You know the drill. One meme per customer. Meme Review tonight.
Tag: MemeWars
Alan Moore, Unreliable Narrator
The Dark Herald busts Alan Moore’s false claims about the creation of his iconic character, Rorshach.
In 1983, Time Warner bought up the Action Heroes of venerable old 3rd place runner-up Charleton Comics. This was supposedly a “gift” to Dick Giordano who was the managing editor of DC and had been an editor at Charleton for a number of years. As unbelievable luck would have it this “gift” tied up a lot of long-standing rights issues, where frankly, DC wasn’t the good guy. It was right around that time that Marvel’s Captain Marvel took suddenly dead. Why yes, Charleton was indeed the original rights holder on Captain Marvel. Why do you ask?
The reason I bring this is up is that Rorschach was not an original character, he sure as hell wasn’t based on Batman, and Alan Moore had nothing to do with his creation.
Rorsach was originally based on The Question. Moore was using all deconstructed versions of all the Charlton Action Heroes to tell his long winded What If story.
As you can see when Giordano finally got around to asking his hairy boy wonder, ‘What the fuck are you doing to the characters we just bought?” Moore’s top to bottom redesign involved putting blotches all over The Question’s face.
Genius.
The Question was created in the late sixties by the legendary Steve Ditko who was based on his previous character Mister A.
“Mr. A was inspired by Objectivism, the belief system and moral absolutism of the philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand. Ditko has been quoted as saying that his creation The Question was intended as a version of Mr. A that would be acceptable to the Comics Code Authority.”
The lefty as hell Alan Moore would have known all about where The Question came from. The obsessed objectivist who asked questions that shouldn’t be asked can come across as a conspiracy nutcase, depending on the circumstances. And that was the aspect of the character that Moore leached on to. He set to work dragging Ditko’s right-wing creation through the slime as a dysfunctional conspiracy nutcase, hobo who couldn’t remember to bathe.
That being said, we’ll always have Moore to thank for this meme.
The Coining of the Term: Midwit
Along with “Sigma Male” and “Gamma”, the term “midwit” appears to have become increasingly popular on the Internet, thanks chiefly to what is now known as “the Midwit Meme”. I was certainly surprised to hear a comedian use it on Simon Evans’s show on GB News this week. And, needless to say, it hasn’t taken long for people “helping” others to understand it to begin explaining it incorrectly.
Tablet: A midwit is typically described as someone with an IQ score between 85 and 115
No, this is incorrect. A midwit has an IQ in the 105 to 120 range. The very need for the term is derived from the observation that the individual so described possesses a level of intelligence that is sufficiently above average to inspire him to overrate himself. The Tablet redefinition is based on the visuals of the meme rather than the core concept.
The Spectator: According to something called the Meming Wiki, “midwit” has been “in use on 4chan and other online spaces since around 2013.”
For those who happen to have an interest in etymological history, I believe the Meming Wiki is correct and the neologism was first coined on 17 February 2012. It’s rather amusing to learn that one of my favorite memes, and one which I have myself utilized on occasion, may have been inspired in some way by the term.
As we often see on this blog, those who possess above-average intelligence and trouble to occasionally read newspapers and magazines tend to genuinely be under the erroneous impression that they possess superlative intelligence. But while having an IQ between one and two standard deviations above the norm is unusual, it is hardly rare, and in historical terms it is distinctly pedestrian.
The astonishing thing about Miss Wright’s confession isn’t that she was clueless and solipsistic little snob, but rather, that she still appears to believe that she is highly intelligent on the basis of familiarity with the works of a trivial and silly science fiction writer with a poor grasp of history. If she had any brains at all worth noting, then she wouldn’t have needed someone else to point out that clever people are everywhere; in addition to the ease with which this can be observed in the material world, even a basic knowledge of intelligence statistics would indicate that this must be the case.
If this erstwhile pirate wench had simply noted that Mensa, with its 130/132 IQ floor, potentially represents the top 2 percent of the population, she would have known that there are some 6.2 MILLION Americans who are significantly above the “read a book” level that she sets as a significant benchmark.
The difference between the mid-wit and the genuinely intelligent is usually fairly easy to identify. The mid-witted individual tends to compare himself to those below the average and concludes that because he isn’t like them, he must be a genius.
The Tragedy of the Mid-Witted, 17 February 2012
It took nearly two years before the term “midwittery” first appeared here on the blog, although I seem to recall it being used in casual conversation several times before first being utilized in the post Mailvox: Answers for MJ 1 on 1 February 2014:
As for the idea that an all-powerful and all-loving God should wish to stop and be able to stop evil, to say nothing of the idea that the existence of evil therefore disproves the existence of such a god, well, that doesn’t even rise to the level of midwittery. One has to have a truly average mind and remain ignorant of basic Biblical knowledge to find either of those concepts even remotely convincing.
It’s far from impossible that someone else may have previously utilized what is a fairly basic term in some other context, but given the way it is regularly attached to the specific 115-IQ range identified, it appears that the neologism was coined here. However, I think it is probably a stretch to assume, as The Spectator does, that the dismissive term “mid” is derived from midwit, although I suppose it is possible.
