What's the Latest Oolongs are Belong to Me?

October 9, 2013 9:15 AM

This Threadless contest got me wondering: What are the cool, fun mêmes now? Are there any? They just can't be as cool as Oolong and AYBABTU and such from the day, and Know Your Meme seems to confirm this.

Full disclosure:
-Not Pepsi Blue
-Answers may be used in the contest (very unlikely, but collaboration is allowed).

posted by Shane to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

Can you define "cool"?
posted by nosila at 9:18 AM on October 9, 2013

I see tons of memes on various forums and communities on which I post or lurk- few that make sense outside of them. Even on Ravelry (yes, there is such a thing as knitting drama) where there is a whole lexicon for thread drama 'rubberneckers'. They probably don't make it to KYM for this reason. I've sometimes gone on that site when I come across a reference I don't get - and it turns out it's from Reddit and I'm none the wiser as I don't read that site much.

I think the Web is more fractured than it was ten years or so ago, and there's not really a monolithic 'internet culture' now - just a number of smaller ones. Not that long ago, it was seen by the general populace as a Thing For Nerds. Now it's just a part of everyday life, and in-jokes stay in-jokey.
posted by mippy at 9:26 AM on October 9, 2013

[verb] all the [nouns] is popular in my circle right now.

slenderman, yolo, grumpy cat are ones I also hear frequently.
posted by royalsong at 9:30 AM on October 9, 2013

Response by poster:

Can you define "cool"?

No. Some say James Dean defined cool, and look what happened to him. I'm not chancing it.

Cool = whatever does it for you.

I think the Web is more fractured than it was ten years or so ago...

That's probably it.

royalsong, grumpy cats has possibilities. Hmm.
posted by Shane at 9:38 AM on October 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

Now define meme. Do you mean image macros? Reaction gifs? Do you mean things people say, new slang or modes of diction for jokes like on twitter? Do you mean viral videos? If all of the above, then, this question is too broad to be useful.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:43 AM on October 9, 2013

Meanwhile, Mermaids.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:45 AM on October 9, 2013

The t-shirt needs to have a little stick figure man with his pants pulled down dragging his butt across the ground. Optional: stick figure man can be shouting "o long johnson."

This is the meta meme and you will be awarded 10,000 internets for your troubles.
posted by phunniemee at 10:10 AM on October 9, 2013

Response by poster: That's interesting, P.A. We'll see if it pans out. Christy Marie (who also does a great Slave Leia, seen here with Elvis Stormtrooper) could certainly push the mermaid même single-handedly. But what's the eventual/inevitable marketability? A remake of Splash? Zombies have more possibilities, obviously (and evidently they never die out of pop culture).

I suppose stormtroopers and Boba Fetts are a meme in themselves, now that we mention it. Of sorts. Depending on how we define même, heh.

Maybe video Facebook killed the radio même star, leaving room for personalities like Elvis Stormtrooper and Christy Marie awash in an endless sea of cats. Ehh, it beats the hell outta Kardashians any day, at least.
posted by Shane at 10:17 AM on October 9, 2013

Shibe (also in /r/supershibe and /r/FifthWorldShibe).

                    wow
           very meme             such redits
                    so doge
          wow

posted by clearlydemon at 10:44 AM on October 9, 2013 [7 favorites]

Since you put a hat on the word "meme" by spelling it "même" I assume you are interested primarily in memes involving hats. This is the first one that springs to mind. On the other hand, the first one on this page of many hat-related memes made me laugh.
posted by kindall at 11:01 AM on October 9, 2013 [1 favorite]

(not super important, but as kindall points out, the word meme in this context does not have a circumflex. Même is a French word meaning "same", but that's not where the word meme comes from -- it's from Greek and it was originally coined by Richard Dawkins as an analogue of gene. The circumflex would probably change the pronunciation to mehm, but the word is in fact pronounced meem.)
posted by brainmouse at 11:53 AM on October 9, 2013 [3 favorites]

I think the "Because:Reasons" thing is really big lately, but I don't know how you'd illustrate that. Maybe do a list like a concert T-shirt:

Because:Reasons
Because:America
(some other cute Becauses)
(one final one that makes it funny)

Google seems to think that Because Race Cars is a thing, but I've never heard it so I can't advise.
posted by CathyG at 2:21 PM on October 9, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks, all. Thanks for clearing that up, brainmouse -- you can see how I would assume "meme" comes from the French.

kindall, at first I thought for sure that comment was by languagehat (which would be appropriate), but you're just from his generation of snark. Fun links -- thanks.
posted by Shane at 5:47 AM on October 10, 2013