Humour in digital discourse: Memes, multimodality and relevance

NATIONAL AND KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS, SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE M.A. in Linguistics: Theory and applications 2019-2021 Humour in digital discourse: Memes, multimodality and relevance Chara Vlachaki (219012) Research methods Professors Georgiafentis, M. & Tzanne, A. 20/01/2020 Athens 2 Abstract In the digital environment, memes embody a distinct type of implied humorous meaning as they are formed under the interaction of two different semiotic modes. The aim of this study is to investigate how the humorous content of memes is structured in terms of multimodality within the relevance theoretic framework. Interactional analysis was conducted to a selected corpus of Ancient memes to define the ways multimodality contributes to humorous effects whereas relevance in relation to humour was tested through interviews. The results suggest that although multimodality functions as an instrumental factor in the realisation of humour, the relevance factor determines cognitively the interpretation as jocular. Future research on the manifestation of humour in computer-mediated discourse might benefit from weaving together semiotic and cognitive approaches. Keywords: Internet memes, humour, multimodality, relevance, computer-mediated discourse 3 1. Introduction In the cyberspace, an atypical kind of communication emerges through the most unexpected ways. Although the written text is often regarded as monomodal, in computermediated discourse (CMD) different types of semiotic modes co-exist (Page et al., 2014; Barton & Lee, 2012) creating a distinct type of implied meaning. Representative illustrations are Internet memes, which are rapidly spread through the Internet through user-to-user(s) communication (Yus, 2019; Dancygier & Vandelanotte, 2017). Since humour is indirectly manifested the whimsical nature of memes seems to lie in incongruity that, according to Yus (2017), has firstly to be resolved for the humorous effects to occur. Yet, it seems that resolution may rely on inferences. As humour is inherently related to human nature (Yus, 2016) and human communication is largely inferential (Sperber & Wilson, 2004), the interpretation of memes might be based on relevance. Building on previous work on memes and multimodality, as well as humour and relevance, this study seeks to combine these three parameters and investigate how humorous content is structured in memes in terms of multimodality within the relevance theoretic framework, as the combination of these variables seems to have eluded from the academic radar. Therefore, I address the following questions: (1) Does multimodality contribute to the interpretation of memes in terms of humour? (2) Does the interpretation of memes rely on relevance? Below, I start with a brief overview of memes followed by the theoretical background on multimodality and relevance in relation to humour (Section 2). In Section 3, focus is on the data as well as on methodological and ethical issues whereas in section 4, I discuss the findings before concluding to final remarks (Section 5). 2. Theoretical background Memes in the broad sense are circulated ideas, beliefs or even style. The word meme 4 deriving from the Greek µίµηµα was coined by Dawkins (2006) to rhyme with gene, as he perceived them as “unit[s] of cultural transmission” (ibid: 192) in parallel to genes being units of biological transmission. Similarly, Internet memes are realised as “artifacts of participatory digital culture” (Wiggins & Bowers, 2015: 1891) grouped together by a trinity of shared common traits, i.e. content, form, and/or stance (Shifman, 2013), guiding us to understand broad cultural aspects of the cyberspace (Shifman, 2014) while functioning as innovative and jocular retellings (Georgalou, 2016). Their creative content might be altered during their distribution through the Internet (Literat, 2019), however, multimodality seems to be the medium augmenting the ridicule in memes (Segev et al., 2015) either in terms of multimodal stylistic humour (Piata, 2019) or through a type of multimodal simile (Lou, 2017). Despite the latter being employed to analyse only When-memes, it could also be applied in other meme categories. Considering that multimodality illustrates the co-dependence of both visual and textual modes through semiotic entanglement and richness (Iedema, 2003), Tsakona’s (2009) multimodal version of Attardo’s (1994) General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH) for cartoons could be useful in the analysis of memes. Since humorous content is expressed indirectly (Raskin, 2009) the interpretation of memes might rely on inferences due to the shared context between interlocutors (Gleason et al., 2019). Although memes are disseminated via the Web, different users possibly link their content to their personal background knowledge triggered by the projected stimulus. According to the cognitive and communicative principle of Relevance, a stimulus has to be relevant to the individual brain to avoid breakdowns in communication (Sperber & Wilson, 2004). In the case of jokes, incongruity-resolution is conceptulised through contradicting cognitive frames functioning as mental portrayals of the humorous scenario to generate humorous effects (Yus, 2016). Thus, this cognitive perspective might be fitting to examine 5 memes and relevance. Using these theoretical foundations, I will attempt to investigate the correlation between humour, multimodality and relevance in memes, as multimodality and the level of relevance seem to affect the binary incongruity-resolution. 