Juodasis humoras šiuolaikinėje kultūroje: memų pavyzdys

LTInformacinėms technologijoms tampant didžiule žmonių gyvenimo dalimi, į internetinę erdvę persikelia ir įvairūs tautosakos žanrai. Senieji folkloro žanrai prisitaiko prie žmonių gyvenimo pokyčių ir sėkmingai plinta internetinėje erdvėje, o juodojo humoro žanrai internete atspindi visuomenę, aktualias problemas, stereotipus, skandalus, taip pat realias gyvenimiškas situacijas. Straipsnyje siekiama ne tik suklasifikuoti memus (komiškus kultūrinės informacijos vienetus), bet ir įrodyti jų aktualumą bei populiarumą šiuolaikinėje visuomenėje. Straipsnyje aprašomi skirtingų grupių memai surinkti iš 13 internetinių šaltinių. Analizuojami kūriniai grupuojami pagal jų populiarumą ir sklaidos trukmę virtualioje aplinkoje (populiarieji, tendenciniai), o tarp populiariausių šio žanro pavyzdžių išskiriami gerbėjų sukurti ir politiniai memetikos kūriniai. Pagrindiniai žodžiai: internetas, juodasis humoras, memas, tautosaka. [Iš leidinio]

ENAs the world becomes increasingly modern, folklore is also moving into the virtual space, where it is taking on newer and more contemporary forms. Almost all genres of folklore can nowadays be easily accessed on the Internet: they abound in various social networks and forums, and different versions of these works travel widely from one email inbox to another. One of the most popular types of contemporary folklore is memes. This article aims to analyse and classify memes found on the Internet. As digital folklore is viewed rather critically by folklorists, memes are an underresearched area. Their analysis is challenged by the constant change of genres: it is very difficult to capture works published online. The classification of memes presented here should therefore help to understand the place of black humour as a genre in contemporary folklore. The relevance of the article is reinforced by the abundance of variations in the genre and by a survey of Internet users, which revealed the high prevalence of memetic works among people of all ages. The aim of the paper is not only to provide a classification of these works, but also to demonstrate their popularity with the public. The aim of the article is to analyse memes, the most popular genre of digital folklore, and to provide a classification of these works. Research data and methodology. Memes were searched on the Internet. The virtual space is particularly favourable for this purpose: not only is it possible to share one’s opinion and communicate with strangers, but also to publish one’s own work, which, if it meets the basic features of folklore and is relevant to society, immediately becomes part of the folklore and spreads in different versions on various Internet portals. The anonymity of the memes analysed is unique: their authors usually do not present themselves publicly, thus further linking their work to traditional folklore.Taking into account the issues, relevance and objectives of the paper, a questionnaire on the popularity of black humour folklore genres on the Internet was developed in 2022. The survey was carried out with 121 respondents of different ages. The survey explored the great popularity of memes, the age groups that most often create these jokes, and the Internet portals where they are seen and published. The largest share of respondents was in the 19 to 25 age group (55 %), which suggests that the folklore genres studied are most popular among young people. The survey found that only 44.6 % of respondents knew what online folklore is, although 62 % of respondents said they are exposed to these folklore genres every day, and 17.4 % of respondents said they are exposed to them more than once a week. The study also found that the popularity of certain folklore genres depends on the age of the respondents. In summary, memes address almost all topics of importance to society. The article distinguishes between popular and tendentious memes, according to the duration of their dissemination in the virtual environment, and among the most popular works are fan and professional works. The jokes are not only intended for innocent mockery, but also express personal opinions and analyse the problems prevailing in society. Fan memes discussing certain online content (videos, television series, films, etc) express support for and criticism of video bloggers, film and television series producers, and actors.Professional memes show a distrust of the most important professions, politicians, doctors and the clergy, who are particularly openly criticised in these works for profit-seeking, breaking the law, and failing to perform their duties properly. It is noteworthy that the memes analyse the most important issues in society, and allow people to express their views on the most topical news in this unusual way. Key words: internet, black humour, meme, folklore. [From the publication]

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