The dead Syrian refugee boy goes viral: funerary Aylan Kurdi memes as tools of mourning and visual reparation in remix culture

Abstract

The picture of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, whose dead body washed up on a Turkish beach in September 2015, was lauded as iconic after it went viral. Within hours, Aylan was a symbol, a hashtag and a meme. This project analyzes funerary Aylan memes to understand their meanings and functions as they proliferated in cyberspace. Through iconographic tracking and visual rhetorical analysis, the project expands the functions of memes from visual jokes and social and political commentary to tools of grieving and atonement. The study demonstrates how memes are deployed to subvert and renegotiate reality, in this case to create a ‘better ending’ for the child and seek reparations for his death. The project also suggests that the rhetorical powers of iconic images may be eroding in remix culture due to their digital appropriations.

‘#hellobrother needs to trend’: methodological reflections on the digital and emotional afterlife of mediated violence

“…At best, post-death artefacts offer consolation and relational affordances for the grieving (see e.g. Christensen & Sandvik, 2014a;Mielczarek, 2018) and play an important role in keeping those who have passed with the living; at worst, they expose those no longer with us at their most vulnerable.…”

“…Typically expressed by artistic illustrations, memes, and hashtags, solidarity symbols utilise the affordances and fluidity of digital spaces. They serve as tools of mourning (Mielczarek, 2018), bonding icons (Harju, 2019), and visual expressions of solidarity used to mobilise collective support (Pearce, 2020). Not restricted to violent death, solidarity symbols also emerge in the context of other tragedies where death is unexpected.…”

Reimagining Numeracies: Empowered, Game-Informed Meaning Making in and beyond the Pandemic Era

“…Memes also have been associated with participatory literacies (Burgess, 2008;Knobel & Lankshear, 2007;Lankshear & Knobel, 2003) political statements, grief, and contrition (Mielczarek, 2018;Sobande, 2019), as well as activist literacies (Knobel & Lankshear, 2007;Lankshear & Knobel, 2003). Reddit has its own section on mathematical memes (Bini et al, 2020), and, although this article focuses on math-related memes, which can be "cultural objects" (Bini et al, 2020, p. 13), they are not to be confused with the memes found on Reddit-"a massive collection of forums where people can share news and content or comment on other people's posts" (Widman, 2020, ¶1).…”

El cartel de cine en la cultura remix

“…Nuestra cultura digital actual ha sido caracterizada, entre otras denominaciones, como una "cultura remix" (Manovich, 2007;Lessig, 2008;Fabbri, 2012;Knobel y Lankshear, 2015;Navas et al, 2015;Mielczarek, 2018;Voigts, 2018;Sobande, 2019). Como es sabido, el término "remix" o "remezcla" procede del mundo del hip hop y de la música electrónica de baile 3 y hace referencia a una mezcla alternativa de una canción Aunque se trata de un término popularizado en el mundo del hip hop y la música electrónica de baile, el "remix" tiene sus orígenes en Jamaica, isla en la que durante la segunda mitad del siglo XX se inventaron gran parte de las técnicas y conceptos que sostienen actualmente a músicas como el hip hop o la música dance, desde el propio "remix" hasta el Djing, la cultura de los sound systems y la experimentación en torno al sonido grave.…”