3. Data, methodology, and ethical issues The data were retrieved from the Facebook page “Ancient Memes” after contacting the page administrator in order to gain consent to access the content uploaded. For the purpose of this study, I retrieved 52 memes uploaded between November the 1st and December the 5th and grouped them according to similarities on the visual or the textual element in order to pinpoint possible patterns in the construction of humour. Therefore, as I compiled my corpus I observed the following six categories: (i) Lovers-memes depicting – usually a Renaissance- couple, (ii) You’ll-be-notified-memes resembling job interviews, (iii) When-memes whose verbal part is always a when-clause, (iv) Statue-memes showcasing the – same- statue having a telephone conversation, (v) Wheel-of-torture-memes portraying a medieval torture room, and lastly, (vi) 7-ring-memes alluding to the pop song with the same title. To analyse how the humorous content is structured in memes, I performed interactional analysis by taking into account multimodality. As for the relevance factor, I opted for recorded interviews as supplementary data. As I interviewed four people individually I gave them six pairs of memes, each one containing memes belonging to the same category (Appendix 1.I). The difference between the memes was the number of ‘likes’ each one had elicited. The participants were asked the same three questions (Appendix 1.II) for each pair and their answers were recorded and catalogued in a small database. It should be noted that each participant was assigned an alphanumeric code (P1-P4) to safeguard his/her privacy. 6 4. Data commentary 4.1. Memes: multimodality, humour, and relevance My data analysis reveals that despite the types of opposing frames, the logical mechanism resolving the script opposition is either juxtaposition or exaggeration. This appears in line with previous research on multimodality and humour in cartoons (Tsakona, 2019). As for the language used, it always contrasts with the image and this appears to reinforce the production of humour. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the “impossible” script of literally giving your heart to your beloved is opposed to the “possible” script of asking for a cup of coffee. This juxtaposition between the “romantic” monk and the “rational” lady is the logic behind the script opposition; yet, the language being associated with the contemporary context contrasts with the background image of the painting, and thus, yields humorous effects. Fig. 1: The “Love-declaration” meme. Fig. 2: The “Adam-and-Eve” meme. Even though this antithesis seems peculiar and uncanny, in certain memes I observed 7 what I would refer to as direct or indirect multimodal reference assignment, i.e. lexemes allocate reference to specific parts of the image, and thus, the connection becomes more intense. For instance, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, “καρδιά” and “µήλο” are objects visually depicted in the background. Despite the general visual-textual juxtaposition, one might relate the text to image more clearly and realise the humorous content of these two memes. Similar to the Lovers-memes category, in the case of When-memes, I also noticed multimodal reference assignment, yet it appears to be implied. In Fig. 3, the when-clause suggests the object of terror is what causes the statues’ literally and figuratively petrified expression despite not being able to see it explicitly. Fig. 3: The “Petrified” meme. Fig. 4: The “Job-Interview” meme. Additionally, multimodal reference assignment appears to visually and textually set a shared social context, which creates incongruity. Even though the visual element seems not to suffice to resolve the incongruity, its interaction with the text recalls certain frames to guide the interpretation of memes (Lou, 2017). Although memes appeal to a wide audience, these frames could be further realised in cognitive terms by taking into account the individual’s 8 Background, which creates the context to infer the humorous meaning of a meme and as a result, one might classify it as funny, whimsical, or even hilarious. As Yus (2011) suggests, the accessibility of contextual information is limited to the