Yes. It’s a response to a post asking what the meme image is from, which I also didn’t recognize. And then you took it upon yourself to ask about it and now the entire thread below the meme is dominated by two idiots arguing about whether memes can be made from newer media.
Which is why every meme has to be from the 80s because nobody is ever going to watch the same thing enough to recognize loose frames ever again.
I’m confused by the confusion. I’m saying media is getting atomized and decentralized so there are no media touchstones other than the algorithm anymore.
So memes are harder to make from newer media because there’s no watercooler thing everybody is watching at the same time anymore so there’s less cultural overlap that everybody will recognize at a glance forever.
You made me say it all boring now.
Every meme has to be from the 80s because nobody is ever going to watch the same thing enough to recognize loose frames ever again.
See, I’m troubled by that one because it sounds good on paper, but in practice that means that Google and Meta, who can certainly build licenses into their EULAs trivially, would become the only government-sanctioned entities who can train AI. Established corpos were actively lobbying for similar measures early on.
And of course good luck getting China to give a crap, which in that scenario would be a better outcome, maybe.
Like you, I think copyright is broken past all functionality at this point. I would very much welcome an entire reconceptualization of it to support not just specific AI regulation but regulation of big data, fair use and user generated content. We need a completely different framework at this point.
Ah, yes, the 14th century. That renowned period of independent critical thought and mainstream creativity. All downhill from there, I tell you.
Sure, but… then it’s not a meme, right? The point of memes is that spark of recognition. You know what the template means, or at least you can figure it out, you get the joke, then you… well, you meme.
But if you make a meme and every time you post it the chat is about “hey what’s that show?” then it’s not a meme, it’s you recommending some show.
It’s fine, it’s not the end of the world, and memes can work even if you don’t understand where they come from if the image doesn’t depend on its original context to work (see for instance: blinking guy meme not needing to know who Drew Scanlon is), but it’s a weird reminder that we no longer have a shared cultural repository in the algorithm age.