Australia Abandons Free Speech
It’s fascinating how these states that literally go to war and invade other countries over “freedom” so rapidly abandon it in certain circumstances:
Laws banning the Nazi salute and the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups came into effect in Australia on Monday as the government responds to a rise in antisemitic incidents following the Israel-Gaza war.
The law makes it an offense punishable by up to 12 months in prison to publicly perform the Nazi salute or display the Nazi swastika or the double-sig rune associated with the Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary group.
The sale and trade of these symbols is similarly prohibited.
Well, that should certainly put an end to the risk that the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei will rise from the ashes of its defeat after 79 years and take power Down Under! Thank goodness Australian politicians are on guard against the risk of a political blitzkrieg. It’s rather like how the EU is all about “democracy”, unless the people vote against the dictates of their unelected superstate.
Clown World is just relentlessly fake and gay. Never, ever, believe a single thing that the clowns say about their supposed principles or motivations. It is nothing but lies all the way down to the Hell out of which they climbed.
You may be interested to note that the Bing AI image generator is now blocking prompts that contain the phrase “rainbow wigs”. The original prompt for this image was: demonic clowns wearing rainbow wigs climbing out of a huge fiery pit. Dark fantasy style, red glow. It was blocked, and based on some additional experimentation, I believe it was the connection of “demonic” with “rainbow”.
Clown World fears memes because Clown World relies upon lies and memes point toward the truth. So, as Sun Tzu said: meme them until they block your prompt, then meme them some more.
Orcposting+
Clown World is already deeply regretting the development of AI image creation.
UPDATE: Yeah, it’s officially a thing now.
Meme of the Week 15
We had a record number of perfect 10 memes – three, to be exact – but this one was definitely the winner. Visual rhetoric so powerful that no words are even required.
A Meme Request
Someone on SG said they hadn’t seen any memes yet with an image that practically screams for one. So here’s one in honor of Mr. Benjamin:
Also, you can submit one (1) meme for the Weekly Meme Review today. You know what to do.
The Chickenhawk Contemplates
The Littlest Chickenhawk wouldn’t serve in the US military while he was calling for the US to invade the Middle East and establish an empire there. It’s fascinating to see that despite all his endless squawking about Israel over the years, he won’t even lift a finger to personally defend it either.
Of course, it’s possible that Ben Shapiro doesn’t see any need to defend Israel at this juncture, since he has never been troubled by civilian casualties.
“I am getting really sick of people who whine about “civilian casualties.” Maybe I’m a hard-hearted guy, but when I see in the newspapers that civilians in the settlements or the Golan Heights were killed by Hamas or Hezbollah militants, I don’t really care. One Palestinian life is worth far more than an Israeli civilian.”
Ben Shapiro, Enemy ‘civilian casualties’ ok by me, 25 July 2002
Norman Rockwell Paints Clown World
The demonic nature of Clown World can perhaps best be seen when shown in stark contrast to the ideal 1950s America that was portrayed by the great American painter. The weaponized autists of /pol/ have harnessed the power of AI image creation to illustrate the extent of the sin-drenched abomination that is today’s post-American Clown World. Below is just one of many vivid examples.
The 4Chan Guide to Rhetoric
This is a very good summary of how to meme effectively takes into account everything from Aristotle to GamerGate.
THE ON MEMEWAR GUIDE TO WRITING BETTER PROPAGANDA
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE: CATCH PEOPLE’S ATTENTION AND HOLD IT BY BEING ENTERTAINING
KNOW YOUR TARGET:
Have a specific target in mind (either a person, or a well-developed stereotype). Know the narratives they use to make sense of the world.
Know what they are likely to find entertaining.
WRITE TO THE NARRATIVE:
Use a message that the target is likely to agree with.
If this is not possible, frame the message that they will disagree with in terms that they are likely to agree with. Ensure it fits enough so that it is not just recognizable, but is considered true without having to think about it. Use vague terms that are likely to have wide appeal, and can be applied to whatever the target has in mind.
BE ENTERTAINING:
Ensure that the propaganda is concise enough to be easily understood and digested.
Follow the setup/payoff model:
Setup: A familiar premise that sets expectations.
Payoff: An unexpected development that subverts the expectation.
The Payoff must be delivered quickly enough to trigger the ‘sudden realization’ that induces humor.
The setup and payoff can be Explicit (A guy walks into a bar) Contextual (your boss farts in a meeting) or Ironic (A towtruck stuck in a ditch)
Use forms and motifs from propaganda that is already successful. This ensures recognizability, which is eye-catching.
It also means there is a high likelihood that the person will find it entertaining.
EMOTIONAL MANIPULATION:
A strong emotion will overwhelm the target’s ability to rationally think through the implications of the message. Any emotion can achieve this. A very funny piece, an enraging piece, or a piece that causes dread or demoralization can be effective. AS LONG AS IT RESONATES WITH THE TARGET’S NARRATIVES.
HAVE A PURPOSE:
The propaganda should work to convey a narrative message. This can be a simple message about a person (or group of people).
IE, Joe Biden or all Democrats are stupid.
This can also be a way to contextualize events or relations.
IE, Joe Biden wants to tax us to death, the Democrats are running up the deficit.
The best messages are short and simple.
Overtime, the cumulative effect of many short messages will change a person’s worldview.
Some of the memes being produced in accordance with this guidance, and utilizing the latest DALL-E AI graphics engine, are very good. One example:
