Then and Now

Then and Now glenn bramich takes us through his first and last week of studying at deakin university

My First Week

I hated everyone. Like, absolutely everyone. There was one guy I went to high school with, and I hated him the most. I hated the first week of classes. Four lots of introductory games. Four lots of ‘Hi, I’m Glenn. I’m 19. I live in Cheltenham. I like Nintendo’. Four lots of ‘now, I know some of you aren’t first years, but I would like to say, this isn’t like high school’. Four lots of sitting next to someone who is so excited to be at university that they’re just about wetting themselves.

I hated my three-day-a-week timetable.

I hated that every Thursday I would come in at 9am for a compulsory lecture (seriously?) and leave at 6pm after my 1-hour compulsory tute on the second level of the M building.

I hated that in my first year that the one café it was cool to be seen at made the worst coffees, and the café that only ‘losers’ went to made the best coffees (I’ll let you figure out which is which). I hated picking out an outfit every day. I hated the cheap food they sell.

I hated that it wasn’t more like TV representations of American college. I absolutely hated that.

I hated the time in between classes. I hated going to the library and watching the clock tick past. I hate the Wi-Fi. God, I hated the Wi-Fi. I hated the car park.

I was so happy I didn’t get involved in anything. I didn’t need it. I was still cool from high school. I didn’t need uni to prove that I was cool.

My Last Week

I wish I could go back and reintroduce myself to everyone. I wish that every year, in every class, we played introductory games. I wish I could go back and sit next to someone who was excited to be at uni. I wish that I was brave enough to show them that I was excited too.

I wish I still had a three-day-a-week timetable. I wish I still had the first year workload. I miss the first year workload. I love all my lectures, and all my tutes. I even love the second level of the M building (well, I tolerate the M building).

I hated that ‘cool’ and ‘uncool’ regulated where I drank coffee. I hate the word loser. I hate that for six years in high school, I was taught that being cool was so important. I love that about a month into my first year at uni, I realised I was a nobody. I love that I realised that being the definition of a ‘loser’, a ‘geek’ or a ‘nerd’ is ten times more fun than fitting the description of being ‘cool’. I love that I can go to uni and wear whatever the hell I want.

I love that uni is nothing like American college. I absolutely love that.

I love my library. I love that I could go into my library on days I don’t even have classes, and find a quiet spot to read. And write. And think.

I hate the Wi-Fi. I hate the car park. But I love that I have friends to complain to.

I hate that I was so grumpy in my first few weeks. I hate that guy from high school. I hate him. He was too cool for O-Week. He was an absolute loser. He was me.

DON’T BE SO MEME

laura soding tells you why memes have got her jumpin’ jumpin’

Bitches don’t quote me I was a whore not a philosopher.

These words were pasted over an image of Marilyn Monroe. This is one example of the millions of memes that are shared every day across the Internet. It was posted by an antifeminist Facebook group, and then shared onto my news feed by one of my own Facebook friends. I usually have an ability to let things like this slide. I deny that such stupidity and insulting behaviour exists by ‘hiding’ or ‘blocking’ the user, and living in an online world where I see what I want to see and ignore the rest. This meme, however, was different. I’d seen much worse, but for some reason this one stopped me in my aimless scrolling and I had a sudden urge to respond to it.

I mean, besides the obvious fact that it isn’t funny, my main problem with this Internet meme is that it makes no sense.

Marilyn Monroe was an actress, she was considered a sex symbol for the roles that she played and the attention she got from men, but she was an actress not a ‘whore.’ And who said you can’t be inspired by someone’s words if they’re not a philosopher? I often quote Destiny’s Child lyrics, but are those words not valid because they’re from Beyonce not Aristotle? No, I just don’t think you’re ready for this jelly. And by that I mean, the meme is dumb and it makes no sense.

I did not hesitate to voice my opinion about this meme. I revealed to my ‘friend’ (who, might I add, is male) that not only was it offensive to Marilyn Monroe, it was also offensive to all women. I tried explaining to him that by sharing the image he was implying that he thought the insult was entertaining and that he agreed with the statement it was making: that a woman’s words are not valid or worth repeating if she has a perceived sexually public identity. I was then bombarded with inarticulate comments from this Facebook friend telling me that I was being too sensitive and that it was just a joke. Not once did he or his mates—who took it upon themselves to join in the argument—acknowledge the message of the meme. They labelled it as a joke and nothing more. Instead of acknowledging a difference of opinion, they blatantly ignored mine, and deflected the issue away from the meme and its context, and onto my response to it.

No one will ever have to take ownership for a meme they create or spread, which is why it can become problematic. There is no damage when memes involving dorky puns and funny pictures of animals are spread, but once hateful memes that target minorities are circulating, things become more vicious and anyone can get away with it.

A meme (pronounced ‘meem’ not ‘me-me’) is actually a term coined by Richard Dawkins in his book The Selfish Gene, published in 1976. The book is dedicated to exploring gene-centred evolution in response to the Darwinian concept of Natural Selection. But within this book, Dawkins suggests that there may be other, non-genetic ways in which behaviours can be transmitted through people and society. So he created the word ‘meme’, that sounds similar to gene, to articulate this idea.

He uses the analogy of a virus to explain the concept, which is fitting considering the language we use these days to describe things that spread through the Internet. Dawkins says that memes are a new sort of evolution, and a cultural equivalent to DNA. It is the spreading of a meme that enables it to exist.

I was surprised to discover that there is such an intellectual that thinks rape is funny and on another note, people that backbone to the concept of a meme and its evolution into the cannot spell. I believe all these types of people are ruining online world. This is because of the simplistic nature of an it for the rest of us. I’ve been known to laugh at Grumpy Internet meme: you get a picture, you paste some words on it; Cat (who, yes, I do bare resemblance to when writing articles that’s it. Patrick Davidson highlights this in his article ‘The such as this), Condescending Wonka and the FuturamaLanguage of Internet Memes,’ stating that it only takes ‘little meets-Lil-John post: ‘not sure if the window, or the wall.’ But effort’ to copy, manipulate and circulate a meme. When you I would rather go without memes than watch ignorant people combine this simple process with the complexity of how a transform them into a projection of hate that encourages a meme transmits from person to person over the Internet, you generation of people to laugh at those less advantaged and can begin to grasp how powerful and destructive an Internet then pass it on. meme can be. My problem with memes is that they can be created, accessed racists, homophobes, misogynists, ableists, sexists, anyone You might love them or hate them, or you might be wondering why myself and so many others have dedicated time to “and who said you can’t be analysing them in such a way (because perhaps to you they inspired by someone’s words are just ‘jokes’ and nothing more). Whatever your opinion on Internet memes, it is important that you are aware that they if they’re not a philosopher? are more than just pictures with a few words pasted on top. i often quote destiny’s child They have the ability to go an extremely long way in both lyrics, but are those words right and wrong direction. not valid because they’re from Before you ‘share’ a meme on Facebook or other blogging and beyonce not aristotle? no, i social media sites, consider the context of the image and the just don’t think you’re ready fact that perhaps not everyone will think the ‘joke’ is funny. for this jelly. and by that i And if you’re someone like that Facebook friend of mine, who mean, the meme is dumb and it tells anyone who doesn’t laugh along that they’re being ‘too makes no sense” sensitive’, find another comeback. That response only makes you appear defensive (and unintelligent), which immediately indicates to everyone that you’re aware that you’ve made a and shared by any one at any point in time. This includes: Trolls, can you handle this? I don’t think you can handle this. dickhead move and instead of apologising, you’re deflecting.