The History of the Meme
Memes... they are great. If you're having a bad day, and you come across a hilariously funny meme on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or numerous other social media sites, it can completely change your outlook on the day.
First though, lets establish what a meme technically is. Well a meme is a comical photo or text that eventually goes viral. Because internet memes can be shared on social media and can travel must faster than just simple speech, it is highly likely that a really comedic meme will be shared and seen by hundred of thousands of people, or even millions! Internet memes are a wonder that definitely will not disappear anytime soon, and they are more than just a simple funny photo. Memes act like a bridge which create a connection or relation between people who share similar interests and comedic humor.
I think to gain a better understanding of where memes originate, I will post a picture of a relatively popular meme that began to gain popularity among internet users in 2011.
Image Source: KnowYourMeme.
This is Harold. This meme is called Hide The Pain Harold, and this nickname was given to this senior stock photography model whose facial expression indicates suppressed pain and discomfort. People find this meme very relatable because everyone at some point in their life, has had to hide the fact that they are uncomfortable or unhappy in a public setting because they don't want anyone to know they're experiencing some serious internal pain. And Harold... plays this off perfectly.
Image Source: KnowYourMeme.
The origin of this meme came in 2011 on the website Facepunch. The user Greenen72 on this website posted stock photos with the old man Harold, which were originally from the site DreamsTime Website Source: KnowYourMeme.
Then this meme officially became a meme and began to spread when a Facebook page was created for the old man on October 23rd, 2011 titled Hide the Pain Harold. Then a few years later in 2014 another Facebook page was created which was called Maurice (Harold's real name). Hide the Pain Harold then evolved into a fictional story about Harold who was an unhappy old man working as a stock photographer. YouTube videos were posted narrating fictional stories about Harold and why he is so unhappy Website Source: KnowYourMeme.
Image Source: Bodybuilding
Then a Imgur user called somes***bag compiled notable quotes from the 4chan thread on September 7th, 2014 into a gallery post titled Hide-the-pain-harold which collected more than 880,000 views in the first three weeks of being posted Website Source: KnowYourMeme.
It was official, Harold had made it big.
People can relate to putting on a fake smile sometimes and as a result, this stock photographer became poster child of fake smiles. It's now 2018 and every time I see this meme I instantly laugh. Like, just look at his face. He looks seriously uncomfortable... and that's why this meme was so successful. We love you Harold (whose actual name is Maurice)!
Image Source: MemeGenerator
#EID100
First though, lets establish what a meme technically is. Well a meme is a comical photo or text that eventually goes viral. Because internet memes can be shared on social media and can travel must faster than just simple speech, it is highly likely that a really comedic meme will be shared and seen by hundred of thousands of people, or even millions! Internet memes are a wonder that definitely will not disappear anytime soon, and they are more than just a simple funny photo. Memes act like a bridge which create a connection or relation between people who share similar interests and comedic humor.
I think to gain a better understanding of where memes originate, I will post a picture of a relatively popular meme that began to gain popularity among internet users in 2011.
Image Source: KnowYourMeme.
This is Harold. This meme is called Hide The Pain Harold, and this nickname was given to this senior stock photography model whose facial expression indicates suppressed pain and discomfort. People find this meme very relatable because everyone at some point in their life, has had to hide the fact that they are uncomfortable or unhappy in a public setting because they don't want anyone to know they're experiencing some serious internal pain. And Harold... plays this off perfectly.
Image Source: KnowYourMeme.
The origin of this meme came in 2011 on the website Facepunch. The user Greenen72 on this website posted stock photos with the old man Harold, which were originally from the site DreamsTime Website Source: KnowYourMeme.
Then this meme officially became a meme and began to spread when a Facebook page was created for the old man on October 23rd, 2011 titled Hide the Pain Harold. Then a few years later in 2014 another Facebook page was created which was called Maurice (Harold's real name). Hide the Pain Harold then evolved into a fictional story about Harold who was an unhappy old man working as a stock photographer. YouTube videos were posted narrating fictional stories about Harold and why he is so unhappy Website Source: KnowYourMeme.
Image Source: Bodybuilding
Then a Imgur user called somes***bag compiled notable quotes from the 4chan thread on September 7th, 2014 into a gallery post titled Hide-the-pain-harold which collected more than 880,000 views in the first three weeks of being posted Website Source: KnowYourMeme.
It was official, Harold had made it big.
People can relate to putting on a fake smile sometimes and as a result, this stock photographer became poster child of fake smiles. It's now 2018 and every time I see this meme I instantly laugh. Like, just look at his face. He looks seriously uncomfortable... and that's why this meme was so successful. We love you Harold (whose actual name is Maurice)!
Image Source: MemeGenerator
#EID100
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