• Internet memes have become an integral part of communication in social media. That is what it boils down to, according to linguist Lars Bülow and communication scholar Michael Johann from the University of Passau.
• Together with linguistics scholar Marie-Luis Merten from Paderborn University, they kicked off the congress Borders and Boundaries of the German Society for Semiotics held at the University of Passau by providing an overview of the current state of research on political internet memes.
• Merten claims that political memes ensure a ‘low threshold to political debate.’

Take, for example, what is commonly referred to as the Merkel meme from 2015 where Angela Merkel and Barack Obama are pictured against a lovely alpine backdrop at the G7 summit. The chancellor has her arms outstretched, while the former US president sits casually on a bench, his back to the audience. (Photo credit: Pete Souza, Official White House Photo)

‘When you see this meme, you inevitably ask yourself: What is she saying to him at this very moment?’ That is the question communication expert Michael Johann put to the audience in his lecture which launched the panel discussion on Political Memes at the congress Borders and Boundaries of the German Society for Semiotics held at the University of Passau from 12-15 September 2017. The door is open to any number of interpretations.

Structure of a meme

Dr. Lars Bülow, linguistics scholar at the universities of Passau and Salzburg, described the components of a meme:

The caption at the top opens up a semantic framework, while the line below typically delivers the punch line. Often, a hefty dose of irony and exaggeration is used.

Means of political expression

Dr. Marie-Luis Merten, linguistics scholar at Paderborn University, reckons that memes hold the ‘potential for a wide range of applications.’ According to her, they ensure a ‘low threshold to political debate.’ She considers memes to be a medium encouraging participation, a means to allow people to express their political views.

‘Internet memes such as the Merkel meme have become an integral part of communication on social media.’ That is the conclusion Bülow and Johann draw in their forthcoming publication, Die virale Verbreitung von Internet-Memes Empirische Befunde zur Diffusion von Bild-Sprache-Texten in den sozialen Medien [When Internet Memes go Viral: Empirical Research on the Dissemination of Captioned Pictures in Social Media]soon to be published by the journal Kommunikation@Gesellschaft.

Further research on political memes will be conducted at the upcoming cluster Cyber<>Spaces, which will be looking into the societal implication of digitisation. Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Harnisch, who holds the Chair of German Language at the University of Passau, asked whether memes had any ‘historical depth’? –in the form of quotes, that is, that have etched their way into collective memory. In his response, Michael Johann insisted that the meme principle is no new rhetorical device but rather a rediscovered means for commenting on current political events.

About the Congress Borders and Boundaries

The opening lecture by Bülow, Johann, and Merten kicked off the Political Memes panel at the congress Borders and Boundaries, which drew semioticians to Passau from all over Germany, Europe, the USA and Brazil. The conference examined the topic from a variety of perspectives: In a total of 12 panels and 125 lectures, researchers explored a wide array of themes, discoursing on walls, the limits of design, the bounds of fashion and the role of the media and literature in the digital age.