Abstract
The study focuses on the phenomenon known as internet memes and their possible use in the creation and re-creation of media discourse. The main materials used are photos of Vladimir Putin and the famous Situation Room photo released by the White House. The stance taken in the study is based on the familiar and simple assumption that thanks to the new media we are facing the end of classical photography, sometimes described as the post-photography era. In post-photography, the connotations and context are more important than the content itself. Internet memes, a phenomena typical for the new media, can then also be used in a political context, where the “original” photographs of politicians and political events, usually officially released by PR departments, are altered not only to change the content, but above all the connotations. While regarded by most as jokes and puns, user-generated re-interpretations of Vladimir Putin and Obama’s war on terror can also have deeper meanings and impacts
References
Baudrillard, J. (1988). Selected writings. Ed. M. Poster. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Baudrillard, J. (1995). The Gulf War did not take place. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Bell, M. (2011, May 9). Hillary Clinton, Audrey Tomason go missing in Situation Room photo in Di Tzeitung [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/hillary-clinton-audrey-tomason-go-missing-in-situation-room-photo-in-der-tzitung-newspaper/2011/05/09/AFfJbVYG_blog.html Search in Google Scholar
Bird, S. E. (2011): Are we all produsers now? Cultural Studies, 25(4-5), 502-516.10.1080/09502386.2011.600532Search in Google Scholar
Blackmore, S. (2000). The meme machine. Oxford - New York: Oxford UP.Search in Google Scholar
Dawkins, R. (1989). The selfish gene. Oxford - New York: Oxford UP.Search in Google Scholar
Dawkins, R. (1999). The extended phenotype: The long reach of the gene. Oxford - New York: Oxford Gatherer, D. (1998). Why the ´thought contagion´ metaphor is retarding the progress of memetics. Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission, 2. Retrieved from http://cfpm.org/jom-emit/1998/vol2/gatherer_d.html Search in Google Scholar
Hickey, W., & Ingersol, G. (2013). 43 Photos that show Vladimir Putin doesn’t mess around. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/43-pictures-vladimir-putin-tough-2013-9Search in Google Scholar
Hickman, L. (2001, November 30). Tracking down the tourist of death. theguardian.com. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/nov/30/september112001.ethicalliving?commentpage=1Search in Google Scholar
Jenkins, H. (2008). Convergence culture. New York - London: New York University Press.Search in Google Scholar
Lievrouw, L. (2011). Alternative and activist new media. Cambridge: Polity Press.Search in Google Scholar
Manovich, L. (2001). The language of new media. Cambridge - London: The MIT Press. Search in Google Scholar
Nöth, W. (2007). The death of photography and the birth of the postphotographic era. In W. Nöth & N. Bishara (Eds.), Self-reference in the media. Berlin - New York: DeGruyter.Search in Google Scholar
Poster, M. (2006). Information please: Culture and politics in the age of digital machines. Durham - London: Duke University Press. [Reuters’s gallery] at http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/putins-macho-image Search in Google Scholar
Romenesko, J. (2013, January 7). Polish TV shows Obama with playstation controller while watching Osama bin Laden milion [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://jimromenesko.com/2013/01/07/polish-tv-shows-obama-with-playstation-controller-while-watching-osama-bin-laden-mission/.Search in Google Scholar
Ronay, B. (2009, August 5). Vladimir Putin’s tough-guy swimming technique. theguardian.com. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/06/vladimir-putin-butterfly-stroke; Search in Google Scholar
Shuster, S. (2013, March 5). No more laughs: Russian TV Yanks Putin Cartoon on NYE, Mocks Obama Instead. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simon-shuster/putin-newyears-_b_1179231.html Search in Google Scholar
Tsotsis, A. (2011). Obama ‘Situation Room’ photo is already half way to becoming Flickr’s most viewed pic. Techcrunch.com. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/03/obama-situationroom-photo-is-already-half-way-to-becoming-flickrs-most-viewed-pic/ Search in Google Scholar
van Dijk, J. (2012). The network society. (3rd ed.) London - Thousand Oaks - New Delhi - Singapore: SAGE Publications.Search in Google Scholar
Watercutter, A. (2011, June 5). The best of the Situation Room LOL Pics. wired.com. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/05/situation-room-lol-pics/ Search in Google Scholar
© Institute for Research in Social Communication, Slovak Academy of Sciences