A Meme is Worth a Thousand (+1) Words

For this assignment, I was asked to choose between an infographic or a meme.

(From Dr. Hess) A meme is a more complicated kind of visual graphic to produce, because it has an ironic, comedic, or in some other way “snarky” dynamic. Humor is a difficult dynamic to engage, particularly in an era of context collapse, in part because humor depends on crossing boundaries. That being said, it can also be a very spreadable kind of information.

Again, there are several places to go online for more information on memes, and for support in creating them. Here is a good basic article, if you're interested in learning more about memes.

Share it out into your social media streams and ask for critique. Once you’ve given some time to that process, then write up a brief reflection (no more than 500 words) and submit both the reflection and the meme to moodle.

Here's the picture, and below is the reflection...

I chose to create a meme and post it to Instagram, to which my Facebook page is linked. It got a lot of engagement. Though I received some interaction via IG, most of the feedback and critique came from the post on my Facebook page.

I purposely blurred the picture of Paula White (evangelical pastor, supporter and spiritual advisor to the President) and Trump at the podium together during a meal and time of prayer at the White House in early November 2019. Attending this meeting was 25 of the Nation’s most influential teachers, preachers and televangelists. “Prosperity preachers”. The picture is pulled back, so you can see nearly the entire room in all its rich gold chandeliers, intricate woodwork, the feast, etc. The words which appeared are “You cannot serve God and wealth.” (John 16:13b). 

I had a chance to synthesize material from another class. I am currently taking the Gospel of Luke with Koester and recently wrote a paper on The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). I wanted a chance to engage my research, offer context and the possibility of sound interpretation. The parable is an indictment of the Pharisees, but Jesus does not condemn them. With it, I tried to balance the “snarky,” funny, ironic and insightful, which is very difficult since I knew some would find it instantly offensive because of its political nature.

I invited discussion and identified that it was for a class assignment. One by one, the comments came in, from my usual “followers” and even from those I haven’t talked to in years. This was surprising. As I expected, people were all over the place. Some expressed frustration at this “judgemental” and “biased” meme. I was accused of being “too political” and “taking a cheap shot”. Some felt I was being disrespectful to the President and those religious elites, making fun of their faith. Others praised the idea. We talked about the trick of recontextualizing Jesus’ words and understanding the original context. We were civilized in our differences and everyone seemed to be learning and sharing.

Some thoughts I had: Am I distorting Jesus’ words, by placing them on top of the pic of evangelical leaders and prosperity preachers cozying up to the President? How do we contextualize in a way that doesn’t come off as “judge-y”? I think we can say something about the unholy union of faith and power, can we not?

I acknowledge that there are many lenses (background pictures) through which to look at Jesus' words. I could have used another pic. But this is where I chose to start, good or bad. The fact that I have bias does not make my argument invalid, hard to hear though it might be. I chose to partner this particular text and image in order to make a point. I am not trying to be neutral; there would be no point to make. Meme’s make powerful statements.