Memes for everyone: evolution of these funny images (sometimes not so much)

"Image, idea or symbol used in the network to describe powerful concepts and expressions through different media." The previous sentence describes one of the phenomena that are already part of Internet history : memes.A type of resource used to convey opinions , notions and judgments through the image, text and/or animation; and that has evolved over time.

But, what are their origins? when and how were they born ? Why have some of them become authentic viral phenomena? Today we will try to answer these and other questions about them, as well as analyze the reasons that have made some of them an icon of hate.

The origins

To begin with, we will focus on the etymological origin of the term, which comes from the Greek "mimema." It means something like "what is imitated" and refers to the rooting they can get.A name that first appeared in 1976 in the text The Selfish Gene ( The selfish gene ), in which Richard Dawkins describes it as a " cultural transmission unit or imitation unit ".

The author, specifically, assembles the mechanical theory of cultural transmission that defends the existence of two ways of processing and disseminating information in humans .The first would be based on genes, in the repetition of them throughout the generations; and the second in the "replication" of the information we receive from teaching, imitation and assimilation.

A type of ideas that have been present throughout our development , from the cave pictograms, also reflected in ceramics, to the pop images in different colors of Che Guevara and Marilyn Monroe, passing through the hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt and the symbols of Nazism.In short, small units of information, replicated and transmitted through imitation .

Applied to the Internet, they began to be used during the sending of the first emails in the form of very simple images, usually in black and white and that represented gestures of the face or of some part of the body.The expressions of disbelief and amazement , as well as "sleeve cuts" were frequent, and simple strokes and humor were part of its essence.Image boards or imagesboards like 4chan, and exchange sites for content and forums like Reddit , also had a lot to do.

The evolution

Having said that, it is clear that they have has evolved a lot since then, even beyond the visual aspect , which, although it has not neglected vector images and simple lines-which have managed to stay-, has included photography, animation and text .In fact, currently the most widespread are formed by a capture and a sentence or sentence.

Even the same meme can end up changing over time , especially as regards the message, in a kind of creative chain, and they are no longer propagated only by the network, but to through any virtual medium and even by the hand of instant messaging applications, because who does not remember the "black WhatsApp".

What they share in common, yes, is the grace and surprise that they are capable of generating in the viewer, precisely what makes them viral.Their brevity and conciseness, their ability to transmit a certain "culture" and the possibility of reproducing them easily are other reasons for success.Because this is not due to its creation or its quality, but to the reaction and the impact.

Also, many of them are related to the News and with everyday situations.An episode of the Simpsons, the conviction of Inaki Undargarin, the bust of Cristiano Ronaldo, the case of President Trump's caranchoa and laultima are some of the last events that have ended up giving rise to hundreds of them.Regarding those that reflect situations of our daily life, nothing like that of the girl who scratched her father's car with a screwdriver.

There are even databases that allow us to find certain memes.One of the most famous is Know Your Meme, which includes an explanation that tells how I managed to go viral and even statistical data "of its use.In memesdeportes.com, elButanero.com, Funny Memes and even on Pinterest we find many others.Some specialized pages, such as the sports newspaper As, meanwhile, have their own section dedicated to them.

Memes that infringe copyright?

Parallel to their virtues, some memes have been the subject of a great controversy .This is what happened with that of the well-known misguided penguin, which the German bloggers of Geeksisters.de used in their portal.The surprise was that, three years later, Getty Images I claim more than 800 dollars for using it.Your argument? Violate copyright.GetDigital finally intervened and saved the "debt".

A situation that has been repeated several times and before which there is a great controversy, since, for many, the meme itself is more important than the source from which they come.In fact, probably the original photo , drawing, capture or similar, is not so popular; and these kinds of reactions do nothing but restrict creative freedom .

From a legal point of view, the crux of the matter lies in distinguishing whether it is a photographic work or a simple photo.The difference is that the latter lack a protection especially with respect to the Law on Intellectual Property and that, in order for them to have the aforementioned rights, they should have an extra creativity.

The case of parodies is also a bit special , as there is a ruling from the High Court of Justice of the European Union that typifies them as an exception to copyright, as long as they suppose a humorous manifestation.Something that is usually met in memes, which does not "harm" the original work.

A "dangerous" frog

Apart from this, memes can also become something "dangerous", and even racist symbols at almost the same level as a swastika.This is what happened with Pepe The Frog, which became especially popular during the American election campaign and which relates to the Aryan supremacy.It must be said, however, that it was created in 2005 by cartoonist Matt Furie without any racist connotation.

Unfortunately, today it is used to promote fanatic, offensive ideas, and has been modified in many different ways, to such an extent that the United States Anti-Defamation League has officially classified it as a symbol of hate.Some social networks such as Instagram has even come to veto it.

Other famous memes

Beyond the memes mentioned, there are others that became very popular in the network.This is the case of the "disaster girl"-in which a small smile could be seen in front of her house that, supposedly, had burned down; the Nyan Cat- a space cat in the purest style of retro consoles; and that of Success Kid-the photo of a child with the puno closed and face of success-.

Everyone has their own story behind that, in general, has little to do with the "use" that they have finally ended up giving.However, it is essential to comment that some of them have been created specifically to become viral , such as of the "boy who is about to explode", a meme that was created by some boys in class putting funny faces and that their protagonists uploaded to Twitter.

Images | iStock: motttive