Cauvery Dispute Memes: in the View of Derrida's
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Journal of Advanced Research in Journalism & Mass Communication Volume 5, Issue 4 - 2018, Pg. No. 71-80 Peer Review Journal Research Article Cauvery Dispute Memes: In the View of Derrida’s Deconstruction – A Discourse Study Nandhini C Researcher. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2395.3810.201822 Abstract This research on Cauvery dispute memes in the view of Derrida’s Deconstruction attempts to analyse the ‘memes’ created and shared during the period of September month 2016. This article undertakes Postmodernism as the conceptual theory and analysing it in discourse as the primary method. Memes from the selected Facebook pages are considered for this research. It analyses the memes through various parts such as Image, Content, Colour and Characters present in the meme that had been going around breaking the structured scenario on socialising over media through qualitative method. Keywords: Memes, Deconstruction, Cauvery Dispute, Social Media, User Participation, Discourse Introduction to ‘‘replicate at rates that make even fruit flies and yeast cells look glacial in comparison’’ (Dennett, 1993). There is Background of The Study some controversy about who coined the term meme, but Richard Dawkins was surely the one who made it popular. On The Issue A meme should be regarded as a unit of information residing The debate over sharing Cauvery water between Karnataka in the brain just as genetic information is stored in the and Tamil Nadu dates back when both the states agreed DNA(Dawkins, 1982). Its phenotypic effects, in contrast, to construct dams. Regarding sharing of water, there were are its consequences in the outside world (Dawkins, 1982). controversial debates between both the states. The phenotypic effects of a meme may be in the form of words, music, visual images, styles of clothing, facial August 2016: Tamil Nadu files a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking direction to the state of Karnataka to release or hand gestures, skills such as opening milk bottles in water to Tamil Nadu. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah tits, or panning wheat in Japanese macaques (Dawkins, says there is no water in the reservoirs, protests erupt in 1982).. They are the outward and visible (audible, etc.) Tamil Nadu. manifestations of memes within the brain. Individual expression is afforded, but social processes guide creation, September 2016: The Supreme Court directs Karnataka circulation, and transformation (Milner,2012) to release 15,000 cusecs a day till 15 September. Protests break out in both the states. On Memes and Cauvery Dispute On Memes Tamilnadu vs Karnataka Cauvery river dispute memes in all the social media especially Facebook and Twitter. There Memes are “self-replicating units of culture” (Dawkins, were Memes put up in order to spread hatred towards 1999). Memes are characterized by some key attributes; one another. The memes primarily targeted Tamil Nadu they evolve through remixes and commentary and spread government. Then the retaliatory posts also started coming through homogeneous communities (Bauckhage, 2011). from Tamil Nadu Meme creators. Memes, since at least as early as the 1990s, have been said E-mail Id: [email protected] Orcid Id: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0918-9984 How to cite this article: Nandhini C. Cauvery Dispute Memes: In the View of Derrida’s Deconstruction – A Discourse Study. J Adv Res Jour Mass Comm 2018; 5(4): 71-80. Copyright (c) 2018 Journal of Advanced Research in Journalism & Mass Communication (ISSN: 2395-3810) Nandhini C J. Adv. Res. Jour. Mass Comm. 2018; 5(4) 72 Simultaneously, a group of meme creators in the state two Facebook pages. went on to spread counter Memes and posts targeting • To understand the intention of the memes creators Tamilians as if begging for Cauvery water from Karnataka. who played major role in creating on Cauvery dispute. Statement of The Study Review of Literature Cauvery is one of the most important river in South India Vasiliki Plevriti(2015) indicated that representations of between the states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In this study, politics in popular culture offer people a chance to “pick up the researcher is analysing the topic in Post Modernism and confirm a broad sense of politicians and the political theory Deconstruction by Jacques Derrida. When there process”, At another level, film, like all signs, necessarily was an issue on the ownership of the river recently around represents what is not there less blatant here than it is in September 2016 starting, literally wars broke out. And not purely verbal signs” (Brunette 61) just on the fields. ‘Netizens’, who claim to be the everyone who are in social media which is Facebook in this study, Juliana Brunello’s (2013) study concludes that through fought over this issue in memes. In fact, a particular meme agency and sociability, the composition of internet-memes which went viral that implied Tamil Nadu begging water to entails much more than simple