specifications rendered by the stimulus, which in the case of memes might be understood in terms of multimodality. Particularly in Ancient Memes, the juxtaposition between the visual and the textual element is stronger considering that the text comments on contemporary state of affairs whereas the image places the context to a different era. Within this context, the user appears to understand the text as a link between the image and present-day life (Piata, 2019) in order to resolve the incongruity caused by the juxtaposition in the form of a temporal gap; yet, at the same time multimodality implies a sense of continuum, which leads to resolution reminding us that “photo-based meme genres deepen a temporal transition from past to the present” (Shifman, 2014: 353). In Fig. 4, not only does ambiguity result to breakdown in communication, but it also makes the meme content jocular by linking this obscurity to the image and inevitably to the past. More specifically, the intended meaning of the phrase “γιατί δεν πήρατε το λεωφορείο” is that the candidate should have commuted in order not to be late, yet, what he understands is that he should have driven a bus instead of his car. The context set in a Renaissance painting appears to amplify the humorous effects. This is also reinforced by intertextuality in the sense that the text alludes to different memes of the same category, which share the same visual background with a few exceptions. Although this group is a distinctive category of Ancient Memes, we can also encounter this in When-memes. Intertextuality in memes seems to comply with the definitions of Internet memes (Yus, 2019; Shifman, 2013), however, its significance might be realised in terms of relevance; this replication by implying a “memic intertextual recognisability” (Varis & Blommaert , 2014: 37) creates a type of “social memory” (Laineste & Voolaid, 2017: 28), which could be perceived as an alternative common background knowledge that makes 9 humour more relevant to a group of users. 4.2. Interviews Through multimodality the cognitively created context is envisaged based on both the user’s Background and the affordances of CMD (Page et al., 2014). In memes, the ostensive stimulus being the interaction of image and text creates the cognitive frames to nest incongruity. Even though the content-creator opts for maximum relevance, a meme can yield different level of humorous effects for individuals at the stage of resolution. The affordances of CMD portray that the memes eliciting more “Likes” are considered more humorous than others. This observation, however, was not entirely verified during the interviews; the participants, unaware of the “Likes”, chose either the most “popular” meme (see Fig. 5) or the least one (see Fig. 6) as I presented them both. The reasons behind their choice differed, as they referred to multimodality, closeness to their sense of humour because of a pun in the text, or they simply related the scenario to their personal experiences. This might suggest that there is no shared sense of humour as such but one that is constructed in terms relevant to the individual, as the cognitive scripts were different among the participants. Fig. 5: The “shipping-costs” meme receiving 333 likes. 10 Fig. 6: The “Greek-mother” meme receiving 94 likes. Additionally, when participants who had made the same choice were asked to rate the meme of their preference (see Appendix, I. 2a-2b) they gave different answers: Fig. 7 was rated by both P1 and P3 with 3 (very funny) whereas P2 considered it as slightly funny (2) despite all of them mentioning that the scenario is relatable to their personal lives. A rather interesting finding is that P3 considered both memes (Fig. 9 and Fig. 10) presented as equally humorous and therefore, could not decide. Nevertheless, the justification provided, I believe, illustrates how relevance is connected with multimodality and intertextuality. By referring to gender stereotypes and drawing on his personal contextual information an intertextual association between the two memes was implied not based solely on the shared textual element. Fig. 7: The “I-need-my-morning-coffee” meme. Fig. 8: The “Eurovision” meme. 11 Fig. 9: The “It’s-not-my-size” meme. Fig. 10: The “digital-flirt” meme. Finally, the findings might suggest that minimum effort is required due to multimodal means considering the immediate responses of all the participants. However, the exact interpretation, which yields humorous effects remains relevant, as in CMD the combination of different semiotic modes is perceived differently by the viewer (Barton & Lee, 2012). For instance, even though all participants described Fig.8 as the funniest of the two presented (see Appendix, I.3a-3b), when they were invited to reveal the reasons behind their choice, 50% of them justified their answer by referring to the pun between the words essay and say. P4, however, added that she “find[s] the use of English words in memes very funny as the pun is based on the pronunciation”. Similarly to this, P1 and P3 referred to their music taste: P3 mentioned the singer whereas P3 alluded explicitly to Eurovision. 