“I Would Prefer Not To” posts content that proves just how versatile memes can be. Humans have an incredible ability to take nearly any image and add a caption, magically turning it into both a hilarious meme and something relatable at the same time.
The original internet memes were not too far off from this concept. Normally, there would be an image with a caption, often in a very recognizable impact font. Other times, the image would be contained within a black frame, the famed “demotivational” poster memes that were all the rage a few decades before. While the content has drastically changed, the basic idea hasn’t.
Since then, all sorts of other methods have been added to make memes more unique from the simple text+caption format of the past. Some of you might remember the period of time when every meme was put through multiple filters, from saturated colors to aggressive, unnecessary compression, all in the name of achieving a “deep-fried meme.”
At some point, netizens started to understand that just the format of a meme was enough to convey an image, which is why many memes veered into the absurd. From nonsensical text to no text, edited images, and compression effects, for a while, being confusing was the name of the game.
Elizabeth Bruenig from the Washington Post wrote that this era of memes was a “digital update to the surreal and absurd genres of art and literature that characterized the tumultuous early 20th century." While this style certainly still exists, modern sensibilities are a bit less avant-garde, as most memes are still somewhat comprehensible.
Instead, like so many human subcultures, meme creation has “spread out” as every interest group, fandom and general combination of humans now produce memes for “internal use.” The ease with which most of us consume memes underpins just how convenient and effective they are at communicating ideas, jokes, and other info.
And it's not just humor that is being conveyed in memes. While many of these memes might be relatable, political forces and even marketing teams have all been hard at work, doing their best to make this relatability translate into boosted sales or more popularity in an upcoming election. Even now, find a local politician who is active on social media, you are bound to find at least a few memes.
