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– We’re a Culture not a Costume
An anti-racism campaign started by the Ohio University group “Students Teaching Against Racism in Society” (S.T.A.R.S.) has become the subject of viral photoshop parody series this week. It all started when posters showing students of various ethnicities holding photos of what could be considered culturally insensitive Halloween costumes were posted by the president of S.T.A.R.S. to her personal Tumblr blog. Soon after, photoshopped parodies versions began spreading on Tumblr that featured fictional characters, animals and celebrities mocking the campaign, and inspired a debate about whether or not S.T.A.R.S. was making a legitimate point. -
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– Meme Remix: The Most Interesting Monster in the World
Sesame Street’s giant blue cookie-addicted creature stars as one of the latest advice animals inspired by the guy from the Dos Equis advertising campaign “The Most Interesting Man in the World.” The captions typically parody the Dos Equis man’s signature catchphrase “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis,” but with a cookie-oriented twist. This Monster doesn’t always eat cookies, but when he does, he eats them in a horrifying violent manner.
– Man’s Best Friend: Good Dog Greg
A canine version of the popular advice animal series Good Guy Greg features a photo of a smiling dog with captions depicting various altruistic deeds. Good Dog Greg stays on the mat when his paws are wet, stays by your side when you are not feeling well and he will not run off when the gate is left open. The series has been largely successful on the social news site Reddit, but has recently spread out to sites like FunnyJunk, Tumblr and Memebase. -
– Occupy Update: Clash in Oakland Stirs Twitter
The violent clash between the police and Occupy Oakland protester sparked a late night frenzy on Twitter this week, as the chaotic scenes from downtown were streamed in real-time on LiveStream while demonstrators uploaded videos of the riot police firing rubber bullets and teargas canisters onto YouTube. In the early hours of October 25th, #OccupyOakland became a top trending topic on Twitter and one of the top searches on Google. One particularly moving video showed a U.S. Marines veteran wounded after being shot at point-blank range with a plastic bullet. On Facebook, hundreds of people posted accusatory comments on the official page of Oakland mayor Jean Quan, who has previously expressed her support for the movement during her visit to the camping site. -
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– Meanwhile in Israel: Bibi Bombing
While Israel celebrated the homecoming of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit who had been held captive for five years, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s untimely photo-bombing picture during the ceremony became the butt of a new photoshop meme on Facebook. The photograph, taken during the reunion of Shalit and his family, showed the soldier and his father embracing each other while Netanyahu is grinning smugly in the background. Many Israeli netizens on Facebook saw the presence of Netanyahu in the now famous photograph as rather misplaced, even spoiling the highly emotional moment of Shalits’ family reunion with his unflattering grin. Soon, people began exploiting Netanyahu’s smile by placing his face into historically significant photographs in Israel as well as overseas, à la 1994 American comedy film Forest Gump.Deanna Leung Madden is one of the savvy experts that runs the PR engine Buzz Builders.
