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Karnib

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Saved by Rabeeh Karnib
on September 22, 2014 at 3:23:16 pm
 

 

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INTRODUCTION

You can find memes everywhere you look. They can be found on twitter, instagram, facebook, and even on TV. But how many people actually know what a meme is? Memes are basically pictures with words written on them that make millions of people laugh. However, memes are more than just that and I am going to show you by analyzing the "Skeptical African Kid" meme. This meme shows a curious African boy in a third world country talking to an American women. He is curious because he is shocked about why some Americans are doing things that African people or other third world people can only dream of doing. By analyzing this meme I will explain what a general meme needs, what makes the meme i have chosen unique, and also give a little background knowledge about this meme.

 

 

 

Rabeeh Karnib

Professor Todd Breijak

English 1020

September 21, 2014

Skeptical African Kid

     You can find memes everywhere you look. They can be found on twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and even on television. But how many people actually know what a meme is? Memes are basically pictures with words written on them that make millions of people laugh. However, memes are more than just that and I am going to show you by analyzing the "Skeptical African Kid" meme. This meme shows a curious African boy in a third world country talking to a White American woman. He is curious because he is shocked about why some Americans are doing things that African people and other third world people only dream of doing. By analyzing this meme I will explain what a general meme needs, what makes the meme I have chosen unique, and how the meme I have created matches the criteria of that specific meme.

     Memes are, in general, something that was created to make people laugh. There are many different types of sub genres of meme. For example, there are "Bad luck Brian" memes, "aggressive sloth" memes, "Scumbag Steve" memes, etc. Memes, however, need specific characteristics for it to be considered as a meme. One main characteristic is that all memes must have the correct picture that matches that meme. For example, "Bad luck Brian" memes must have the school picture of the Bad luck Brian kid as the background. Another example is that the "Scumbag Steve" meme must have a picture of that specific guy standing at the doorway looking like a rapper. Memes must also have white text on the top of the picture and at the bottom as well. This is common in almost every single meme out there. Lastly, the text on the meme must correlate to the joke that allows the meme to be unique from all other memes. For "Bad luck Brian" memes, the top text must indicate something good that happened to the boy and then on the bottom it becomes negative due to his "bad luck". These are just some of the criteria needed to create a meme, however, some specific memes need a little bit more detail for it to be its own.

     I chose to write about the Skeptical African Kid meme. This meme has a lot of unique characteristics that make  it different from every other meme. One characteristic of my meme is it must have the picture of the young African kid. However, what is unique about this kid is that his facial expression must be of confusion or shock. This is very important because it correlates to the text. Another specific detail about this meme is that there must be a White, American woman in the picture. The woman must be looking at the kid as if she just finished telling him something and the boy must be staring back at her for the idea of the text to be understood. Lastly, the skeptical African kid must be telling the woman something he finds confusing about American culture. Also, the thing he finds confusing must be something that poor African people, or other third word natives, wish they had. For example, "You are telling me..." must be the first line on top of the picture and "people stand in line for hours for an apple they can not even eat?" is the second line that goes on the bottom. I have created a meme that fits the criteria of  the Skeptical African Kid meme very well.

     The meme I have created is consistent to a Skeptical African Kid meme for many reasons. One reason is that it has the typical picture that all Skeptical African Kid memes should have, which is the picture of the African kid putting his hands together and looking very confused. This qualifies as a meme because the picture matches the specific meme and its joke. My meme also corresponds with the original meme because it also has the white American woman shown in almost all every Skeptical African Kid meme. Again, this allows my meme that I have created to qualify as a meme due to the picture matching the situation. Lastly, my meme's text is exactly what all other Skeptical African kid memes portray. What this means is that the African kid must be in a conversation with the American white woman telling her something he finds ironic about the American culture. The meme must start of with the line "So you are telling me"on top in white text, which my meme does have, and with the twist of the joke. In my meme the top text says, "So you are telling me" and at the bottom it says, "that people intentionally make water dirty by taking a dump in it". This qualifies as a meme because it has the text that correctly matches the sub genre. The meme that I have created matches the Skeptical African Kid meme because it has the African kid in the picture, it has the White American woman in the picture, and the text makes the meme understandable by allowing the joke behind the text become unique to its sub genre.

     After analyzing the Skeptical African Kid meme, I have showed you what a general meme needs, what makes the Skeptical African Kid meme special, and how the meme I have created matches the what is need for the Skeptical African Kid meme. so in general, this essay is basically trying to get people to understand that all memes are different. Sure they all have a picture with white text on the top and bottom. Sure they all make you laugh every time you see them. But different memes are kinda of like different books or different movies. There is something unique about them that make them their own. For example, you would not put a comical scene in a horror film or an action scene in a romance. Just like how you would not but a Bad luck Brian joke on an aggressive sloth picture. Another example would be that you would not put a Skeptical African Kid joke on a "One does not simply.." picture. In conclusion, memes have specific characteristics that put them under a sub genre and without they won't make sense.

 

 

 

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