WTDMI2DR
When That Depression Meme is Too Damn Relatable
When That Depression Meme is Too Damn Relatable is a video that repetitively reads a selection of online memes aloud in order to deconstruct their meanings. The video is projected onto a wall and demands attention from the viewer. At the end of each section, a smiley face and a check mark signify the end of the repetition cycle for a single meme. As each repetition cycle ends the intended humour and relatability within the memes becomes estranged which encourages a deeper consideration of the use of disseminated memes to cope with depression.
As viewers are faced with this large scale projection, they see a disembodied mouth repeating the lines from the memes it is paired with on the screen. Each reiteration of the phrases becomes more strange and dissects the actual meaning of these phrases. As the cycles continue and repeat, the original humorous intention of the memes becomes more and more cynical. At the end of each cycle, a smiley face with a check mark appears in order to ultimately solidify the irony and cynicism within the piece. This video exaggerates the act of disseminating online memes and examines the function of repetitively consuming and sharing these memes in order to feel a sense of relation to others.
This concept is built on a description of memes from Domagoj Bebic and Marija Volarevic:
“On the surface, Internet memes might appear shallow or insignificant, silly jokes sent around and soon forgotten. Yet although they often lack seriousness, memes are a distinctive product of current digital culture and typify many of its underlying qualities (Milner, 2912; Shifman, 2013). Marwick (2013) explains that insider slang, chain emails, and trendy videos that fill inboxes and news feeds, the ones circulating from user to user, are the new kind of news that gain users' attention. The aim of a meme is simple: become popular, actual, and humorous content that can be easily noticed in a social network but also easily spread.” (Bebic and Marija Volarevic, 44)
As memes are shared and circulated with others, they become a mass inside joke for social media users. When a person can relate to a meme or understand the concept in a meme, they are able to articulate their beliefs in an entirely new way (44). Once their beliefs are articulated, they automatically become aligned with a larger social group. I believe that this mass form of relatable content validates people’s place in society and perceptions of their own self. If someone shares a meme, even if they did not create the content, it ultimately reflects back onto them. Thus, memes are not only used as a coping mechanism but a tool to mediate the self. When someone shares a meme about depression, it is not only because they find the irony humorous, but because they can relate to the content within the meme. As they share these “depression memes” (Krawczyk, 2017) the act of doing so connects them to a broader group of individuals who can also relate to this content. Thus, they are using memes to cope with depression, not only through humour, but through the comfort in knowing they are not alone in their feelings. (Krawczyk, 2017) The repetition of the mouths reading the words aloud symbolizes this sharing with, and accumulation of, like minded individuals. When the repetition cycle has come to an end, the smiley face and check mark indicate that the act of coping has been completed. However, the cynicism within the piece indicates to the audience that this type of coping method may not actually be helpful.
This piece was partly inspired by Bruce Nauman’s video work Good Boy Bad Boy.
“Nauman is interested in the unidirectional relation of the television message. He films two actors who are presented side by side on two monitors. One is a black man, a theater actor, wearing a white shirt, the other a white woman wearing a dark green dress, who he has chosen from the world of television commercials and soap operas. The man repeats the hundred sentences written by Nauman, as does the woman, too, but the woman takes more time over her recitation, so the screen on which the man appears is black while she finishes.” (Pontbriand, 1998-1999)
In the same way, When That Depression Meme is Too Damn Relatable also examines the medium in which these phrases are coming from through repetition and multiples. However, instead of two separate people reciting lines, there is one person reciting lines beside the meme itself. The commonality between the two separate sides in each video piece is the words that are being recited. Bringing the viewers attention to the medium itself.
Overall, When That Depression Meme is Too Damn Relatable examines meme culture in relation to societal symptoms of social media. Humour within memes is often used as a coping mechanism for the anxiety that these platforms create. Then in turn, the memes are used as representations of identity. Conclusively, social media creates an infinite cycle of emotional negotiation within its structures. This video examines and deconstructs a method of coping with that emotional negotiation.
As viewers are faced with this large scale projection, they see a disembodied mouth repeating the lines from the memes it is paired with on the screen. Each reiteration of the phrases becomes more strange and dissects the actual meaning of these phrases. As the cycles continue and repeat, the original humorous intention of the memes becomes more and more cynical. At the end of each cycle, a smiley face with a check mark appears in order to ultimately solidify the irony and cynicism within the piece. This video exaggerates the act of disseminating online memes and examines the function of repetitively consuming and sharing these memes in order to feel a sense of relation to others.
This concept is built on a description of memes from Domagoj Bebic and Marija Volarevic:
“On the surface, Internet memes might appear shallow or insignificant, silly jokes sent around and soon forgotten. Yet although they often lack seriousness, memes are a distinctive product of current digital culture and typify many of its underlying qualities (Milner, 2912; Shifman, 2013). Marwick (2013) explains that insider slang, chain emails, and trendy videos that fill inboxes and news feeds, the ones circulating from user to user, are the new kind of news that gain users' attention. The aim of a meme is simple: become popular, actual, and humorous content that can be easily noticed in a social network but also easily spread.” (Bebic and Marija Volarevic, 44)
As memes are shared and circulated with others, they become a mass inside joke for social media users. When a person can relate to a meme or understand the concept in a meme, they are able to articulate their beliefs in an entirely new way (44). Once their beliefs are articulated, they automatically become aligned with a larger social group. I believe that this mass form of relatable content validates people’s place in society and perceptions of their own self. If someone shares a meme, even if they did not create the content, it ultimately reflects back onto them. Thus, memes are not only used as a coping mechanism but a tool to mediate the self. When someone shares a meme about depression, it is not only because they find the irony humorous, but because they can relate to the content within the meme. As they share these “depression memes” (Krawczyk, 2017) the act of doing so connects them to a broader group of individuals who can also relate to this content. Thus, they are using memes to cope with depression, not only through humour, but through the comfort in knowing they are not alone in their feelings. (Krawczyk, 2017) The repetition of the mouths reading the words aloud symbolizes this sharing with, and accumulation of, like minded individuals. When the repetition cycle has come to an end, the smiley face and check mark indicate that the act of coping has been completed. However, the cynicism within the piece indicates to the audience that this type of coping method may not actually be helpful.
This piece was partly inspired by Bruce Nauman’s video work Good Boy Bad Boy.
“Nauman is interested in the unidirectional relation of the television message. He films two actors who are presented side by side on two monitors. One is a black man, a theater actor, wearing a white shirt, the other a white woman wearing a dark green dress, who he has chosen from the world of television commercials and soap operas. The man repeats the hundred sentences written by Nauman, as does the woman, too, but the woman takes more time over her recitation, so the screen on which the man appears is black while she finishes.” (Pontbriand, 1998-1999)
In the same way, When That Depression Meme is Too Damn Relatable also examines the medium in which these phrases are coming from through repetition and multiples. However, instead of two separate people reciting lines, there is one person reciting lines beside the meme itself. The commonality between the two separate sides in each video piece is the words that are being recited. Bringing the viewers attention to the medium itself.
Overall, When That Depression Meme is Too Damn Relatable examines meme culture in relation to societal symptoms of social media. Humour within memes is often used as a coping mechanism for the anxiety that these platforms create. Then in turn, the memes are used as representations of identity. Conclusively, social media creates an infinite cycle of emotional negotiation within its structures. This video examines and deconstructs a method of coping with that emotional negotiation.