Meme Generalization

Memes are all around social media. They were made to make people laugh, never to be taken seriously, until of late. Websites like Reddit and 9Gag for example, have started out the trend. Once people caught wind of the memes, many more were created like Michael Jordan with his championship rings, making fun of Lebron James winning his first ring. One meme in particular that I will be looking at, is the infamous "Scumbag Steve" Meme. This meme alone has spawned many memes similar to it, like "Scumbag Universe", "Scumbag Meatloaf", "Scumbag Sonic", and many others. It consists of a white rapper named Blake Boston (a.k.a. Weezy B), and the picture was taken by his mom, for her art project. The meme is supposed to represent someone that everyone has known at one point in their life, it could be a douchebag, an inconsiderate jackass, a moocher, someone who was very ignorant, or pretty much anyone that would dress like him, and act like their more important than anyone else. By analyzing this meme, I will be able to explain what is essential to create a meme, why this meme in particular is unique, and the similarities and differences between the multiple executions of this meme, and create my own version of the meme to show I understand the genre of the meme.

If you are on social media, there isn’t one place that you wouldn’t see a meme. But the question is, ‘What makes a meme a meme?’ Well there are a couple elements that are needed to make a meme in the first place. First off, you need a recognizable picture to serve as the background of the meme. It can be a famous picture that you find on the internet, or any picture that peaks your interest, sky's the limit. Once you’ve chosen the picture, make sure to keep your opinion to two short sentences. It’s all up to you how the sentences will come out, but they must be two short sentences. Depending on whether you want it to be funny, or serious, all depends on your second statement. If you want it to be funny, the second statement should be ironic or humorous. However if you want it to be serious, have the second statement be more opinionated. There are many other ways to make a popular meme, but those two examples are commonly used for memes.

Now for ‘Scumbag Steve’ memes, a couple characteristics are exclusive to this subgenre. Like previously mentioned, the first thing a meme needs is a picture. Instead of being able to choose any picture you want, you are limited to the "Scumbag Steve" picture. It isn’t a bad place to start though, it is a very popular subgenre, and it spawned many similar memes in the form of "The Scumbag Meme". For example: "Scumbag Brain", "Scumbag Universe", "Scumbag Meatloaf", and "Scumbag Sonic". Once you’ve found a blank copy of the ‘Scumbag Steve’ picture, the next step is to come up with an ironic two-statement joke that plays off of the picture. This explanation works for many other memes of the same genre as well. In order to make the statements exclusive to the ‘Scumbag Steve’ subgenre, they need to include a stereotypical situation that arises from someone like ‘Scumbag Steve’, and how he looks into the door. This is how to make the statement fit the picture perfectly, and most would argue that this is the most essential part in order to create a great meme.

The meme I chose is a great example of how to convey all the items I have discussed throughout this paper. The background of the meme, has the famous picture of "Scumbag Steve", with his 'Scumbag Hat' on looking like he is about to ask for a favor. On the top and bottom of the picture, it has a statement that fits this subgenre very well. The beginning of the statement starts with, ‘Asks to borrow 100 bucks’. A lot of Scumbag memes start with something as innocent as this. When I look at only the top half of the statement, I think ‘Oh he’s just asking to borrow money.’ But then here comes the kicker, ‘Never hear from him again.’ It’s now stereotyping people who mooch off people, and never pay them back, or do something to return the favor. It plays off the fact that everyone has met someone like that in their life, at least once or twice. And because of that they can relate to that in ways others can’t, and those who have mooched off others can as well. The look on his face makes it seem like he’s in need of something, in this case money. But once you loan him the money, you never hear from him again, and you end up out of $100 that you probably needed to pay for something important.

Overall, the "Scumbag Steve" subgenre, and my version of the "Scumbag Steve" meme demonstrated the essentials to create a meme, and make them in a way people can relate to. Almost everyone has had to deal with someone like "Scumbag Steve" at least once in their life. And if they haven't, now they'll know to look out for someone like him, and avoid them at all cost.

 Project Two Rough Draft