5. Summary and final remarks In short, multimodality in memes appears to complement and contribute to the humour produced in a creative manner considering that memes as a genre share traits of “vernacular creativity” (Shifman, 2014:342). The functionality of memes and more specifically, how humour is communicated in terms of multimodality, I suppose, highlights 12 the adaptability of language in a different environment, the Internet as such. Not only does the interaction of verbal and textual components reinforce humorous connotations in memes, but it also illustrates that the content remains relevant to one’s sense of humour. This study could be a starting point on researching the connection between memes and relevance, however, it should be noted that since humour is genuinely relevant it seems difficult to define what stands as humorous for the individual even in the case of a more uniform corpus, which would include only a specific type of the meme genre. 13 References Attardo, S. (1994). Script-based theories. In V. Raskin & M. Apte (Eds.), Linguistic theories of humor (pp. 195-229). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Barton, D. & Lee, C. (2012). Language online: Investigating digital texts and practices. London: Routledge. Dawkins, R. (2006). The selfish gene (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University press. Dancygier, B. & Vandelanotte, L. (2017). Internet memes as multimodal constructions. Cognitive Linguistics, 28(3), 565-598. Georgalou, M. (2016, October). ‘How could I imagine the fuss over the glass!’: Memeing the Greek crisis on social media. Paper presented at the XI Conference on Semiotics, Hellenic Semiotics Society, School of Journalism & Mass Communications of Aristotle University: Thessaloniki. Gleason, C., Pavel, A., Xingyu, L. Carrington, P., Chilton, L. B. & Bigham, J. P. (2019, October). Making memes accessible. In ASSETS’ 19. Paper presented at the 21st International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (pp. 367-376). New York: Association of Computing Machinery. Ideama, R. (2003). Multimodality, resemiotization: Extending the analysis of discourse as multi-semiotic practice. Visual Communication, 2(1), 29-57. Laineste, P. & Voolaid, P. (2017). Laughing across borders: Intertextuality of Internet memes. The European Journal of Humour Research, 4(4), 26-49. Literat, I. (2019). Make, share, review, remix: Unpacking the impact of the Internet on contemporary creativity. Convergence, 25(6), 1168-1184. Lou, A. (2017). Multimodal simile: The ‘when’ meme in social media discourse. English Text in Construction, 10(1), 106-131. Page, R., Barton, D., Unger, J.W. & Zappavigna, M. (2014). Researching language & social 14 media: A student guide. London: Routledge. Piata, A. (2019). Stylistic humor across modalities: The case of classical art memes. Internet Pragmatics. Raskin, V. (2009). The primer of humor research. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Segev, E., Nissenbaum, A., Stolero, N. & Shifman, L. (2015). Families and networks of Internet memes: The relationship between cohesiveness, uniqueness, and quiddity concreteness. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 20(4), 417-433. Shifman, L.(2013). Memes in digital culture. Massachusets: MIT Press. Shifman, L. (2014). The cultural logic of photo-based meme genres. Journal of Visual Culture, 13(3), 340-358. Sperber, D. & Wilson, D. (2004). Relevance theory. In L. R. Horn & G. L. Ward (Eds.), The handbook of pragmatics (pp. 607-632). Malden: Blackwell. Tsakona, V. (2009). Language and image interaction in cartoons: Towards a multimodal theory of humor. Journal of Pragmatics, 41(6), 1171-1188. Yus, F. (2011). Cyberpragmatics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Yus, F. (2016). Humour and relevance. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Yus, F. (2017). Incogruity- resolution cases in jokes. Lingua, 197, 103-122. Yus, F. (2019). Multimodality in memes: A cyberpragmatic approach. In P. Bou-Franch & P.C. Blitvich (Eds.), Analysing digital discourse: New insights and future discourse (pp. 105-131). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. Varis, P. & Blommaert, J. (2014). Conviviality and collectives on social media: Virality, memes, and new social structures. Multilingual Margins, 2(1), 31-45. Wiggins, B. E. & Bowers, G. B. (2015). Memes as genre: A structurational analysis of the memescape. New Media & Society, 17(11), 1886-1906. 15 Appendix I. Memes 1a) 1b) 2a) 2b) 3a) 3b) 16 4a) 4b) 5a) 5b) 6a) 6b) II. Questions 1) Which of the two memes do you consider as more playful? 2) From a scale of 1 (not at all funny) to 4 (hilarious) how humorous do you consider the meme you chose? 3) Why is that? Did it remind you of something?