KOCHI: Recently, there was a video that went viral recently when the world was celebrating two big-budget films hitting the screens at the same time — Barbie and Oppenheimer. A small clip from an old interview with Cillian Murphy, who played the father of the atomic bomb in the Christopher Nolan flick.
“What’s a meme?” he innocently asks.
Cillian would now be more than familiar with memes, thanks to the barrage of Peaky Blinders and Barbenheimer posts on every social media and news platform.Memes, those bratty little chuckle-generators, are everywhere around us in the digital world, from WhatsApp to even the new kid in the lane, Threads.“In fact, many youngsters nowadays get updated on news through memes,” says Amruta S N, 27, campaign manager of an NGO.
From hot news developments to festivals, memes announce the arrival of every small and big event in the world. “That includes even information about global warming and climate change,” adds Amruta.
After finishing her graduation a couple of years ago, Amruta and her friend Ninu Elizabeth entered the already popular meme world on Instagram. “Our page was called ‘Kudumbavilakku Memes’. I was fresh out of college, preparing for many tests, and unemployed. Also, it was the Covid times,” she recalls.
“There was a lot of time on my hands. By then, memes were quite popular. From politicians’ speeches to news videos, everything was becoming meme material. However, film memes rule the roost when it comes to humour,” she says.
The duo set out to make posts and videos to convey jokes, which Amrita calls “pure cringe”. “We wanted to be as cringe as possible and convey our thoughts, mostly about women. That is why we chose the name Kudumbavilakku, a popular telserial of that time,” she adds.
Amruta says memes are highly relatable for youngsters, making them an easy yet effective tool to communicate. “Within five seconds, one can understand something from memes. If it’s a video, 30 seconds max,” she says.
“Be it Covid protocol, women’s rights, politics… it’s quick delivery on target with a tinge of humour. They also help us relate to each other, that we are not alone in the world. At the end of the day, we all need a bit of laughter in our lives.”
That said, these days, a simple meme can even deliver a political payload more potent than a one-hour speech or an exhaustive essay. They contain the power of shaping opinions.
Meme ‘industry’
With memes gaining traction, dedicated groups such as International Chalu Union and Troll Malayalam held sway on social media with thousands of followers. “Now, there are hundreds of groups and meme pages on every social media platform,” notes Ashif A, meme creator and coordinator of the Troll Group Association, which has members from 13 meme pages.
For the 22-year-old, memes are not just something funny; it’s his livelihood. “I finished my engineering course with the help of memes,” he chuckles.Ashif used to make witty WhatsApp posts while in school. His creations trended among his classmates. That’s how it began. “Now it’s more professional, catering to each app,” he says.
Ashif runs a marketing company called Little Frames and has employed a few youngsters to churn out memes. “We primarily promote films through memes, from the time the trailer comes out to when it hits the screens. These get posted in multiple meme pages,” he explains.
Amruta and Ashif stress that memes are not just about chalus. “Every social issue becomes a subject of memes. And anyone can create them, and propagate any message,” says Amruta.
Spreading awareness
Social media pages of Kerala Police or the Kochi Metro are great examples of effective use of memes as a means of communication. “We know the power social media has among youngsters,” says V P Pramod Kumar, deputy director of the public relations department of Kerala Police.
The Facebook page of Kerala Police has over 19 lakh followers. “To connect with youngsters, we have been using memes, mostly the ones based on Malayalam film dialogues,” adds Pramod. “For example, information such as road safety and traffic awareness, anti-drug campaigns, etc., can be easily conveyed through memes.”
A team of four young police personnel help maintain these social media handles. “They are like cyber patrollers; they analyse every online trend and use them to spread a message,” says Pramod. “So far, the response has been great. People welcome them wholeheartedly, and many go viral, too.”