From Celebrity Stage to Digital Space: Mapping Discourse, Sensationalism, and Viralilty of Chris Rock vs. Will Smith’s 2022 Oscar Memes

Abstract

Memes, in their actual and potential forms, are an expressive media phenomenon. They are being used in a participatory form of communication to describe any event in the most inventively sarcastic way possible. Given elusive meanings and alluring contextual embodiments, one might hypothesize that memes could decide the virality and sensationalism of an event. This article examines the elements in a few celebrity-event-based memes to determine whether there is an intersectional or interdisciplinary link between virality and sensationalism via the discourse they spread across digital spaces. It concludes that the participatory culture of communication is influenced by factors such as high arousal emotions provocation and human interest in constituting memetic virality.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nookaraju Bendukurthi

Nookaraju Bendukurthi is assistant professor at the Department of Convergent Journalism, School of Media Studies, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, India. He teaches communication theories and models, media research, communication and culture, and advertising. His research interests include disability and sexuality representation in media, media and marginality, frame analysis, and visual ethnography. E-mail: [email protected]

Tehseen Afzal

Tehseen Afzal is a PhD scholar in the Department of Convergent Journalism, School of Media Studies, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, India.

Obaid Bashir Wani

Obaid Bashir Wani is a PhD scholar in the Department of Convergent Journalism, School of Media Studies, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, India.