Lisa's M.A Research Blog: Assignment 6 (part)

This post might seem a little strange to anyone who isn't particularly comfortable with the internet, so I will try to explain as simply as I can.

On the internet (where you are now) is a cyber world, full of its own politics, bullying, sex, and humour. It does contain some actual information as well, if you can find it. I have been interested in looking at the humour side of the internet. With this I want to look at popular websites people will visit because they find them funny. One of the main websites that started a massive trend was ICanHasCheezBurger.com which enabled internet users to upload photos of their cats, and add a caption. This took off as a massive trend, that isn't entirely comprehensible on its own. First we need to look at who uses the internet for sites like these, its mainly people who have a little bit too much spare time, a bit goofy and easily amused. These tend to be people who like cats.

The internet has developed its own form of language, and its own online culture. One can be a completely different person online, because they have less of the repercussions of actual life

"The simplest, a catchphrase is usually a sentence or less, commonly just one word. Significant examples are often everyday English words corrupted, such as "sauce" (instead of "source"), or Japanese words, such as "DESU" (which implies something is cute). Other catchphrases include "DISREGARD THAT, I SUCK COCKS", "I did it for the lulz", "pics [pictures] or it didn't happen", and "tits or GTFO [Get The Fuck Out]"."

(Gage, 2010)

"It is also very likely that the earliest individuals to post kittens and cats on extreme message boards, being highly intelligent as early adopters of technology tend to be, had a degree of self-awareness about the surprising context, i.e ‘isn’t it funny that we are wanking to drawings of sushi being served inside a naked woman’s eviscerated torso and yet we also enjoy kittens’; ‘we are all aware that the fact we enjoy kittens is evidence of our lingering human vulnerability in the face of the fact we are wanking to pictures of fingers being sliced up into tiny pieces’, and ‘we are probably too socially disabled or traumatized by images we have seen here or the reasons that we were attracted those images to talk about things like feelings but we will participate in cute animal exchange as a shorthand for expressing ourselves’ [recall the research determined that cat people are ‘more open’]."
(Alexander, 2011)

The internet is a place where people are generally rude to each other, and it seems to worsen with each passing year. More new phrases are coined and new ways to anonymously insult each other ensues. Some people, like myself, are just after a quick giggle, and a little bit of a smile, This is where cats on the internet become important. Cats aren't generally offensive and they have won over the internets heart. (if it has one)

It similarly became popular to caption images with white block text in order to make them funnier; thanks to the unfortunately-named website ‘memegenerator.net’, images with white text on them from the internet became known as ‘memes’ even though ‘meme’ doesn’t mean ‘picture with white text on it’. Cat memes are generally the most popular type of captioned image; people go to websites such as ‘cute overload’, ‘icanhazcheezburger’, and, more recently, ‘cute boys with cats’ and, perhaps the most exciting of a million cat-related Tumblrs, ‘cashcats.biz,’ simply to view pictures of cute cats all day, with or without text thereupon.

(Alexander, 2011)

Cats appeal to people who are busy and are fed up of the violence and sexualization of the internet, and the real world. Cats are a bit like escapism, you can enjoy a few brief moments looking at how cute, and adorable they are. And you can reflect a personality back onto them, some of my own research shows that some people like to think 'that their cat would talk with a Russian accent'. People are drawn to their cats in a way that is totally different to dogs, maybe dogs aren't as popular on the internet, because their owners are outside walking them, rather than curled up on the sofa with the cat and a laptop.

“They’re the perfect distraction from our hectic lives. You don’t need any explanation or prior knowledge to understand the slapstick humor that animals provide. Cat videos and images are a quick hit of pure, unfettered ‘cute.’ They’re also entertainment in easily digestible doses.”

(Elliot, 2010)

“Cats have very expressive facial and body expressions, so they are a perfect canvas for human emotion, which makes them awesome for captioning and anthropomorphization,” says Ben Huh, CEO of The Cheezburger Network.
Cats get themselves into all kinds of amusing predicaments, and when there’s a human on hand to capture the moment, whether in a photo or on video, that’s raw material just begging to be shared. And because lots of people have cats, that’s lots of content.

(Elliot, 2010)

There are of course trends within this subculture, Last weeks trends were featured in 'The Daily Mail' such as 'Breading', 'Lion Kinging' and 'Sitting like people'. Both are simple ideas that feature cats that have gone viral. Its a strange place on the internet. I have researched cats, and their use in modern contemporary society, They are ultra in trend at the moment, which is why this has related to my practical work and I have illustrated a collection of cats, that I received images of, Through social networking online.