Art of The Meme

Palmer Bowman

pb501515@ohio.edu

The way images are possessed in media can set the tone for everything the article is about.  In today's political climate more than ever we need truthful images that help propel the story forward. Pictures and images that help add context to the story and makes us as the consuming public feel reassured that we are getting the truth.

BUT...

We also elected a meme for President in 2016 and this task as been becoming increasingly harder than it must have been in the past.

Before the Art of the Meme, images tell a story all its own because it would be so hard to fake a picture.  Now, every Tom, Dick, and Harry can access Photoshop. If you have a smart phone, there are free applications that you can edit an image to convey a joke in minutes maybe even seconds if you are as slick as Quickdraw McGraw. If you want personal example of how easy it is to alter images on the internet here is a picture from my own personal Tinder.

I made this Tinder in a total of 5 minutes with various other photoshopped pictures of myself with lizards. This is the result of making a bet while you watch Planet Earth 2 with friends. I found a free application on my cell phone and the rest was history. This may be a fairly accurate representation of how I conduct my self in a professional setting but it is still a decent talking point when progressing the idea that the truth with an image can be easily altered to conform to a narrative. I'm a jokester, and lizard Tinder helps add to that narrative.

Lets hop back to Orange McPotus for a second. He came through with this little gem to let the American people know there were sanctions about to be placed on the hostile foreign country of Iran.

He tried to ease the tension by making the font an easily identifiable nod to Game Of Thrones.  A show with a main plot element of hostile monarchical governments compete in devious ways to control power.  Although this narrative is fairly accurate to how the Trump family brand has been for decades upon centuries now, he is still taking a television property that millions of people have an affinity to lighten the idea that what he's about to do could piss off a foreign nation that is developing nuclear energy. 

I'm not saying our president shouldn't joke around. Obama become president because dang his tight ten was always killer. He was almost like a stand up that didn't try to joke but just threw them in there just to lighten the mood. Which is great. I want the leader of the free world to ease the american people's worries as we all collectively head into the next chapter of American History.

BUT...

Using a show that has a strong history of watching your loved ones die to many political chess moves as a joke about Iran Nuclear sanctions is the farthest thing from bringing ease to the American public.