Blog #3


Please respond to ONE of the following questions:

-Are there certain ideas that are accentuated in these memes that speak to the perceived beliefs of this community? 

Over the past couple of week, while looking for memes that would directly correlate to my topic of Mormon behavior based on beliefs, there were many memes that I did not understand. Most of the topics and ideas of church behavior and different insider perspective of going to church, the sacrament meetings, and testimony. Church topics are talking about how the Mormons bear testimony, the sacrament meetings they have twice a year and different miscellaneous phrases like "When someone sits in our family's bench". There were also memes that mocked the experience of missionary trips. What I've noticed is that the digital identity of most of the themes memes comes from an insider perspective which is why there is so much repetition of church behavior and experiences.

After you share your observations, please answer BOTH of the following questions:


-Why do you think these are highlighted in these memes? What messages are being communicated by the ways these are presented?
I think these are all things that someone who is apart of the Mormon religion would understand. There aren't many memes that I found that are from an outsider perspective, there were not many memes that had a sarcastic sense of humor or any mocking to the Mormon religion. What was really highlighted was the behavior of the Mormons because of their beliefs and traditions. They are being communicated with a playful tone as if someone were to understand and laugh at the meme.
-How do your observations relate to claims about how religious identity is presented and negotiated in digital culture as express in the class lecture and readings this week?
My observations relate to the humor part of identity when it comes to memes. Also, humor relates to the audience. Depending on what type of humor that meme conveys, you can tell what audience it is directed to and what type of audience, insider or outsider, created the meme. If the meme were to have a sarcastic and stereotyping tone then you can tell that it was an outsider that created it meaning to stereotype and make fun of the religion while if the humor was more playful and innocent you can tell that it was made for an insider for the insiders.

Comments

  1. Please engage more with scholarly sources in your reflection. I encourage you to look at the work of Daniel Stout who has written on how Mormons are represented in media to help contextualize your claims.

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