Blog #4, Meme Analysis

I choose to keep things simple and structure my blog post around the first meme that made me laugh.

http://overlymanlyman.com/football-helmet-you-mean-faggot-crown/

The background picture to this meme is known throughout the internet as the Overly Manly Man. In fact, all of the data I have found on his background and origin have been compiled on memebase under the Know Your Meme (KYM) tab (http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/overly-manly-man).  The character depicted is mostly a stab at humour in regards to ultra macho males. Generally speaking, the layout is almost always a question proposed at the top with a ridiculous answer below. This meme is widely used, and this example above is actually a variation of the original which was posted by rken3824 on to a subreddit page on September 24th, 2012. The original caption was: COLOURS? YOU MEAN THOSE THINGS WOMAN AND GAYS LIKE? I can only imagine that the grammatical error in the caption was meant to add emphasis to the ridiculousness of the meme. Ever since, variations have been popping up all over memebase as well as on many other lifestyle blogs. Links to reputable sites are available at the bottom of the memebase KYM page.

I feel that the meaning of this meme is to poke fun at alpha male types. A kind of play in regards to the ridiculousness of trying to always be the biggest, meanest and strongest male. I think this meme was designed and is continually circulated as a running joke around the existing stereotype  Often, the posts contain grammar and context errors in addition to profanity. The shirtless male in a fighting stance to me symbolizes a so called "meat-head" or jock, always looking for confrontation or battle. Where brains may lack but testosterone flows unimpeded.

Historically, the image background is that of a 19th century fighter by the name of Mike Conley. A website with a quick outline of his bouts is found through the link. (http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=40143&cat=boxer). It appears he was a well seasoned fighter with the nickname "The Ithica Giant". His image and historical records sat entirely separate to memebase prior to the upload and variation from rken3824. Personally, I have a feeling that Mike would approve of his new found popularity in the 21st century and seemingly alpha male status on the web. 

I find this meme and many of its variations hilarious. Although it may offend some, I think it's important to understand that the underlying humour lies in the well developed satire. Not just literally interpreting what the meme says.