Whether it’s the Facebook group “Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash,” Donald Trump’s use of alt-right memes, Hillary for America’s “Meme Queen 2016” video, the Libertarian Party’s $30,000 investment in “internet web memes,” or Jill Stein’s promotion of “Dank Jill Memes” on Twitter – these web vignettes have become a substantial part of political discourse in this election year. And yet, they largely fall flat.
So, why do political memes fail to be “dank?”
Some regard meme culture as a form of neo-Dadaism that utilizes absurdist humor as a coping mechanism for an increasingly confusing world in which young people feel frustrated and hopeless. Memes aren’t supposed to make much sense, they don’t have a traditional punchline, and they are deliberately shoddy. This runs counter traditional political humor, which seeks to spotlight wittiness, mock opponents, and educate the public. Simply put, the rhetorical techniques and goals of meme humor are incompatible with those of political humor.
Unlike those first-generation memes with the white Impact font superimposed over funny photographs (think Lolcat), contemporary memes have mostly moved away from specific references and gag lines. They are, in fact, a form of anti-humor that celebrates carelessness and obscurity. “[T]he less people understand or invest in a meme, the danker that meme is,” the Daily Dot explains. However, this metric is antipodal to the purpose of political humor, which demands a certain level of familiarity and commitment to be effective. In other words, political humor fails if we don’t care.
Similarly, politicized memes typically flop because they desperately want our attention. This not only defies the purpose of meme humor, but also oftentimes results in painful tone-deafness. For instance, the GOPtweeted the popular “This is Fine” meme, which illustrates the common reaction of denial in the face of mounting chaos, to ridicule the Democratic National Convention. The backlash was swift and merciless, with many pointing out the irony of the GOP’s tweet given that the party is arguably on the brink of collapse thanks to their own denial of reality. Eventually, the GOP’s clumsy attempt at mockery ruined the meme.
Political memes are inherently incongruous. Moreover, those who understand them will readily dismiss them for what they are: pitiful pandering.