Conversations around Meme Culture's Impact on Digital Conversations

 Donatella Versace’s 2022 comment, “donatella VERSACE 💜,” under Bella Hadid’s Valentine's Day post in support of the free Palestine movement, is an example of a multiplicitous and normalised practice of meme language (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/donatella-versace-%F0%9F%92%9C). Meme languages are influenced by the meme’s polysemy, which introduces a variety of valid and equal interpretations and definitions, a unique feature of digital language use. Language pertains to memes, which have the potential and are used for communicative purposes, and to the processes involved in turning them into communicative tools. The significance of these processes extends into research on how images can drive social interactions. This particular use communicates a completely unrelated comment, expressing Versace’s identity through her name, in a post that has nothing to do with her person. The absurdity here stems from the wild contrast between a political statement and a famous celebrity artist issuing an indecipherable, mysterious statement. It has never been clear why this comment was posted, and, as with many memes, their popularity and fame often depend on their lack of explanation, which is often more uninteresting than the meme itself. For example, some users speculated that “The reason behind her comments might stem from her old age and therefore inability to use the comment section properly.” (https://floptok.fandom.com/wiki/Donatella_Versace_Purple_Heart_Meme), but keenly, this idea is often ignored because the humour behind it is stronger than the context. Something unique to contemporary digital culture here is this power dynamic of reaction over context. When looking at older forms of memes, such as political and non-political cartoons in newspapers (https://medium.com/@netofyarn/memes-and-political-cartoons-a8b375e31937), it is often the mix of satire and context that is formulated and designed to appeal to a wider mass culture rather than a specific subculture. Reminiscent of kitsch (Tormakhova, Tovmash and Grechkosii, 2024). Contemporary memes are not limited to images but have extended to short-form video content, which is hyper-specific, contextless, and reliant on knowing as little as possible. The commercialisation of streaming in the form of clipfarming is a recent phenomenon representative of the social and commodifiable popularity of this type of meme. (https://streamgen.cc/blog/clipfarming-meaning/) Where content creators set up or incite situations that can be high-energy, chaotic, and under a minute long, to be widely shared across multiple platforms as more and more apps and sites adopt short-form content distribution like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. The purple heart originates from this culture and explains why it has captured the attention of users who have then appropriated its universality and blank slate into other expressions. “what i DO 💜” and “ellie and mason HOUSE 💜” are the translations of the format of lowercase words except the final word capitalised with a purple heart emoji at the end, applied to completely irrelevant to the original VERSACE instance and meaning. Spiritually, they carry on the emphasis of the final word through capitalisation, but it is unclear from the written text why it is of importance. Looking at the broader context reveals these instances as pseudo-catchphrases that already existed as the Ellie and Mason House meme (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ellie-and-mason-house) and the Girl being interviewed in the supermarket meme (https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/what-i-do-%F0%9F%92%9C). An evolution has taken place: the purple heart meme has distanced itself from its association with Donatella Versace, adopted the intangible humour attached to it, and proceeds to amplify anything it is applied to. It is only possible because of the absurdity and contextlessness of the original that it can do this, but another factor, unidentifiable positivity and enthusiasm, is also involved. Capitalisation emphasises and conveys volume in text, but loudness can be either positive or negative. So far, the only documented uses of this meme and its variations have been as vague exclamations of appreciation, outreach, and laughter. One theory that drives this pattern of use is the meme’s adoption in niche communities and subcultures, such as within Floptok and specific Instagram accounts like quirkyandrelatable69 (https://www.instagram.com/quirkyandrelatable69/). Often, in smaller communities, memes tend to trend towards positive visibility, represent the community, and, on platforms like Instagram, are used as easily spammable content in comment sections and as a helpful way to identify fellow community members. This use brings it back full circle to the comment format in which the Versace meme originated, but it has a diverse, transformative impact on the language used in small communities on large platforms.