On Social Media Humor and Authenticity: Using the Yi Yan Ding Zhen Meme as an Example Restricted; Files Only

Abstract

This paper demonstrates how humor functions in the specific context of a meme that went viral on the Chinese internet. Such a meme ridicules someone named Ding Zhen as being inauthentic, and hence, it is also a great starting point to investigate how authenticity is understood in the said context. The thesis’s content is thus divided into three different sections. The first section examines the concept of a meme and its connection with humor. In the second section, the idea of a meme is further explored to show its implication for our understanding of authenticity. In the final sections, the implication of memes and authenticity are brought together into the specific context of social media; the analysis thus proceeds to try to provide an explanation of why Social Media might provide such a fertile ground for the memes and culture of individual authenticity.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: General Humor Theory and Analysis of the Meme 8

1.1. That Humor is Necessarily Societal and Conditional 9

1.2. Humor as Philosophical Theory in Practice 15

1.3 The Etymology of “Meme” 20

Chapter Two: The Self as a Meme. 35

2.1. The Etymology of Chun Zhen and the Meme Model. 36

2.2. The Doubled Interior 41

2.3. The Ding Zhen Meme that Preceded the Yi Yan Ding Zhen Meme 48

Chapter Three: The Internet’s Double Movement 54

3.1. How Virtual is the Virtual Communication? 56

3.2. The Not-So-Virtual Internet 61

3.3.The Logic of the Video Game 70

Conclusion 74

Works Cited 78

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Philosophy
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Philosophy
Keyword	Social Media and Internet Authenticity Memes
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Willett, Cynthia, Emory University
Committee Members	Mitchell, Andrew, Emory University Sinykin, Dan, Emory University

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