2017 in Review - Memes

In many ways, 2017 has been the year of the Memes. For awhile, the world of memes was its own subculture, down in the deepest parts of the internet. 'Memes’ have entered the mainstream and the meaning of the word itself has broadened to mean “a widely shared and funny thing”. As new meme formats are discovered and propagated, old ones die. A meme economy of sorts is born.

Memes seem like the new way to enshrine an unforgettable moment. Everyday people can become internet celebrities, those who deserve it get roasted and complex issues get boiled down to an image and two lines of text or maybe a gif. What's not to love?

There's simply been too many memes to list, but here's a select list of the big hitters in 2017.

Salt Bae

Pretty much an instant hit, Salt Bae, with his dashing looks and a glint of sunlight at the perfect moment, spawned a meme that would last for pretty much an entire month - that's a long time in the fast-moving world of memes.

Executive Order Drawings

From all the things surrounding the Trump inauguration, this has to be one of the best. This was another meme that endured for an entire month, fuelled by the politically charged environment.

The Moonlight-La La Land Oscars Mix-up

"Envelopegate" hit the net with force after shock spread at the 2017 Oscars when everyone learned that Moonlight actually won Best Picture, not La La Land as was actually announced. The musical's producer held up a card with the accurate winner - which of course allowed anyone with a shred of editing capabilities to take advantage of the situation.

Cash Me Ousside - howbow dah?

Who can forget this gem? 13-year-old Danielle Bregoli was on Dr Phil when the studio audience was laughing at her describeing her own unruly behaviour. She 'shirtfronts' everyone with the phrase, proposing to the entire audience that they go outside and fight it out.

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Math Lady

It's hard to tell where this meme comes from, but the origin of the scene is from a TV Soap where the actor wakes up in a jail cell and is unsure of how or why she is there. Its accessibility was probably the secret to its success.

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Roll Safe

This iconic meme was spawned by comedian Kayode Ewumi, who developed a strong following on social media following his YouTube mockumentary series #HoodDocumentary.

Evil Kermit aka 'Me to Me'

Kermit the Frog, the iconic and widely recognisable character from US children's show Sesame Street, was turned into a meme after someone posted text over a picture of Kermit and his arch nemesis/lookalike Constantine face to face from the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted. The appeal of your good and bad sides interacting was clearly a hit.

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Shooting Stars

This meme spawned an entire economy of its own. Turns out there are a lot of bored people on the internet with pretty decent video editing skills. Also the song is by Australian band The Bag Raiders and is from 2008. It was featured on Triple J's Hottest 100 and the meme itself sent the song back onto the dance charts.