Claire and Erica Take the Internet
Welcome back to a brand new season of Claire and Erica Take the Internet! Hope you all have started unpacking, and for the new students, we’d like to give a special hello. We are back after a delightfully meme-filled summer ready to roll and excited to share the delights of the meme-iverse with you. We have returned to the Life section from our brief vacation in Humor and are very happy to be here. For those of you unfamiliar with our lovely corner of The Exonian, this is the column in which we share our wisdom on all things dank and beautiful with you, the Exeter community.
A major summer highlight—Rio 2016! Some of our favorite athletes traveled to Brazil and delighted us with expressive photos. The fastest meme in the world, Usain Bolt, was caught cheesing during the 100-meter semi-final. Angry Michael Phelps transformed into Grumpy Cat while at the same time keeping a Darth Sidious aesthetic. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared as Mario to celebrate the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (Japan pride!) Abe wasn’t the only star sporting the iconic plumber’s look—many folks acknowledged Chance the Rapper’s stylish overalls and hat at the VMAs.
As the 2016 elections are soon upon us, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have made Pokémon Go related statements. Back in July, Clinton made a joke at her rally in Virginia. “I don’t know who created Pokémon Go, but I want to figure out how to get them to have Pokémon Go to the polls,” Clinton said, trying not to give herself a high-five. Trump released an ad saying “Crooked Hillary NO.” In the video, Clinton was caught in a Pokeball. This will definitely be one of our old people stories when we’re 80-years-old.
Our next feature is not exactly a meme, but since it was one of the top stories this summer, let’s nod our heads to the Kanye and Swift cup of tea. After Kanye’s song “Famous” called Swift out, many fans and supporters of both artists have turned against each other. Who is the real snake? Did Kanye commit “character assassination?” As we head into the new school year, please remember: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but don’t trust any snake. Sneaky bunch.
Now that we’ve tried to make this Life-worthy, let’s get into the Arthur memes. Why are these screenshots of characters from the childhood show so popular? More importantly, so relatable? The over-exaggerated reactions from characters like Mr. Krabs contrasts the subtle blandness of an aardvark. One specific photo is of his sister, D.W., standing behind a fence and wearing a stylish pair of sunglasses. Honestly, there’s no point in questioning it.
Of course, we can’t discuss summer 2016 without paying our respects to the beloved gorilla Harambe (may he rest in peace). Outrage spread across the internet following the primate’s passing. The world rallied together to mourn the marvelous mammal through memes and other forms of media. Soon enough, the meme spread to the point at which just the mention of the word “Harambe” triggered reactions. In the words of Venkatesh Rao of the Atlantic, Harambe achieved “memetic perfection.”
What can we expect in the last few months of 2016? There’s a trend in frog-related memes; dat boi joined of the ranks of Kermit the Frog’s “That’s none of my business” and rare Pepe. Weather forecast says the internet may just conjure up one more for Pepe’s sake. The first presidential debate between Clinton and Trump is on Sept. 26, so we are expecting some jokes, as this entire election has included many cringe-worthy moments. Join us next week, same time, same place (unless we get kicked back onto Humor).