It's interesting to me that "memes" as discussed in the article, which are the result of cultural transmission, are something the author believes to be a commonality between all forms of life. In my experience, memes -- particularly in reference to the internet-based variety -- are separate; you have a vast quantity of different memes developing, but they all have specific features and factors without which they would not be recognizable as a specific meme, from the demotivational posters with the black background, white border, large caption and smaller subcaption, to the various "Advice Animals" with the two-colored background, animal head, and caption of the top and/or bottom of the image. These memes appear to surge in popularity, and then quickly die out. But I guess in the grand sceme of things, they just change and mutate into what is perceived as a new meme, but is actually a direct result of someone being inspired by an old meme and altering it slightly.
Memes, according to Richard Dawkins, are ideas (tunes, catchphrases, fashion trends, building techniques, etc) that leap from brain to brain via imitation. He considers them to be living structures, latching on to a brain in a similar manner to that of a parasite. I think he put it best when he said they are "an entity that is capable of being transmitted from one head to another."
The Internet, in its perpetual appreciation for humor, seem to use memes as a kind of inside joke -- repeated visual, linguistic, or auditory traits that may mean nothing individually, but if you are familiar with the context, can be funny or combine together to be familiar. References to other media are also a kind of meme. A movie may have a line or situation that echoes that of a well-known predecessor, perpetuating the trope. Memes are similar to genes in that the successful of their kind are the ones that continue to be reproduced and travel to more brains. Both operate by "survival of the fittest," with the more memorable or inspirational memes being communicated to more people in the same way that a stronger gene would.
Artwork is constantly utilizing the concept of "memes" in its creation. Artists almost always can tell you exactly when and where they got the "inspiration" for a piece, and even if they can't, the idea came from somewhere, or possibly several different places, even if that artist isn't aware of it. Works that are considered "good" are often praised because of stylistic similarities with well-known artists, either because the work utilizes the context it references, or because it comments on it satirically. People love things that are familiar; when they can point to a work and say, "that reminds me of [insert famous artist here]," they feel like they understand the work, that they're included in the commentary and speak the artist's language. New and independent ideas often aren't successful. Particularly with convergence media, making a clip into a gif is something anyone can do. But when you combine it with text or audio that supplements or contradicts it, perhaps by referencing yet another work, that's how memes are perpetuated and spread.
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