Items

• 
  2020-03-25

  The Battle of Costco

  HIST30060 - submitted as part of a history assignment. Again, like many other memes I encountered, this one comments on how the events of this year will be studied, but more importantly how they will be remembered (as emphasised by the almost commemorative nature of the statues). Humorously depicting parents and two children racing with an overflowing trolley full of food toward the check-outs as though it were a battle scene, this meme seeks to ridicule the absurdity of purchasing and hoarding mountains of food during the lock-down period. It suggests that violence in the isles and the toilet paper crisis that saw people literally fighting each other in order to obtain toilet paper will not be looked upon favourably by future historians or students. The way that the figures are carved in stone and the title of ‘The Battle of Costco (2020 A.D.)’ positions the audience to view the image in reference to other major historical conflicts and to find this one, humorously, falling short.
• 
  2020-05-17

  Funny corona beer meme

  HIST30060 - submitted as part of a history assignment. This meme uses symbolism in order to compare the pandemic to disastrous world events. The background depicts an atomic bomb exploding into a mushroom cloud and is overlaid with photographs of an empty toilet roll (alluding to the rush on toilet paper that occurred early in 2020), a bottle of Corona beer (a company unfortunate enough to share a name with the virus), empty shelves (from where people had panicked bought), graphics of the virus and the muppet Elmo wearing a mask, looking into the middle distance. The combination of these graphics suggests that in the future, ‘corona’ will be inextricably linked to the virus and that just saying its name will induce traumatic flashbacks. This suggests that the collective experience of wider society this year could be deemed a sort of shared trauma. It is noteworthy that the vast majority these memes, this one included, do not make light of personal hardships faced by people in order to be malicious and the events alluded to (such as the food hoarding) are not “serious” (like, for example, the economic crisis or the coronavirus death toll) but more trivial inconveniences.
• 
  2020-11-10

  Repetition of Plagues

  HIST30060 - submitted as part of a history assessment. Many of the memes, like this one, comment on the cyclical nature of history and the inescapability of the repetition of disasters. By drawing attention to other plagues of the past - all of which occurred during the 20s of their respective centuries - the image preempts the current ‘plague’ or pandemic. The accompanying image taken from the 2014 film ‘Big Hero 6’ and the comment ‘I have some concerns’ (an understatement to say the least) add an amusing note to the alarming message. Much of the humour found in these memes and images contained words ‘read’ in a deadpan or resigned tone - or otherwise the voice of one who is no longer surprised by the current turn of events. Again, there is a resounding feeling that this year has been a strain as one disaster after another occurs.
• 
  2020-05-31

  The history book of 2020

  HIST30060 - submitted as part of an assessment for a history subject. A significant number of the memes I found commented on the incredible number of ‘disasters’ or disruptions that have had a global impact this year (suggesting that this number is far more than anything to occur in the last decade). The disasters referenced in these memes concern a range of instances including the Australian Bushfires, the “threat of World War III” (with the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by drone strike), the Covid-19 pandemic, the American Murder Hornets, the explosion in Beirut and the American bushfires. The ‘disasters’ or global events that feature in the memes span almost every continent and every sphere from environmental (e.g. the bushfires), the social (e.g. the American race riots), the economic, the political (e.g. the explosion in Beirut and subsequent investigation into corruption) and health (e.g. the pandemic). This particular meme suggests that the study of this year will be an arduous task for history students of the future.
• 
  2020-08-26

  The cover photo of 2020's chapter in history

  HIST30060 - submitted as part of history assessment. This tweet produced in August 2020 includes a photograph of the American bushfires with the caption ‘this is gonna be the cover photo in the history chapter about 2020’. Like so many other memes and tweets, this item points to the cumulative nature of the disastrous events of 2020, suggesting that the entire year can be summarised by a hellish scene of a large fire devouring all its path while a sign warns of precautions needed to protect from covid-19. The tweet also draws attention to the study of history and how future generations of historians (and school students) will be introduced to the major events of the year.