MEMEWARS: of gif campaigns and gamer politics
This is a modal window.
The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported.
Formal Metadata
| Title |
| |
| Title of Series | ||
| Part Number | 45 | |
| Number of Parts | 188 | |
| Author | ||
| License | CC Attribution - ShareAlike 3.0 Germany: You are free to use, adapt and copy, distribute and transmit the work or content in adapted or unchanged form for any legal purpose as long as the work is attributed to the author in the manner specified by the author or licensor and the work or content is shared also in adapted form only under the conditions of this | |
| Identifiers | 10.5446/20668 (DOI) | |
| Publisher | ||
| Release Date | ||
| Language |
Content Metadata
| Subject Area | ||
| Genre | ||
| Abstract |
|
re:publica 201645 / 188
1
2
3
5
6
13
14
15
17
18
20
21
22
24
26
27
28
29
31
32
33
34
35
37
38
39
40
41
42
44
46
47
49
51
52
54
55
58
59
63
64
65
66
67
68
70
71
72
75
77
79
80
82
85
86
90
91
93
94
96
97
98
99
102
103
105
106
109
111
112
113
115
116
118
119
120
121
123
124
126
128
129
132
133
136
137
138
139
140
141
144
146
147
148
149
151
155
157
160
161
162
163
165
167
169
171
172
173
174
176
178
179
180
181
183
185
186
188
00:00
HypermediaWeightLevel (video gaming)Arithmetic meanComputer animationLecture/Conference
00:28
Maxima and minimaVarianceBitDigitizingSlide ruleVideo gameLecture/Conference
00:58
HypermediaDigitizingVideo gameMultiplication signVisualization (computer graphics)File formatBitComputing platformLecture/Conference
01:48
Metropolitan area networkComputer animationDiagram
02:10
Metropolitan area networkRule of inferenceComputer animation
02:33
Event horizonLink (knot theory)Maxima and minimaState of matterRoundness (object)BitAuthorizationFile formatMedical imagingWhiteboardLevel (video gaming)TelecommunicationGodJSONXMLUMLLecture/Conference
03:38
Level (video gaming)WhiteboardFile formatMedical imagingOnline helpQuicksortComputing platformHypermediaLevel (video gaming)CASE <Informatik>Lecture/Conference
04:34
Metropolitan area networkArmInformationInformation systemsPosition operatorCuboidInterpreter (computing)Computer animationLecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
05:17
Mathematical singularityVolume (thermodynamics)Computer animationLecture/Conference
05:37
Executive information systemSoftware engineeringMultiplication signSpeech synthesisLecture/Conference
06:03
HypermediaArithmetic meanKeyboard shortcutVector potentialHost Identity ProtocolDifferenz <Mathematik>Loop (music)QuicksortSound effectLecture/ConferenceComputer animation
06:40
Different (Kate Ryan album)Point (geometry)Message passingLevel (video gaming)Texture mappingMedical imagingLecture/Conference
07:04
Level (video gaming)Metropolitan area networkBitRight angleComputer animation
07:41
Metropolitan area networkStatisticsMultiplication signComputing platformSound effectLink (knot theory)Medical imagingVector potentialArithmetic meanFacebookSource code
08:44
Electronic mailing listMetropolitan area networkValue-added networkBitMathematical analysisWeb pageVector potentialHand fanShared memoryFacebookLecture/Conference
09:28
WordLoginSymbol tableSign (mathematics)TelecommunicationLecture/Conference
09:59
Sign (mathematics)Metropolitan area networkFlash memorySymbol tableRepresentation (politics)Suite (music)1 (number)TelecommunicationMultiplication signArithmetic meanEuler anglesComputer-assisted translationPoint (geometry)Peer-to-peerLecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
11:39
Operator (mathematics)SequenceBit ratePosition operatorTelecommunicationArithmetic meanComputer animationLecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
12:37
Lipschitz-StetigkeitShape (magazine)TelecommunicationSound effectHypermediaComa BerenicesGraph coloringMeeting/Interview
13:25
Metropolitan area networkMedical imagingSpeech synthesisTelecommunicationPlastikkarteDigitizingLecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
14:15
Level (video gaming)Sign (mathematics)Level (video gaming)Multiplication signFacebookLecture/Conference
15:00
Sign (mathematics)Level (video gaming)Twitter1 (number)Mixed realityFacebookDifferent (Kate Ryan album)Computing platformComputer animation
15:20
RobotArithmetic meanQuicksortVisualization (computer graphics)Multiplication signMeeting/Interview
16:02
Sign (mathematics)Metropolitan area networkExecutive information systemState of matterLevel (video gaming)WhiteboardMedical imagingHand fanInternet forumLecture/Conference
16:35
Hand fanInternetworkingQuicksortNumberLecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
16:59
State of matterLevel (video gaming)Lecture/Conference
17:20
QuicksortGroup actionBlogDifferent (Kate Ryan album)Internet forumVideo gameVideoconferencingDepictionRight angleSpeech synthesisLogic gateLecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
18:25
InternetworkingMetropolitan area networkLevel (video gaming)Group actionData dictionaryLecture/Conference
18:57
State of matterVideo gameSphereLevel (video gaming)Speech synthesisArithmetic meanComputer animation
19:19
Metropolitan area networkCASE <Informatik>Matrix (mathematics)Level (video gaming)Lecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
