Memes, Dynamics, and Image Paths

Abstract

This research is located at the intersection of communication, memetics, and the study of the imaginary. As a presupposition, we put forward the existence of a communicational imaginary, in which the contemporary person functions through their competencies in social networks, by meeting the demands of the public and the private, managing the obsessiveness of the sharing of intimacy and the exorbitant number of images. Considering memes as a significant aspect of this communicational imaginary, we seek to understand the dynamics and path of memes in the midst of this plethora of images. From the concept of iconophagy, we deal with the exacerbated multiplication of the images and the path of memes starting from a marginalized environment until it is integrated into social roles and a rational level of thought. Thus, it is the general objective of this research to understand the dynamics and the path of memes amidst the plethora of images in the context of communicational imagery and to investigate the multiplication of memes as representative of the myriad images in contemporary imagery.

Citation

Lohmann, R. and Martins, A.T. (2024), "Memes, Dynamics, and Image Paths", Moreira, S.V., Moles, K., Robinson, L. and Schulz, J. (Ed.) Creating Culture Through Media and Communication (Studies in Media and Communications, Vol. 24), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 43-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2050-206020240000024004