As a product of the internet age, memes have become a part of daily internet culture, but in the recent political election it became clear that some internet subcultures which have been a longstanding creator of popular internet memes--like the users of seemingly innocuous forums found on Reddit and 4chan--have been taking part in a disturbing trend of creating and spreading memes which promote white supremacist ideology, turning what many would call a fun and harmless way of communicating on the internet into a culture of communicating racial hate. One example of this kind of anti-Semitic meme which gained nationwide news coverage in the 2016 political election and has caused an ensuing legal battle between the creator and the Alt-Right movement is the "Pepe the Frog" meme,  created by comic book author Matt Furie in 2005. 

 

In this essay I will be applying rhetorical theory to analyze the "Pepe the Frog" meme, examining the meme's origins, variations, and rhetorical situation. I will be illustrating how meme theory and rhetorical velocity theory can be applied to the creation of the Pepe meme, its evolution in internet culture, its emergence into mainstream US politics and media and affiliation with the Alt-Right movement, its current status as a hate symbol, and the attempts of the meme's creator regain control of the meme through copyright law and recompose the context in which mainstream American culture sees his work.  

 

I will be using "Pepe the Frog" as a sort of case study in order to discuss the following concepts:

 

What is a meme? See the What is Meme Theory?. 

How does it spread? -- See What is Rhetorical Velocity? 

Are internet memes rhetorical? -- See Internet Memes and Rhetoric

What is Pepe the Frog? -- See Pepe the Frog: A Rhetorical Journey

Can Pepe be reclaimed as a positive symbol?  -- See Creator Matt Furie's Legal Fight

​

​