20:20
ForceCondition numberTheory of relativityStability theoryRight anglePhysical systemFreezingInstance (computer science)Position operatorComputer animation
20:59
State of matterMetropolitan area networkAsynchronous Transfer ModeSoftwareVideoconferencingOffice suiteProduct (business)Statement (computer science)Hacker (term)Revision controlComputer animationLecture/Conference
21:39
Arithmetic meanVideo gameSpectrum (functional analysis)Function (mathematics)File formatVideoconferencingMeeting/Interview
22:15
Formal languageMereologyDirection (geometry)Lecture/Conference
23:25
Arithmetic meanCapability Maturity ModelLecture/ConferenceMeeting/Interview
24:01
Arithmetic meanChemical equationProfil (magazine)Group actionDifferent (Kate Ryan album)MereologyLecture/Conference
24:59
Multiplication signSpecial unitary groupLecture/Conference
25:26
HypermediaJSONXML
Transcript: English(auto-generated)
00:17
Please welcome on stage Victor Fleurot and Leonhard Cohen.
00:39
Good evening. Thank you for coming. I'm just going to wait for the first slide. Yes.
00:48
So we're going to talk about memoirs and the world, the colorful and intriguing world of political memes and gifs. So there's going to be a bit about media, a bit about politics, a bit about digital culture, the origin of memes and gifs from video game culture.
01:09
We don't have so much time, so we hope that you can ask questions if you want us to get more in-depth into any of the things we will talk about today. So 2084 is the name of our collective. We call ourselves Social Think Tank. We're also a digital platform for visual activism.
01:31
So we're trying to see how far we can use digital visual formats for political narration. And I'm just going to introduce you to our teaser. Let's see the sound.
01:50
Mr. Vice President, members of Congress.
02:47
Applause for the author of the teaser, please, Leonhard Cohen. He will come on stage in a short while to talk a bit about the making of.
03:02
So we're 400 years forward from the previous talk. This personal journey through the world of political gifs and memes. I called it four stages of gif. Maybe you know the seven stages of grief.
03:21
And I'm just going to take you through how someone from a political communications, political science background got hooked on gifs, memes, and got into this origin of those formats and the text boards and image boards that came from Japan originally.
03:42
So starting with stage one, hey memes look cool. That's what I found when I started to get onto a certain social media platform and seeing how they could package political issues into these new formats.
04:07
Which basically are political cartoons which we've seen for decades, hundreds of years in some cases. But for people who cannot draw, that's the sort of helpful thing with Photoshop is that you don't need to be a talented cartoonist
04:25
to put together a visual, simple, catchy, powerful, emotional also on a complex political issue. This is one example many of you must have seen during the Democratic primary race.
04:43
They used this comparison. It's supposed to be on serious issues but it's been obviously used in very humorous ways to compare the positions of Bernie and Hillary. And I like this one because instead of having a text title and two little boxes of text, it's purely visual.
05:05
We don't agree with my co-speaker on the interpretation of this, so I will let you decide what it's supposed to mean politically. Now we're doing a little musical interlude. Introducing the Vine, which is another.
05:34
You have to watch it twice, but if you watch it three times, then it's too much.
05:45
So this is a quote from her speech when she declared herself a Trump supporter. She went into this rant about guns, proud slingers of our guns and freedom and religion,
06:02
which sounded very much like American Boy by Estelle and Kanye West, if you know the verse of Kanye West. So someone also thought it had some kind of hip-hop potential and made this Vine. This is a GIF by a New York-based GIF artist.
06:25
So the great thing about Vines and GIFs is this sort of eternal loop effect.
06:43
And here it's managed to put together a lot of different images, footage from different decades, cartoons, and giving it a texture like Leonard did for our teaser actually, that kind of makes it coherent. The political message is very unclear, but that's his point.
07:03
Stage two of the GIF odyssey was let's make some of our own. So these are examples of things we've done or published. The one at the bottom right was made by an LA GIF artist with no reference to European politics,
07:25
but then a month later Frauke Petry said, Germany has a constitutional right to shoot on refugees at the border. And so we thought, hey, remember that GIF. Let's put it with the article with a quote from Frauke Petry.
07:42
And this way we reached a lot of people, and sadly you can also use it now with the Austrian policy towards borders, perhaps, although they didn't mention guns so far. But it's from Salzburg actually, the movie was shot in Salzburg.
