We have all seen the famous poster that is here on the right with our countries dear old Uncle Sam. Just like what was discussed in class about Rosie the Riveter, this poster came out during World War I to persuade men to enlist in the army. Although Rosie the Riveter did not come out until World War II, they both are very similar in the sense that these posters were used as propaganda in order for men and women to help with the war efforts.
After reading "Memes and affinities: Cultural replication and literacy education" by Michele Knobel and Colin Lankshear, as a social science major with a passion for history, Uncle Sam was the first meme to pop into my head. Knobel and Lankshear define memes as "contagious patterns of cultural information that are passed from mind to mind and that directly shape and generate key actions and mindsets of a social group"(1). I would say from this definition of a meme, the "I want you" poster that started in 1916 was passed on from generations to generations in order for us to know of it today. This meme has survived for 100 years. I find that so crazy.
According to Knobel and Lankshear, there are three things that create a successful meme. Those are fidelity, fecundity and longevity. Fidelity can be defined as the ability of a meme to be remembered. A successful meme is one that can easily be passed on. Fecundity is the "rate as which an idea or pattern is copied and spread...the more quickly a meme spreads, the more likely it will capture robust and sustained attention, and be replicated and distributed"(2). There are tons of examples of memes that exhibit fecundity. Other than Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter, think of Ryan Gosling and his "Hey Girl" memes. Those have gained so much popularity that a book has been published with all of the memes that have been created of just him alone. Lastly, longevity is a very simple concept. The longer a meme can exist, the greater of chance it has to copied.
The Uncle Sam "I want you" meme, shows it has fidelity, fecundity and longevity. It has fidelity because every student in the U.S. has as the least seen and talked about this poster. If you have never seen the original, maybe you have seen one of the copies I have posted to the right. It exhibits fecundity because this idea has clearly spread. This meme has been copied with famous movies and people that are relevant to today's society and culture. It most certainly has longevity because as I mentioned earlier, this meme has been around for 100 years.
To be honest, I do not think this meme will go away. It played a huge part in the history of America. As long as Americans and other countries for that matter keep on learning about Uncle Sam, he will continue to be around for many years to come.
I hope you enjoyed the blog post and the memes! It has been fun writing about this. I think my favorite remakes are between Captian American or the Star Wars one.
Xoxo,
Allison Starr
After reading "Memes and affinities: Cultural replication and literacy education" by Michele Knobel and Colin Lankshear, as a social science major with a passion for history, Uncle Sam was the first meme to pop into my head. Knobel and Lankshear define memes as "contagious patterns of cultural information that are passed from mind to mind and that directly shape and generate key actions and mindsets of a social group"(1). I would say from this definition of a meme, the "I want you" poster that started in 1916 was passed on from generations to generations in order for us to know of it today. This meme has survived for 100 years. I find that so crazy.
According to Knobel and Lankshear, there are three things that create a successful meme. Those are fidelity, fecundity and longevity. Fidelity can be defined as the ability of a meme to be remembered. A successful meme is one that can easily be passed on. Fecundity is the "rate as which an idea or pattern is copied and spread...the more quickly a meme spreads, the more likely it will capture robust and sustained attention, and be replicated and distributed"(2). There are tons of examples of memes that exhibit fecundity. Other than Uncle Sam and Rosie the Riveter, think of Ryan Gosling and his "Hey Girl" memes. Those have gained so much popularity that a book has been published with all of the memes that have been created of just him alone. Lastly, longevity is a very simple concept. The longer a meme can exist, the greater of chance it has to copied.
The Uncle Sam "I want you" meme, shows it has fidelity, fecundity and longevity. It has fidelity because every student in the U.S. has as the least seen and talked about this poster. If you have never seen the original, maybe you have seen one of the copies I have posted to the right. It exhibits fecundity because this idea has clearly spread. This meme has been copied with famous movies and people that are relevant to today's society and culture. It most certainly has longevity because as I mentioned earlier, this meme has been around for 100 years.
To be honest, I do not think this meme will go away. It played a huge part in the history of America. As long as Americans and other countries for that matter keep on learning about Uncle Sam, he will continue to be around for many years to come.
I hope you enjoyed the blog post and the memes! It has been fun writing about this. I think my favorite remakes are between Captian American or the Star Wars one.
Xoxo,
Allison Starr
I am glad you used this iconic World War I recruitment poster as your example of a meme. This image has a lot of interesting history behind it. I agree with your statement about the longevity of this image. Lasting a hundred years as a cultural icon is crazy. This means that this meme definitely meets the longevity requirement that is expected of a successful meme. The characteristic which I think makes this meme so successful is that the slogan, "I Want You," is famous enough that the image of Uncle Sam could be replaced by nearly anyone and most people would still recognize the reference. This meme is definitely adaptable. I also agree that this meme is not likely to go away any time soon. Unlike other memes, this image is a significant piece of American history. This meme is likely to survive for many years to come.
ReplyDelete- Joseph Cashman
Nice analysis--both of you.
ReplyDeleteEF