Assignment #5: "Imma Let You Finish" (Alicia Fong)

This type of meme known as the “Imma let you finish” meme became popular after Kanye West ran onstage during Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech after winning the best music video during the 2009 MTV music awards. He interrupted her speech and said that Beyonce had the best music video of all time. This became popular because it was such a ridiculous thing that happened that it was funny and horrible at the same time. He slighted Taylor Swift on national television and now it’s a running joke that can be used for anything of the same genre or origin, such as this meme about The Little Mermaid. Over time, the meme became more popular and the joke is still used in reference to this event. Taylor Swift subtly addressed it when she hosted SNL, and other celebrities also shared their views on the situation via twitter and other social networks. Beyonce also dished it back to Kanye before. Needless to say, it was a thoroughly awkward and cringe-worthy moment that has created this meme.

Assignment #5: Angelina's Leg (Michelle Chen)

“Jolie’ing”

Angelina Jolie had her right leg exposed for a pose she struck at the Oscars in 2012.  Before the end of the event, photos of her leg are photoshopped in numerous pictures as a photobombing leg.  The picture was up, because people thought the photo-hogging leg would be hilarious, especially when showcased in various photos—fully demonstrating its photo-loving nature.  It was seen attached to the Statue of Liberty, Darth Vader, and even Meryl Streep.  As Yahoo's Mike Krumboltz reported, "by the time you read this, [in] about a million other things."  The leg went viral within minutes through twitter, tumblr, and other mass-media sites that allow users to share hilarious pictures.  The popular was so popular that it made it to the #2 Most Viral Pictures by Yahoo in its year-end review.  On “Google Insights,” the hype around Jolie’s leg began and peaked February 2012, and died down until June and resurfaced in January and February 2013 probably as a year-end review like Yahoo’s or a reminisce of last year’s Oscars. But no memes have been influenced by this.

Reasons for the meme became popular are due to the fact of the availability of social media for internet-users to share photos and tweets that they saw were funny, as well as ones that they made themselves.  Users can submit their own photos of themselves “jolie’ing” as the term came to be on sites like http://angelinajolieing.tumblr.com/.  Likewise, users can also follow the whereabouts of Jolie’s leg through the fan-made twitter account, @AngiesRightLeg.  This ability to share, laugh, and communicate worldwide using the internet and media sources made the meme popular, because many people are able to watch the Oscars and share online on their sentiments. As popular media tells us that watching the Oscar is “the thing to do,” people want to take part in jolieing to show others that they are a person on the in-group of the jolieing craze.  Participatory humor makes things funny. And who doesn’t want to a part of the next hot, leggy thing?

Assignment #5: "Imma Let You Finish" (Yesenia Escobar)

            

            I have chosen to write about the “Imma let you finish” meme, which was popularized by an interaction between rapper Kanye West, and country singer Taylor Swift at an MTV Video Music Awards ceremony in 2009. I still remember watching this ceremony and can recall how it all went down. As Swift was up on stage receiving and award for “video of the year” West who was a couple of feet away from the stage decided to make his way up there and in the middle of Swift’s speech interrupted her. His interruption speech went something like this, “Imma let you finish but I think Beyonce had one of the best videos this year.” As a close friend of Beyonce, West seem a bit hurt that she did not receive the award instead of Swift with her all too popular “Single Ladies” music video. After he interrupted Swift he gave the microphone back to Swift who had a look of confusion on her face and the entire encounter seemed really awkward.  And just like that moments after the show was over memes began to surface on the web poking fun of the interaction between the two artists.

            I believe the memes and videos of the original interaction became popular because the interaction in general was just so unexpected. Several people mocked Kanye for months and were shocked that he could be so rude, not for the first time because he had been on media for doing similar rants since the start of his career but because people were surprised that he could to it to the “all American girl,” Taylor Swift. Overall, I believe that the memes became popular instantly and although the interaction was talked about all over the media for months, it still very much remains in the holy grail of memes and maybe even in the history records of our generations pop culture. Memes like the ones seen above make fun of the interaction and several were photo shopped of West interrupting other notable celebrities, politicians, and simply making memes where Kanye put his “two cents” in any subject imagined possible.

Works Cited

"Imma Let You Finish But." Imma Let You Finish But. N.p., 06 Dec. 2009. Web.

"Must Have Coffee." : I'm Really Happy for You. N.p., 2009. Web.

Assignment #5: High Expectations Asian Father (Brian Chan)

I’m writing about the “high expectations asian father meme”. This meme became popular in the summer of 2010 and has remained quite popular since then. The meme I have chosen features a green background, and the words, “Facebook? Why don’t you face book and study?”. It features a headshot of a Korean actor, Jeon Mu-Song, who is known to portray father figures in Korean dramas. I surmise this was the reason he was chosen to represent the stereotypical stern and demanding Asian father.

According to knowyourmeme.com, Quickmeme has received over twenty thousand submissions and memegenerator has received nearly thirty thousand unique variations of this meme. I think this meme became popular because it was a satire of how overbearing Asian parents are and how much they push their kids to academically succeed. I felt a lot of Asian internet users could identify with the meme, hence its popularity. In one of Professor King’s lectures, he mentioned how Asians are one of the majorities in the internet user demographics. Perhaps, this is also one of the reasons why this meme has maintained its popularity.

The meme became very popular with a peak of 100 in December 2011, according to Google trends. Since then, it has leveled off with a popularity of around 20. Other memes that have emerged from this one are “Overachieving Asian student”. Two years ago that meme was infamous among UC Berkeley students.

Assignment #4: What you need is a re-do