KULTURMEMER OG KULTURMINNER FRA NORGE

Kulturformidling og kommunikasjon på tvers av kulturer i den digitale verden

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal possible similarities between cultural memories and cultural memes. Cultural memes are in a sense the same type of cultural products as other cultural memories, but unlike traditional memories, memes arise on digital platforms, spread virally and thanks to their rapid course of life, most of them disappear unnoticed. But those who survive remain in our memory. The use of memes has had a rapid viral spread on the internet lately. Memes usually consist of single images or clips from movies and a piece of text and often intend to elicit humour. They spread by imitation or copying and can evolve along the way. Cultural memes are usually relatable; they can often be traced back to some social or political news, cultural event in a society.  Memes play an important role in social media, has become part of the communication that challenges active engagement and feedback. Traditionally, linguistics examines written and oral language use, while in modern communication theories images play an equal role. This paper will investigate some Norwegian cultural memes and their role in communication, the connection between text and images using various examples from the internet.