I memi come parodia del discorso politico italiano durante la pandemia di Covid-19 (2020-2021)

• Published in: Etnoantropologia Vol. 9; no. 2
• Main Author: Franco Lai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: CLUEB 01-01-2022
• Subjects: Digital technologies; Memes; Parody; Smartphones; Social media
• ISSN: 2284-0176

This essay presents my interpretation of the production and circulation of memes as a parody of the Italian political and media discourse during the pandemic. The term meme and the viral circulation of visual and audiovisual messages can, in my opinion, be interpreted in the light of Richard Dawkins, Luigi Luca Cavalli Sforza and Dan Sperber’s works. They are cultural replicators with a viral circulation, capable of “settling” among the cultural meanings present in society. In this case, memes have a great diffusion capacity through networks of friends, relatives, colleagues etc., supported by social media (WhatsApp, Facebook). These memes can be elaborated by specific authors, exceptionally gifted with respect to technique and creativity, then uploaded and circulated very easily through social media; or they can be elaborated by a multitude of creatives with more “do-it-yourself” techniques and a more regional and local basis, judging from the characteristics of the images and the language used. My interpretation refers to the “subversive”, critical and oppositional dimension of parody as an elaboration of contemporary mass culture of the dominant political, cultural and media messages. Following Daniel Miller’s interpretation and the proposal of the curators of the monographic issue of the journal “Antropologia”, it is clear that not only the social use of technologies changes social media, but also that social media are inserted into social networks supporting and strengthening them and creating new ones, making them an area of relationship characterized by continuous and instant interaction.