Political themes in political memes understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes

Internet-meemeistä on tullut oleellinen osa poliittisista keskustelua virtuaalisissa ympäristöissä, oli sitten tavoitteeena jakaa poliittisia näkemyksiä tai vaikuttaa muihin käyttäjiin,​ ​meemien hyöty näkyy niiden kyvyssä esittää laajempiakin aiheita tiiviissä muodossa, esimerkiksi kuvina. Tämä pro...

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Main Author: Nuckols, Julia
Other Authors: Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos, Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Jyväskylän yliopisto, University of Jyväskylä
Format: Master's thesis
Language:eng
Published: 2019
Subjects:
Online Access: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/64727
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author Nuckols, Julia
author2 Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_facet Nuckols, Julia Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä Nuckols, Julia Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_sort Nuckols, Julia
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description Internet-meemeistä on tullut oleellinen osa poliittisista keskustelua virtuaalisissa ympäristöissä, oli sitten tavoitteeena jakaa poliittisia näkemyksiä tai vaikuttaa muihin käyttäjiin,​ ​meemien hyöty näkyy niiden kyvyssä esittää laajempiakin aiheita tiiviissä muodossa, esimerkiksi kuvina. Tämä pro gradu-tutkielma käsittelee vuoden 2016 Yhdysvaltojen presidentinvaalien ympärillä käytyjä verkkokeskusteluja​, ​ja virtuaalisesti tapahtunutta vaikuttamista meemien muodossa. Internet-meemit ovat jo sellaisenaan uusi ja kiehtova sosiaalinen ilmiö, mutta ne tarjoavat myös erityisen kiinnostavan ulottuvuuden poliittiseen keskusteluun ja vaikuttamiseen, erityisesti meemien ollessa usein vuorovaikutussuhteessa - ei ainoastaan tavallisten käyttäjien - vaan myös itse politiikkojen kanssa. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli löytää vastaukset seuraaviin kysymyksiin: 1) millaisia määriä poliittisia meemejä tuotettiin presidentinvaalien yhteydessä ja kuinka paljon meemejä jaettiin tämän tässä kontekstissa 2) minkä tyyppistä poliittista retoriikkaa nämä meemit käyttivät (esimerkiksi poliittisten mielipiteiden esittäminen, kritiikki tai tietoisuuden levittäminen)​. T​ässä tutkimuksessa käytettiin teoreettisena viitekehyksenä Emile Durkheimin rituaali-teoriaa nykyaikaisessa kontekstissa, Charles Cooleyn ja George Herbert Meadin symbolista interaktionismin vuorovaikutus-teoriaa, sekä Henry Jenkinsin osallistuvaa kulttuuria internetissä käsittelevää teoriaa. Tutkimusmenetelmänä oli 250 erilaisen meemin tarkastelu laadullisella sisällönanalyysillä. Tutkimuksessa analysoidut meemit kerättiin Reddit.com –sivuston poliittisista keskustelualueista. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat esimerkiksi sen, että Reddit.com-sivuston meemit edustivat enemmän liberalistisia kuin konservatiivisia arvoja. Tulokset myös näyttivät, kuinka käyttäjien mielipiteet ovat polarisoituneet siten, että liberalististen ja konservatiivisten käyttäjien välillä on suuria mielipide-eroja, jopa vihamielisyyteen asti. Meemit jaettiin aihe- ja tyylikohtaisesti, jolloin kävi ilmi, että vaikka aihe olisi vakava, niin meemit ovat kuitenkin usein parodioivia tyyliltään. Online memes have become an intricate part of political participation in the online world, whether it involves voicing one’s opinions or attempting to influence other users, memes offer a plethora of information in a small compact form. This paper takes on the case of the 2016 United States of America presidential elections including the surrounding timeline, examining the memes present in online discussions in relation to the elections and the candidates affiliated. Memes as a new social phenomenon alone is a fascinating topic, but it was particularly engrossing to examine the presence of memes in modern day political discourse and the symbiotic nature they inherit amongst online users, the media and politicians themselves. This dissertation aims to answer the following questions; 1) in what volumes have political memes been produced and shared in this particular case study and 2) what political rhetoric do they exhibit (political values, critique, awareness etc.), utilizing famous classical theories in a modern context such as Durkheim’s ritual theory as well as Cooley and Mead’s theory on symbolic interactionism, as well as modern day theories such as the theory of Participatory culture by Henry Jenkins. The research methodology was the examination of 250 different memes via content analysis collected from the popular social media site Reddit.com, from numerous different political subreddits. The results were fascinating showing the political trend present on Reddit, being more in favor of liberal values as opposed to conservative. Amongst the opinions presented there was also a noticeable divide amongst conservative and liberal users, sometimes to the point of hostility. Numerous different memetic styles were coded however in most instances, memes will alway exhibit a parodic undertone, even if the topic itself is serious. The importance and popularity of memes as a form of political participation is self-evident, considering the volumes of political memes present in Reddit alone. This dissertation has only shown a fraction of the political discourse taking place in the form of memes in the online world.
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spellingShingle Nuckols, Julia Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes online politics online symbolic interactionism participatory culture reddit internet-politiikka symbolinen interaktionismi netissä osallistuva kulttuuri Sosiologia Sociology 203 sosiaalinen media meemit verkkoyhteisöt politiikka sosiaalinen asema presidentinvaalit mediaympäristö verkkoympäristö sosiaalinen ympäristö julkinen keskustelu kulttuurivaikutukset social media memes online communities politics social status presidential elections media environment network environment social environment public discussion cultural impacts
title Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes
title_full Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes
title_fullStr Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes
title_full_unstemmed Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes
title_short Political themes in political memes
title_sort political themes in political memes understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes
title_sub understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes
title_txtP Political themes in political memes : understanding the intent and prevalence of political online memes
topic online politics online symbolic interactionism participatory culture reddit internet-politiikka symbolinen interaktionismi netissä osallistuva kulttuuri Sosiologia Sociology 203 sosiaalinen media meemit verkkoyhteisöt politiikka sosiaalinen asema presidentinvaalit mediaympäristö verkkoympäristö sosiaalinen ympäristö julkinen keskustelu kulttuurivaikutukset social media memes online communities politics social status presidential elections media environment network environment social environment public discussion cultural impacts
topic_facet 203 Sociology Sosiologia cultural impacts internet-politiikka julkinen keskustelu kulttuurivaikutukset media environment mediaympäristö meemit memes network environment online communities online politics online symbolic interactionism osallistuva kulttuuri participatory culture politics politiikka presidential elections presidentinvaalit public discussion reddit social environment social media social status sosiaalinen asema sosiaalinen media sosiaalinen ympäristö symbolinen interaktionismi netissä verkkoyhteisöt verkkoympäristö
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