“Y Tho” (Why Though)

Title: “Y Tho” (Why Though)

General Information:

  • Word Games
  • 5/17/2019
  • English
  • USA, Dartmouth College

Informant Information:

  • James Brown
  • 23 years old
  • Grew up in Cheshire, CT
  • Studies Computer Science at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

  • James said he first discovered this meme on instagram. He found it amusing because it’s based off of a piece of famous art that has been edited and has simple text superimposed over it.
  • The contrast between a famous piece of art and simple misspellings lends to humor

Cultural Context:

  • This meme is an edit of a painting of Pope Leon X by Fernando Botero. This meme was first spread in 2014 and has since seen many variants.
  • This meme is typically used as a response to a comment or statement by another person, usually rhetorically to make a commentary that the person’s action, statement or behavior needs explanation as it is odd or out of the ordinary.