08:03
So with that GIF we reached a lot of people, like ten times the people who were following us at the time on Facebook, so there was a big multiplier effect. And here are just some statistics just to show the potential. So on the same issue of Bernie's education policy, we have on the left Imgur,
08:27
which is one of the platforms we use, kind of an Instagram for memes and GIFs if you haven't seen it yet. But a lot of the Reddit images come from Imgur, are post links to Imgur. And here this particular meme, it's actually a scroll down, had 19,000 basically likes.
08:49
And the first article that came out on the Facebook of the New York Times on Bernie and education, using those keywords, had 2.5 thousand shares.
09:00
And the New York Times Facebook page has 11 million fans. So it shows you the potential of reaching a certain audience that might not read a five page article on a complex political issue, but you might get them to click and then offer a deeper analysis after you post a meme and a GIF.
09:23
I'm going to invite now Leonhard to tell us a bit more about his experience as a talented illustrator and animator. Thank you. Hi everyone. I'm very impressed, so sorry for the shaking.
09:49
I just want to say a few words about visual communication. And basically it's a lot about signs and symbols. And signs and symbols are pictures that are two things.
10:03
First, they're immediately readable, immediately understandable. And second, they're loaded with meaning, which means that they come with meaning that beyond what they actually represent. For example, you take a red man pictogram and you have a don't walk sign.
10:25
And as soon as you turn that red guy in black, you have a restroom signs. And that's the kind of things we deal with all the time because these are shared references that we use for visual communication. So what we do is we use this, we use signs that already exist, and we make up new pictures that we try to make work as signs.
10:51
Now I've said that, I'm going to point at that guy that you probably recognize. But that was not obvious to begin with.
11:01
If you remember, maybe you don't, but you'll check it again on YouTube, on the trailer. He comes right after Barack Obama and Angela Merkel. And the thing is, the two previous ones don't have a face and actually they don't need it to be recognized.
11:22
They have haircut, attitude, whatever makes them recognizable. But this guy was just, without the face, he was just another guy in suit. And so the way it appears in a flash gives him kind of a spectral, disturbing apparition.
11:44
It also adds a reason to the sequence. But the reason why we put it that way in the first place was because we needed to turn that picture into a more immediate thing. And actually our first goal for the Putin operation was a way more iconic picture that you all know of him.
12:06
Bear chest, riding a horse, and then riding a bear, and then riding a shark, and then riding whatever is rideable, basically. And that brings me back to memes and gifs.
12:22
And the thing about them, and more specifically the thing about political ones, is that we think that it's going to become, and it already is, really critical in political communication. Because it's so cheap to do, it reaches out a lot of people, it spreads fast,
12:43
and basically that's a powerful tool for communication for campaign or promoting whatever bill or propaganda. And the thing about it, what scares me about it, is what I call the Trump effect. I'm talking about Donald Trump, which is very media friendly and TV friendly to begin with,
13:06
because he's so over the top in many ways. But the thing is, he also comes with the visual features. He's got the come over, he's got the orange skin, he's got the pucker lips.
13:21
So basically he's got everything visually speaking, the shapes and the colors, and that makes him very meme friendly, and I feel like he was all over the place recently, way more than he should. And I think it's a lot because he was so identified visually speaking also.
13:41
And so this, to me, raises two questions about political digital images. The first one is, will, in the future, politicians play the meme card and try to get their items,
14:01
get their features to make room for them on the tons of pictures you can see online? This we'll see. And the second question is, we as visual communicators, and I think now we all are, or we all are potentially since Facebook and Photoshop are out there,
14:21
are we going to be able to raise topics and people that are not as meme friendly as Donald Trump? I'd like to think we can, and I really think it's critical that we do. Thank you very much. I'll be back for Q&A, and I'll leave the stage to that handsome guy. Thank you.
14:43
You can ask Leo or myself questions afterwards. Hopefully we'll have time for that. And let's get straight to stage three of the GIF Odyssey. After we made our own and we started publishing them on those platforms,
15:03
we mainly used the ones we are familiar with, Twitter, Facebook, and then we started on Imgur and Reddit. And the reactions were sometimes surprising coming from Facebook and Twitter, because it's a different audience, and that got us into where did that come from,
15:24
this GIF and meme communities, like what are their culture, what's the origin of this culture, this visual culture. One of the main reactions you may get when you try to use memes and GIFs politically is this kind of apolitical, why are you posting political GIFs and memes?
15:46
You're a political spam bot. We've been called that many times. We're here to have fun. We're here to discuss our own sort of more private personal jokes. We're not here for this political stuff. That's one side. There are people who are into this.
16:06
So the origins, and again we're just going to talk about it extremely quickly. There's a lot to say about it by people who know a lot more, but it started in Japan in the mid 90s with text boards and image boards.
