Becoming a meme erases the person’s context and identity markers

Evidence

In the first stage, “Faces of memes,” the faces of ordinary people in the images become memorialized solely for the comedic value of the meme, through the “collective powers” of users who view, reappropriate, spread, and co-construct meaning and value into the image. At this stage, the person and situation in the image become stereotyped as a caricature. As such, the context of the image, the backstory of the situation, and the original identity markers of the person photographed are stripped away, to the point that the person becomes reduced to a mere icon: a face of a meme. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 164

Categorization

• DEFINE: First stage of the meme celebrity life cycle — a foundational typology term for the survey.
• XREF: connects to: Viral meme culture commodifies Black speech while erasing lived context — W. David Marx, Blank Space: A Cultural History of the…, 283; Some viral faces become unwilling memes who reject their fame. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 175; Viral meme fame can be non-consensual, damaging, and unmanageable by the subject. — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 182 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Viral meme culture commodifies Black speech while erasing lived context #expands (0.92) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 283
• Some viral faces become unwilling memes who reject their fame. #exemplifies (0.78) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 175
• Viral meme fame can be non-consensual, damaging, and unmanageable by the subject. #complicates (0.75) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 182
• Factual corrections cannot undo reputational damage once a meme spreads. #exemplifies (0.72) — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity, 183
• The loss of individual personality can itself become an identity #expands (0.71)