Saturday Night Showcase> Know Your Meme

Here is how Wikipedia defines “meme”

A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with “cream”^[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena. (The etymology of the term relates to the Greek word μιμητισμός (/mɪmetɪsmos/) for “something imitated”.)^[2] Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes, in that they self-replicate and respond to selective pressures.

And then there’s the “internet meme”:

The term Internet meme is a phrase used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an esoteric inside joke.^[1] The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although this concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.

It is the latter that is the subject of the YouTube series Know Your Meme. Now starting its fourth “season”, I could pick the first episode, but for a show like this any episode will do. I could choose the one I found most interesting, or most informative. Ah, screw it–here’s the one with “Weird Al” Yankovic.

Hosted by Kenyatta Cheese, Elspeth Jane (she’s hot..just saying), and Jamie Dubs, Know Your Meme is a humorous, yet informative, look at the popular internet memes past and present, tracing their origin and various stages of use. Originally part of Rocketboom, an internet culture news site, the series went on to become a separate database and web series, and has eclipsed Rocketboom itself (which still creates the content of the site and series).

A show like this, lasting about five minutes an episode, probably wouldn’t last long on TV, although there have been internet-based shows on TV. Perhaps a segment on a talk variety show or something, but thanks to the internet shows like this can thrive on their own. It’s nice to see someone use YouTube for what I originally thought it would be used for–making your own shows. (Now that seems to be Blip’s call to duty.) Plus, they got “Weird Al”! Only one episode, but that still shows they’re on their way up.

So if you ever wondered why a Romanian song gained such popularity in English speaking countries, why a spooky looking Luigi stares at people, or the origin of “Keyboard Cat”, check out Know Your Meme.