The Memes You Need, Vol. 7: Meme-o-Rama
Pepperidge Farm does what Pepperidge Farm does, Elon Musk dons his Communist get-up, and we encounter burning Cybertrucks, the Pink Panther, and wizards in this deep-cut-laden, political meme-o-rama.
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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 an entire Memes section in which I discuss the subject, 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 discourse practice online. And candidly, we should all do so: memes offer a digital shorthand for dealing with and reacting to the many idiosyncratic situations we encounter online, which situations become, without memes, far more arduous to navigate. Simply put, high-quality memes save you time.
Info Box: All Past Editions of the Retro Meme Archive
I studied and taught memes when I was a professor at University of New Hampshire—yes, really!—so I curate an archive series like this one very mindfully. The very 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 act as 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 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 what you would expect: a grab-bag of memes that hail from several 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 more esoteric subcategories, like memes intended to express an inchoate mood or a snap reaction to a sudden development. I trust you’ll pretty quickly see how, why, and when the memes below could be useful to you in your online discourse going forward.
With all this in mind, I do hope you the enjoy the piping hot memes compiled below!