Internet Memes: The New Paradigm of Political Satire

Abstract

‘Meme’ is no more a strange term for the populace of the online world. Professor Limor Shifman views meme as a part of “(post)modern folklore”. As the world runs short on time and has shrunken, memes make a suitable mode of communication; be it for conveying new ideas or to mobilize the public during the times of crisis. However, the importance and impact of memes in our everyday language, politics or ideologies are often overlooked.  In that broad context, the paper explores how the phenomenon of internet meme becomes a new paradigm of political satire by replacing the pen-and-paper caricatures, in the contemporary period. The argument is elucidated by incorporating Thomas Kuhn’s famous theory of Paradigm and Paradigm Shift into Cultural Studies. The paper also briefly illustrates how Kuhn’s theory may offer an explanation to the future of the internet meme as a mode of online communication.