The fresh meme-as-trojan analogy sees new resemblance ranging from memes and you will condition agencies. Delivering epidemiology as the model, they considers memes the brand new cultural competitors away from flu virus bacilli, transmitted through the communicational competitors away from sneezes ( Alvarez, 2004). Inside the Websites community, that it metaphor was common on the extremely visible commentary into the “viral” posts. But really Jenkins mais aussi al. ( 2009) truly assert that this metaphor has been used for the a tricky method, conceptualizing some body due to the fact helpless and you may inactive creatures, subject to the domination regarding worthless media “snacks” you to infect their heads.
Which conceptualization of individuals just like the energetic representatives is extremely appropriate for focusing on how memes travelling for the digital road, especially if examining instances where in fact the very first concept of an excellent meme are substantially altered during the diffusion
The second prevalent physical metaphor to own memes -deriving right from Dawkins’ really works-requires evolutionary genes as the model. However, specific functions keeps “pushed the fresh new analogy with the gene so you can its analytical extremes” by looking to social counterparts for everybody prominent evolutionary hereditary maxims, including genotype, phenotype, transcription, and you can code ( Alvarez, 2004, p. 25). Continue reading