Joke

Georgia Kraus 

“Government Curve Meme”

Internet 

11 May 2020

Informant Data: 

Georgia Kraus is a college student that goes to Dartmouth College. She is a member of the Dartmouth College women’s ice hockey team and one of my good friends. She was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. She was born on March 20, 2001, making her nineteen years old. Georgia shares that she has no religious beliefs. She has five social media platforms: Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram, and Vsco. She estimates that she spends around two hours on social media platforms per day. 

Contextual Data 

Social Context: 

Georgia states that she acquired this meme from Twitter. The government curve refers to the number of coronavirus cases. The video that is attached to the statement is the main aspect that makes the lore so pleasing. The video is of someone straightening their hair in a funny manner saying “I’m trying to straighten it down, this keeps going like whoop, like no go doop.” Considering that it is a known video with a written joke attached to it, it is considered to be a meme (folklore genre of a joke). A meme is a way of spreading cultural information in a comedic manner. Georgia believes that this way of spreading content is the most prominent in nowaday society. This is because we live in an internet reliant society and the internet is the main source for memes to be located in. It was made by an account that goes by the name of Ben O’ Callaghan. This person is not famous, however, this particular meme has had 79,200 retweets, 221,000 likes, and 2.6 million on the platform. The meme relates to how the government is trying to “flatten the curve.” This interview took place over a FaceTime call.

Cultural Context:

Georgia says that the main group of individuals this item targets are Twitter users; specifically, those who enjoy meme content. It is not limited to a certain age group of users. She thinks that whoever understands it MIGHT find humor in it. Memes are widely used by Generation Z or Millenials. The video that is attached to this specific item has been spread across the culture and has many different jokes attached to them (borrowed video that is passed around). Georgia thinks the video is funny with or without the written caption. In her opinion, memes are funnier if a person has seen many different forms of it. However, she also made a comment on how it is not a funny topic because coronavirus is a serious manner that has affected many lives. In a sense, it helps her cope with the global pandemic. She says that it is comic relief because the meme is reshaping the bad news (the number of coronavirus cases not flattening). She also finds relief because most media platforms make the situation sound scary, and this meme shows humor in it.  This is also why she thinks it is so persuasive. The item is powerful because memes are popular in today’s culture. The time period in which she discovered the joke is the most relevant time for the meme because she is living in it (going through what is being described). She says the meme trends are very situational and become most prominent in a national/global situation. The caption says, “the government trying to flatten the curve.” Georgia says that it is referring to the government trying to lessen the number of coronavirus cases. The attached video contextually means that whatever the government is doing is not working. The video is displayed in a humorous manner. In the future, Georgia thinks this meme will die off, but it will still have meaning. She says that the next generation will most likely not find it funny, however, it will serve as a reminder/reflection for people who lived through the Coronavirus pandemic.

Item: https://twitter.com/benocallaghan/status/1260699181540392960?s=12

Celine Pietraszek 

2635 White Rock Ln 

Colorado Springs, CO 80904

Dartmouth College

Russian 13 

Spring 2020