappy, and just vague enough to apply to anything.
3. Symbols
The Christian cross, the peace sign, the yin-yang—symbols are memes that communicate entire ideologies in a single image. These bad boys spread across continents long before hashtags were a thing.
4. Kilroy Was Here
During World War II, soldiers started drawing a little bald guy peeking over a wall with the caption “Kilroy Was Here.” Nobody knows exactly where it started, but it spread like wildfire. Call it the first viral graffiti.
When Memes Went Mass Market
The invention of mass media kicked memes into overdrive. Instead of word-of-mouth or scribbles on cave walls, ideas could now travel via newspapers, posters, and magazines.
- “Have a Nice Day” Smiley Face (1960s): Harvey Ball created this yellow circle of optimism, and it quickly became the emblem of good vibes everywhere.
- Keep Calm and Carry On (1939): What started as a British WWII morale booster turned into every Etsy shop’s favorite slogan (with about 10,000 variations).
- Alfred E. Neuman (1950s): The gap-toothed mascot of MAD Magazine became a cultural meme of irreverence and absurdity.
The Internet Meme Revolution
Then came the internet, and things got insane. The internet didn’t just speed up meme evolution; it made memes hyper-evolutionary mutants. A meme can now go from birth to death in hours, spawning infinite variations along the way. Early internet hits included:
- Dancing Baby (1996): A weird 3D-rendered baby doing a cha-cha. It was creepy, but people loved it. Prehistoric meme energy.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us (2000): A bad translation from a Japanese video game that became a meme juggernaut, spawning remixes and parodies everywhere.
- Hamster Dance (1998): An entire webpage dedicated to dancing hamster GIFs. Simpler times.
So, Why Do Memes Matter?
Memes are more than just cheap laughs. They’re how we, as a species, communicate ideas, feelings, and culture. Whether it’s through ancient proverbs or the latest Spongebob reaction pic, memes are humanity’s shorthand for saying, “This is how we see the world right now.”
And the best part? Memes evolve with us. They’re chaotic, funny, sometimes annoying, but always a snapshot of culture in motion. So next time you see someone sharing a "core memory unlocked" tweet, remember—you’re participating in an ancient human tradition.
Memes: the original social currency. Share wisely.