In class this week, we discussed the difference between memes and mashups, and whether or not a meme could be considered a mash up and vice versa. I found this topic interesting as it raises the question of how broad of a term “meme” really is. The exact definition of a meme is “a unit of cultural information that replicates while still remaining whole”. Meanwhile, a mashup is defined as being added to something else, not being made as a whole on its own, and that is a new form of old material. So inherently, these two seem to be far apart from one another. However, I believe that a mash-up could easily be considered a meme.

Memes are most commonly considered to be found in the form of a jpeg with impact text in today’s world. Generally they are satirical, setting up the picture to imply meaning that goes with the joke. Quite often though, we see two pictures, mixed together, where the text of the first picture sets up the punchline for the text in the second picture. The jpegs themselves also support each other in adding to the satire. A good example of this would be a “troll” meme.

I don’t mean using memes as a method of trolling, but rather the memes that include a troll jpeg. This is usually a crudely drawn, sort of sadistically happy face, that delivers some sort of cynical answer to the text above. This is done so that the first jpeg is getting “trolled” by the second jpeg. The important thing to note here is that this is both a meme, and a mashup. It is a mashup, because it is something being added to something else, and it is not whole on its own. It is whole because it is comprised of multiple parts. Also, it is a new form of an old piece of new media. This is because it is taking a jpeg from a previous meme, and adding the troll to create new meaning in the meme.

It is a meme because it is both a unit of cultural information that replicates (as people will then use/share this new mashup/meme all over the internet) and it is whole in its new form. Thus the mashup and the meme are one and the same, according to the definitions that we have for them.

So the terms are interchangeable, but they can still be separate from one another in specific cases. For instance, any meme that is not comprised of multiple parts is not a mashup. And some mashups simply don’t replicate, they are just a single creation that isn’t reproduced and spread, but rather appreciated for its singular creativity. Thus there is a Venn Diagram element to memes and mashups, where they have their own territories, but can be found together in certain circumstances. Ultimately, the definition of meme is broad enough so that it encompasses more than what is thought to be the standard meme, allowing for all sorts of media to become memes. Mashups being memes is simply one example.