Image by Picasa, Carine06, Silverback
After a 3 year old boy fell into the gorilla exhibit at the Cincinnati Zoo, Harambe the gorilla became infamous. Harabme was then killed, leading to reactions from individuals across the world choosing sides with either the parents of the child or Harambe himself. In light of this situation, the dark sense of humor that lurks on the internet came out in the form of memes.
Right after the news of Harambe’s death, memes started showing up on the internet. While the gorilla died, he was portrayed as a legend who lives forever. His name became a punch line of its own. His story was compared, although rather different, to Cecil the lion. In some memes relating the two famous dead animals, they are seen fighting each other like the wild animals they are in heaven.
While many thought the Harambe meme would not stay relevant, it has continued to appear throughout social media websites.
To read more about the legacy of Harambe’s meme, check out this article by Brian Feldman, or this youtube video.
-Hannah Leigh Johnson
First off, the title was great! It made me laugh and click it immediately. Now on a serious note, it is really amazing that Harambe memes are still going strong, even more so how these memes slowly got so popular that shirts were even made. I can even find players on multiplayer games that have Harambe in it, some worse then others. I honestly think this meme will continue to stay relevant for quite some time.
ReplyDelete