Dank Meme

This week’s content is split into two thematic halves: first, Nicholas Carr and Clay Shirky’s arguments regarding the effect of the immediate access and overabundance information in the digital age. This, then, is associatively connected to the second half: Kirby Ferguson’s video essay “Everything is a Remix,” which theorizes the nature of creativity, something accelerated in the age of Google. And an example in the interactive Billie Eilish-YouTube project, “Infinite Bad Guy”.
⦁ Start with Nicholas Carr’s essay, ⦁ “Is Google Making Us Stupid”. This is about a half-hour read, or so.
⦁ Watch Grace Lee’s “The Speed (and Stillness) of Being Online” (you might note, additionally, that this video is an excellent example of the video essays we will be producing by the end of the semester. Of course, more on that later…):

⦁ Next, watch Kirby Ferguson’s “Everything is a Remix”:

It’s 40 minutes!
⦁ Watch and play with “⦁ Infinite Bad Guy⦁  (Links to an external site.),” a collaboration between Billie Eilish and YouTube. You will quickly recognize the interactive aspects of this project. I encourage you to consider it against Ferguson’s video essay.
Assignment instruction:
PART 1 (Dank Memes):

While it’s not the sole (or primary) definition of the word, when we think of memes, we often think of digitally repurposed images combined with witty or ironic text (often written in Impact typeface). Considering Kirby Ferguson’s claim that everything is a remix, contemporary memes are perfect examples of the way remix culture has accelerated in the digital age.
But what makes an effective meme? Perhaps this brief article on the longevity of Kermit the Frog memes will give you some clues. For this task, I’m asking you to create your own meme, utilizing an image of your choosing, that comments on one of the ideas that we’ve discussed so far in this class. You might consider the definitions of new media (Neese) or the importance of a medium (McLuhan and Hayles); you could think about the nature of narrative (Abbott) or how mediums remediate each other (Bolter); you could make memes about the deterioration of deep reading (Carr) or the way the internet manipulates time (Lee); or you could write about the nature of a remix (Ferguson).
This should be a fun task. Experiment with being funny, or not funny. Write too much or too little. It’s okay if your meme falls flat, or is intentionally flat to begin with. Do, however, take special consideration of the images that you use. Because memes play with cultural signifiers, it’s important that you are respectful of other cultures. Ask yourself, is this image appropriate for me to use? If you’re not sure, think about why. Then, pick the more considerate option.
If you’ve never made a meme, here is a quick video with instructions for doing so, using this simple website
Here is instruction video https://youtu.be/E5PptnAaOdo