Meme: (as per Urban Dictionary)
an idea, belief or belief system, or pattern of behavior that spreads throughout a culture either vertically by cultural inheritance (as by parents to children) or horizontally by cultural acquisition (as by peers, information media, and entertainment media)
Internet Meme: (as per Urban Dictionary)
A short phrase, picture, or combination of the two that gets repeated in message boards and for far, far longer than anything ever ought to be. Imagine a small child being surprised by a jack-in-the-box every single time the toy springs out and you’ll have a fairly good idea of what the collective internet considers witty.
So we come to the end of 2009. Many of us had hoped we’d have flying cars by now, or at least a Doc Brown time machine! Cool thing is about this year, a select few of the minute-to-minute blips that try and strike a chord within the viral video culture actually, you know, went viral.
And so the webs adorn attention to the average. The culturally mundane, but noticeably relevant. Not Cronkite or King of Pop, but of the real life common ground. And after all, isn’t that what the internet is good for?
Who doesn’t love a list?
Honorable Mention: Mountain Three Wolf Moon Short Sleeve Tee, Susan Boyle, & Balloon Boy.
5) Beyonce Dancing Baby
Babies are frequently the source of both viral (and human) legacy. Let’s put the children first folks. This video, featuring baby Cory from New Zealand (then just 13 months old), became viral right after the VMAs. I mean, every human on earth must find a smile in these events, right? Kids got swagger!!
4) Christian Bale Potty-Mouth
In February, someone leaked an audio recording of actor Christian Bale going ballistic on a crew member. The actual demeaning nature of the comments was probably uncalled for but the hysteria of the message lives on. It’s actually pretty hilarious. “OH GOOD FOR YOU!”
3) David After Dentist
The story is exactly like it sounds. Young David went to the dentist to get a tooth pulled and was treated with some pretty heavy sedatives. Armed with a Flip Cam and a good sense of humor, David’s Dad decided to videotape the aftermath. One of 2009′s firs big meme’s, the video spawned such hits as David After Divorce and many others. I’ve been in many tense moments where I echoed David’s sentiments of, “Is this real life?”
2) JK Wedding Dance
When the video first hit the web in late July, the awesomely choreographed dance by the super-cool wedding party down the aisle during Jill and Kevin’s wedding became a huge hit, especially after being featured on the Today Show. Then the video went super-viral. In October, NBC’s ‘The Office’ recreated the dance with cast members of “The Office” for Jim and Pam’s much anticipated wedding. The homage proved a huge uptick for the video (assuming Office fans flocked to the origin). The popularity also spread to embattled R&B singer Chris Brown, who’s single, “Forever”, climbed the charts after both hits went increasingly viral.
1) Kanye West and Taylor Swift at the VMA’s
Video here. Thanks for the lack of viral trust MTV. (BTW, Your station sucks)
We can all thank Kanye West for providing us so much endless entertainment. The guy makes hits and no one can deny his talent. Even his counter-part in all of this is getting increasingly lame with her, “WHAT?!? I WON?!? (shy face) I’m so humbled, I can’t believe it! I want to thank everyone that bought a Fearless ticket and all of my Twitter followers”. Taylor, you’re a star, quit acting like a you’re 12 years old love. Even Obama called Kanye a “Jackass” for these events. It provided MTV.com with a record number of unique views. All in all, “Yo world, I’m happy for you and I’m gonna let you finish, but I had one of the best meme’s of all-time!” — Kanye West
