Memes take a dark turn after Trump’s election

I hate to say it, but when I saw this lubed hippo goes for trump cakeI knew it was over. Months ago I predicts the fall of Moo Dengand I’m happy to say that my hypothesis was largely correct: many on blame her for the result of the American presidential election.

I remember the November 2016 election, mostly because I was a freshman in high school, but also because Macklemore released his cheugy trap ballad “Wednesday Morning” in response to Trump’s first election and I loved it (because I was 14, please leave me alone). ). Eight years later, on another Wednesday morning, I was looking for – as Macklemore writes in his song – “some change on the couch.” But this Wednesday morning, I was also looking for memes. The day after the election, however, social media was so saturated with terror that I couldn’t scroll through my feeds without losing my mind.

As we settle into what we’re all settling into, the memes that have floated atop the frankly terrifying world of mark of a billion dollar campaign and become a subtle form of resistance.

I’ll start the saga before Election Day, when a friend of a friend shared a personalized Brat meme sent by the Kamala campaign to remind her to vote. What started as a queer Charlie XCX fan meme was quickly adopted into campaign strategy when the singer endorsed Harris, months before Bad Bunny and Beyoncé endorsed the Democrat. Harris quickly capitalized on the meme’s popularity, even long after its creation. officially dead.

None of these memes make you laugh so hard you pee, but maybe that era of meme making died with Vine a long time ago. This meme cycle, like the news cycle that accompanies it, is darker and more radical. Unlike our more dynamic Moo Deng collective psychosis, they find a way to discuss the potentially devastating consequences for immigrants and LGBTQ+ people in a way that is discoverable.

Pre-election memes embody a cult fandom for the election as a viewer event, much like watching a show like The Bachelor. One of the highlights of my meme selection is a simulated text exchange of MSNBC journalist Steve Kornacki (who was also featured in a live “Kornacki Cam” on YouTube during the election, from a camera angle showing only his buttocks).

These articles quickly delve into the human mind’s darkest imaginings about religion, immigration and homosexuality, and into the recirculation of celebrity interpretations of John Lennon’s “Imagine”, released during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I’m sharing my personal favorites below, for my sanity (and yours).