What are Memes? by Sharon Winters

The first time I saw the word “meme” was about two years ago when I was studying German because my husband and I were going to Berlin where he was born. I used the “Memrize” application on my iPhone to learn about three hundred words in German and each German word came with a meme, which helped me to remember this German word. (I bought a “Grammar Cheat Sheet” from Amazon to learn German grammar.) My next exposure to the word “meme” was on Facebook when people would comment on a photo I posted to my Facebook page. They would say something like, “Hey, I like your meme.” My dog, Karl, has become a Facebook meme. 

            Jack Zipes talks about memes in his book: Why Fairy Tales Stick. Part of the answer as to why fairy tales stick is that they have become memes. Richard Dawkins’s started talking about memes as a “cultural replicator . . . a unit of cultural transmission” (p.3-4). And exactly what are memes? They can be “tunes, ideas, catch-phrases [‘Here come the judge’ or ‘Here’s your sign.’], clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. . . leaping from brain to brain” (p.4).

            Zipes tells us that in order for a meme to survive it needs three things: 1. It must be faithfully copied, 2. It can be copied or replicated many times, 3. And it must be able to survive for a long time. While Zipes is referring to elements in fairy tales, I’m thinking of Facebook and its “sharing” feature, which has created millions of memes. Zipes also referred to “cultural forms of transmission,” which are books as well as radio, film, video, and the Internet (p.5).

            In summation, memes are intangible but transferrable units like stocks in a financial market. These memes transfer our beliefs and have the capability of proselytizing. They are also like an ear worm, and in respect to fairy tales, memes make these tales relevant and meaningful as they leap from brain to brain. Dawkins would add that fairy tales make the transformation of human beings possible (p.23).

Comments

[Genevieve]

This is a lovely discussion. You have captured the essence of a concept which has taken on a life of its own. You do a nice job of describing this as well as thinking about how we transfer our beliefs and ideas. Stories are powerful and this is one of the ways they act on us. Thank you for the clarity of your discussion.

[ChantelFreed69]

Only you could make this an interesting an read for me. I enjoyed how you weaved me through the 'meme' trail.

[Debbie Rowe]

Meme is definitely a word I had never put much thought into prior to Zipes' discussion. You did a great job of tying in his definition and reference to fairy tales with our modern cultural phenomena we have experienced with the growth of the internet.

[Elizabeth Wunsch]

Great discussion and post. Thought provoking, definitely.