Week 8: memes, memes, and more memes

Week 8: Even more memes

In selecting a more concrete focus for the proposed research on the cultural implications of memes surrounding the Stormy Daniels/Donald Trump legal fiasco, I am proposing five criteria of which memes must fit in order to be selected:

1.    The most basic criterion proposed for the research must be that memes must picture Stephanie Clifford and/or Donald Trump. If the individuals chosen in the memes are not the two themselves, there should be some reference to Clifford or Trump. For example, television shows such as Saturday Night Live, at many times, uses their own cast to depict certain famous figures. If memes utilize scenes depicting Clifford or Trump, they will also be accepted for study.

2.    If Clifford, Trump, or actors depicting the two are not seen in the meme, other individuals with textual references to the figures will be accepted.

3.    The second criterion selected concerns the issue of recency in content. Memes posted as early as January of 2018 will be selected for study. Trump has built a media empire around his television shows and appearances, including The Apprentice, and Clifford has earned fame through other means before 2018, so memes created before the legal issues between the two were made public will be excluded from study.

4.    In depicting the two individuals, there must be a clear, discernable dichotomy in how they are presented—either textually or visually in regard to gender. Images or text showing an elevation of the status of one gender while diminishing the social status of the other will be selected.

5.    As referred to in criterion four, a reference to gender in selected memes must be made; those specifically highlighting a difference between the male and female in American culture will be chosen.

The following examples will clarify the chosen criteria:

Figure 1

Figure 2

 Figure 3

Each of the three figures shown above highlight at least one criterion chosen for research. Figure 3 fits one of the basic requirements of visually depicting either Trump or Clifford, while the other two textually refer to Trump or Daniels in some matter, either using stock characters or other government officials. In addition, all were posted in the selected time frame of January 2018 to present day.

Thirdly, each of the memes presents a primarily textual dichotomy between men and women in American culture, either through cultural assumptions on the workplace or career, acceptance of a promiscuous lifestyle, or direct assumptions of women based on picture. To be explained further in analysis, Figure 1 highlights the notion that a promiscuous lifestyle for men is accepted, celebrated, and worthy of recognition, while a similar female lifestyle is not. Figure 2 uses text to communicate the notion that women should be attended to based on appearance and sexual usefulness, rather than any logical argument being made; if the individual in question is women, she should not be believed.

Lastly, Figure 3 uses imagery to twist the pictured context into one highlighting cultural stereotypes of the woman. While the context pictured is a polygraph test taken by Clifford in March of 2018 (Fitzpatrick & Connor, 2018), an assumption that straps around any part of a women's body is made for sexual purposes is shown through the addition of text in the sample. Clifford is seen with straps around her body, lowering the status of herself and women as a whole with what is culturally understood as a demeaning, promiscuous, sex-worker's lifestyle.

Fitzpatrick, S., & Connor, T. (2018). Lie detector test indicates Stormy Daniels truthful about Trump  ddddd affair. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/lie-detector-test-shows-ddddd stormy-daniels-truthful-about-trump-affair-n85828.

Week 7- Refining Topic

Week 7- Refining Project Topic

My proposed research study explores the theme of gender related to Stephanie Clifford and media coverage related to her interviews and political-related demonstrations as a result of her legal battles with President Trump and his then-lawyer Michael Cohen in early 2018; the interviews and demonstrations examined concern a non-disclosure agreement between Trump and Clifford over an alleged sexual encounter at a Trump resort in 2006.

My proposed research question for this study is the following: How do memes centered around the Stormy Daniels / Donald Trump legal battles reinforce socially-stereotypical ideals on men and women through both image and text?

As Clifford’s media coverage in 2018 predominately concerns these legal battles, I will study 10 internet memes related to Trump and Clifford, either related to Clifford’s March 9 CNN interview, or other images of the two posted within the last 10 months.

Memes will be selected on the following criteria: they must be posted after January 1, 2018, depict Stephanie Clifford, Donald Trump, or both, or either refer to one or both of the pair through the use of text within the meme. Lastly, memes will be selected if they refer to the social placement of men and women in American society, whether the workplace, the home, or culture in general.

The following two memes will assist in exploring the proposed topic:

The first meme selected concerns Clifford's March 9th CNN interview, where it appears as if her pupils are dilated. Memes surrounding this aspect of Clifford's appearance can be argued to show a link between Clifford and the cultural perceptions surrounding her work. We generally understand sex workers to be almost nonhuman; those who have these jobs are generally understood to be dirty, drug-addicted individuals. With the appearance of dilated pupils, the meme's creator posits the idea that sex-worker Clifford and professional Clifford being interviewed by a major news corporation are inseparable. Ignoring all other contextual clues, such as possible lighting changes attributing to her appearance, the meme highlights certain ways that Daniels, as woman sex-worker, is a nonperson who should be ignored.

The second meme, captured from me.me, uses an older photo of Clifford with text showing a connection to the legal drama. Its use of text highlights a notion of the helplessness of Clifford, and women in general, in obtaining employment without the assistance of a man, to be explored in further detail.

The two memes chosen highlight some of the varied cultural stereotypes on the dichotomy of man versus woman--the woman as promiscuous in all aspects of life and the woman as helpless, hopeless individual.

Week 6: Project Proposal

Week 6: Project Proposal

Figure 1 

Figure 2

For my research study, I am proposing an examination of memes surrounding the media events concerning Stormy Daniels, including the televised interviews and other public appearances she has made during her legal battles with President Trump. Her appearances are a result of the sexual encounter between the two on Trump's golf course in 2006. In January of 2018, Stephanie Clifford made the details regarding the pair's encounter public, while arguing the illegitimacy of a non-disclosure agreement she was forced to sign soon after; she had posited that the agreement was null and void, as Trump had not signed it (Parks, 2018).

The study's theme will examine the cultural implications of both Clifford and Trump's portrayal as they potentially reinforce cultural stereotypes and ideologies on the male and female gender. As I examined in previous weeks, the pairing of linguistic cues and visual elements tend to reflect cultural ideologies, either amplifying or negating certain attitudes on gender relations.

The two memes, shown in Figures 1 and 2, are highlighted as they reflect the multitude of ways American gender ideals are inserted into mass-circulated and consumed memes. Figures 1 and 2 utilize both real and incorrect photos of Clifford in an attempt to continue the coupling of her personal life and career as a sex worker, along with expanding the images to a cultural denigration of women as a whole, either through visual, text, or a combination of the two. Figure 1, using a screen capture of Clifford's CNN interview, is chosen as it avoids visually portraying Clifford in a sexual nature, but still does so through the conscious choice of language in the image, equating a normal legal term with sexual undertones and reducing the severity of her allegations and recollections. Figure 2, on the other hand, resorts to using a sexually-suggestive photo, using an incorrect image of a Saturday Night Live skit aired before her allegations were made public. Figure 2 highlights the at-times drastic steps meme content creators can take to argue a culturally-dominant ideology, elevating the status of one gender while lowering another.

Parks, M. (2018). Stormy Daniels shares graphic details about alleged affair with Trump. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/03/25/596868354/stormy-daniels-shares-graphic-details-about-alleged-affair-with-trump