16:23
Actually 4chan comes from 2chan, which comes from 1chan, which comes from Amazing Worlds, which was an anime gamer's forum of fans of a certain anime in Japan called Amazing Worlds. This is sort of what started the movement, where anime fans and manga fans.
16:47
Reddit was started in the US, and from the first six months it involved Mr. Swartz, who might be the number one internet activist in the history of the internet so far,
17:00
who was directly contacted by the Reddit founders to join them after six months. So there was some politics involved from the very beginning, and I guess some of you have heard of Gamergate? Can you raise your hand if you've heard about Gamergate? Ok, not everyone.
17:22
So that was about two years ago, and it started with... It's a very long story with different people, individuals involved, but it sort of became feminists, bloggers who were critical of the place of women
17:44
and the depiction of women in video games, facing a huge backlash and a sort of individual targeting campaign from certain members of the video game forums and gamer community who came to call themselves gamergate, using the hashtag gamergate.
18:03
And this led to a whole debate about freedom of speech, the right of mainstream, basically straight white guys to just buy and consume whatever they want without having to face criticism
18:21
from feminists or LGBT groups or other groups who want more diversity. And they called those activists social justice warriors. So you'll have quite a lot of jokes about SJWs, which means social justice warriors,
18:42
which is meant as privileged people pretending to care about minorities and other groups, basically from the various definitions of urban dictionary. So that was quite a brief overview. Now, the stage four. How does this video game culture and mainstream political campaigns come together?
19:05
And here are a few examples. I wanted to also mention briefly that after the English-speaking sphere, the most active sphere for political memes and gifs is the Spanish-speaking one, with a very creative pool of people spread across from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, and Spain,
19:28
exchanging ideas and political memes and gifs. Here from Spain, in the case of Podemos in purple and Ciudadanos citizens in orange. And again, some science fiction references you can see in The Matrix and Star Wars.
19:49
So those two things are coming together and into mainstream politics now. The Spain Wars trailer was quite widely seen during the Spanish election campaign.
20:01
And the Russians have taken it one extra level into geopolitics, and we have here a good example. So moving from these cultural issues, gender, et cetera, into geopolitical propaganda.
20:30
The burden of the United States. Broken economic relations with Russia are going to aggravate the condition of the European economy and weaken its position in competition with America.
20:42
The destabilization of the banking system will encourage the capital outflows into the United States to maintain the dollar pyramid. The retraction of the European countries into a war with Russia is going to strengthen their political dependence. Yeah, that's real. That is commissioned, but not officially, by obviously people in Russia who feel very strongly.
21:10
It was during the Ukraine, the beginning of the Ukraine conflict. No official statement has been published that the Kremlin commissioned that video, but a lot of people have traced it through networks, through a Siberian hackers center in the middle of Russia,
21:28
who are funded and who have a front office in Moscow, that yes, to have such a big budget production, you're not just two guys in your garage playing around. This was a big production.
21:40
It's beyond memes and gifs. This is real 3D animation. So that shows you the merging, increasingly, of this video game aesthetics, video game formats with mainstream politics, and how they are also connected to the gif and meme culture,
22:02
which is a sort of short and easy to consume and produce outgrowth of video game, anime, Japanese manga culture. This comes from the Putinspiration Instagram account. You have a whole lot of pictures of Putin with motivational quotes there.
22:26
But the conclusion is that memes and gifs are now part of political campaigning. We've seen it in the US election. We're going to keep seeing it now. Whoever ends up being the nominee on both sides.
22:44
We will see it in France, in Germany next year. We will see it maybe again in Spain if they have new elections. So there was also Lugner in Austria, who was very meme-able. And they will be part of the political visual language of the coming elections.
23:05
So we will keep watching it, and it can go in any direction, whether you want to do some climate change campaign or propaganda war mongering campaign. So an important and powerful tool to be used consciously, let's say.
23:26
Thank you. We do have five minutes left for Q&A.
23:45
Yeah, here's a question. Hello, thank you for this audience here through one of the memes. I would like to know which were, or can you give us some examples of the first political issues, campaigns, scandals which were really influenced by memes.
24:03
Do you have some examples, maybe from whichever the first scandals or projects? I think the first big impact of memes has been on the Bernie Sanders campaign, I would say, where it's really been used with purpose, with intent,
24:29
and in a very structured way by the different Bernie Sanders groups in the US that has helped him to really boost his profile, boost his visibility among young people, and we've seen it in the successes he's had among that demographics,
24:45
which in the end was probably not enough to balance out the other demographics, but at least for that demographics it worked very well, and I think memes and gifts were a big part of that success he's had.
25:05
Any other questions? Alright, then I'd say we already let the sun in. Let's take the chance to get some last sunbeams and say thank you again to Victor and Leonhard.