I was really happy to see the EdublogsClub prompt this week was pop culture.

I think pop culture is an interesting part of our lives. Whatever your political/social view of pop culture, it’s hard to deny it’s pretty engaging. Even I, as someone who looks at everything with a unhealthy dose of scepticism, have been known to get a bit carried away with memes.

I don’t know what makes them so appealing but I guess it’s probably similar to Christmas cracker jokes – it has to work on multiple levels. Writing this line just inspired me to Google and I found this article Memes as Genre: A Structurational Analysis of the Memescape.

When I’m giving a presentation I always throw a meme in. Why?

• Because they are visually pleasing; they explore a point I am making.
• The content can be relatable; inspiring others to share/analyse.
• And sometimes it just feels nice to see something you enjoy out of the classroom in the classroom – to remind you that you don’t learn in a vacuum.

Some memes are kinda obscure. I try to avoid those because they can potentially alienate other folk. But they are also very funny when you meet a like-minded person who understands the origins/significance. In my Masters eportfolio I illustrate this idea (folio.brighton.ac.uk/user/nd151/masters). If you know the meme you probably groaned when you clicked on that link. If you don’t know it, it was probably a bit odd. I can never resist a rickroll opportunity.