The Memes You Need, Vol. 4: Meme-o-Rama

An ongoing meme-archive series at Retro that supplies readers with pithy, effective, and engaging memes to use on special occasions.

Jun 18, 2024

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Introduction

I’ve written many articles about memes on Substack—e.g., this one over at Proof—and Retro already has a Memes section in which I regularly discuss the topic, so this series probably needs little introduction. It’s exactly what it says it is: a series of archives of memes from different categories that are all eminently usable by anyone who likes to instrumentalize memes as part of their online-discourse practice.

You can find the first and second entries in this new, ongoing Retro series here and here; they cover “Trump, Musk, and Putin” and “TV, Film, and Culture”, respectively.

The third entry in the series, which focuses on the memes we find ourselves needing to use when dealing with frustrating people on social media platforms, can be found here.

I studied and taught memes when I was a professor at University of New Hampshire—yes, really—so I curate an archive like this one very mindfully. The best memes, whatever their general theme, are ones that have high production values, are easy to read and understand, and make a point that one doesn’t need much or perhaps even any specialized knowledge to empathize with. They’re effective vehicles for trolling and pleasing and commiserating in equal measure, and moreover offer the sort of iconic visual aesthetic that allows them to be instantly recognizable every time they appear anywhere and, just as importantly, be readily remembered. A meme is far more likely to be used and responded to if it’s one that an internet user has seen before (up to a point, of course; the “law of diminishing returns” certainly does also apply here).

A “meme-o-rama” entry in this series is just want you would expect: a grab-bag of memes that hail from all of the meme categories that this series has already seen—including political memes, memes about tech and culture, and memes relating to interpersonal interactions online—as well as other far more esoteric categories and subcategories, like memes merely intended to express an inchoate mood or a snap reaction to a sudden development. I trust that you’ll pretty quickly see how, why, and when the memes below could be useful to you in your online discourse going forward.

With that in mind, I really hope you the enjoy the piping hot memes compiled below!