Colonizing Pepe: Internet Memes as Cyberplaces

Perez Trujillo, Axel; Pelettier-Gagnon, Jérémie

Abstract

This article explores the Pepe the Frog Internet meme through a spatial approach that targets the ways in which netizens attempt to repurpose it, so as to build a communal space in which meaning is constantly negotiated and hijacked. We argue that Pepe the Frog and other memes can be interpreted as “cyberplaces” defined as computer environments that display the ideological polemics between netizens as they struggle to build a sense of community. Moreover, the rhizomatic stratification of such cyberplaces reveals a more nuanced view of meme dynamics, one that takes into account the agency of users as they efface and impose meanings on memes, not unlike the process of deterritorialization enacted on places.

Citation

Perez Trujillo, A., & Pelettier-Gagnon, J. (2021). Colonizing Pepe: Internet Memes as Cyberplaces. Space and Culture, 24(1), 4 - 18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331218776188

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 14, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jun 14, 2018
• Publication Date: 2021-02
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2018
• Journal: Space and Culture Journal
• Print ISSN: 1206-3312
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-8308
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 4 - 18
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1206331218776188
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1315379