imitation. It involves using Karnataka which was offensive and considered as an act familiar ideas and previous knowledge in order to make of insult to the whole state. So, there it went, viral wars creative unfamiliar combinations; appropriating, remixing between the meme creators and the supporters who fought and then recontextualizing different elements into novel, over cyber bullying for the states. So, the theoretical frame amusing, unexpected, and often humorous ways, thus work in this research will be associated with Postmodernism creating something original out of something that has been theory which is considered as a cultural change through copied. In sum, internet-memes are a result of individuals any form which is in this case it is meme wars in Cauvery playing creatively with memetic elements within the issue. This study, as mentioned before derives the breaking aesthetics of postmodernism. of constructed ideologies in transforming information through media. Shifman (2014) discussed the memes and its significance, as well as their role in digital culture introducing it to all that What makes this study additionally interesting is that, induces the users, the viewers into political participation though widespread, this phenomenon is often unrecog- nized. People have seen it, but not really noticed it. According to Derrida, “There is not – one deconstruction, and deconstruction is not a single theory or a single Hence this study will let out the principle of Post Mod- method” (Vandenberg 122). ernism- Deconstruction on the memes that had highest recognition in Facebook in the selected sample pages. Linda Börzsei (February 2013) indicated that the ontology and history of the Internet meme that is a piece of content Scope of The Study spreading online from user to user and changing along the way. Due to the meme wars between these two states on Cauvery dispute, there has been so much hatred among the According to Charalambos Konstantineas, George Vlachos people since it is social media and it reached everywhere (2013) Memes recommend a certain point of view, a point in all the possible ways. Meanwhile there has also been that is sometimes considered unorthodox in a modernistic sarcastic comments on the participation of the government approach. Our goal initially is to define with the greatest and the social activists on this. It sure did brought out an possible clarity the term “internet memes” and demonstrate awareness on the issue in some kind of art way but still it its relationship with the emerging internet sociology. did bring out viral violence to some extent that it reached in newspapers too. The scope of the study is to identify and Theoretical Framework analyse the memes that are used and critically mention Postmodernism as a diverse movement, which originates in about the maybe other side of it through a discourse study. aesthetic, architecture and philosophy (Ryan Bishop,1996). Objectives Postmodernists are suspicious of authoritative definitions and singular narratives of any trajectory of events (Bishop The objectives in this study are; 1996). Postmodernism is a sense in which if one sees modernism as culture of modernity, postmodernism is the • To analyse the usage of characters in the memes which culture of post modernity (Sarup,1993). The period where deconstructs the usual. there is immense process of the destruction of meaning • To analyse the perception of the memes in various which is equal to the earlier destruction of appearances and perceptions which gained highest recognition in the period of post modernism whoever lives by meaning also ISSN:2395-3810 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2395.3810.201822 Nandhini C 73 J. Adv. Res. Jour. Mass Comm. 2018; 5(4) dies by meaning (Baudrillard ,1984). On anthropological to our understanding of literature with a greater sense of view, the postmodernist critique of science consists of two critical perception (Sahoo,2014). Our life and experiences interrelated arguments, epistemological and ideological are governed by certain ideologies which are built into our (Spiro 1996). language. It is good for us to see ourselves rid of those ideologies (Sahoo,2014). Derrida calls this philosophic Postmodernism in Memes system as “logocentric” (Derrida, 1976). It places at the centre (centric) of its understanding of the world. A concept Internet and social media like Facebook are they keys for termed as logos that orders and organises the world. communication in this contemporary culture where memes Deconstruction is not a method or way that can be utilised are being created, shared and understood and questioned in the activity of interpretation and cannot be reduced on every part of it and beyond. Memes can be considered to a methodology (among compacting methodologies in as the result of postmodern thoughts. For instance, when the human or natural sciences or a technical procedure there is an announcement on a particular news. The meme assimilable by academics and capable or being taught in creators start off with questioning what is it about through educational institutions (Derrida, 1976).