Blog #3: Ecology-Specific Viral Characteristics of Social Media

            The idea of ecology in itself suggests the social relation between organisms. So, when people suggest the idea that “all media is social media” by considering it within the ecology context, they are not wrong because it is a part of how we as organisms relate to one another.  The distinction we make between digital social media and more traditional media is made through the level at which the social characteristic manifests itself through practice.  The idea of viral social media is something that we often associate with digital media. However, Martin Luther’s propagation of “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences” proves quite similarly that the extent to which viral characteristics manifestation is largely enabled by the situation of the ecology, not merely novel technological affordances. Martin Luther’s Disputation and Matt Furie’s Pepe exemplify similar viral qualities within the consideration of assemblage in their respective modes of production utilized symbolism, embodiment, and accumulation.

           Martin Luther’s Disputation was initially posted in Latin, which effectively circulated it within academic groups (Standage 52).  This circle included Luther’s friends who took it upon themselves to join in with distribution efforts by producing copies and pamphlets to gain support against the 16^th century governance of religion (Standage 52). According to Standage, “Owning a pamphlet, and sharing its contents with friends, signaled both literacy and endorsement of its author’s ideas.  Even some illiterate or semiliterate people bought Luther’s pamphlets to indicate their support for his views” (54). This practice describes the  embodiment of a media identified in this assemblage; the Disputation itself became a symbolic artifact that was conspicuously consumed in order to establish support for the revolt as opposed to propagating its literal contents.  Those who did not understand the language could still embody support, and those who did understand could embody an intelligent identity along with a supportive identity. 

The Disputation was translated into German by publishers as it gained popularity. Luther acknowledged that he would have articulated his arguments differently if he had known that Germans lacking Latin literacy would take to the ideas so strongly, so he switched to writing in German as he progressed in his campaign (Standage 53). This shift exemplifies the effects of the strategical use of symbolic encoding identified in this articulation. The shift to German engaged common people to discuss matters further, as it was further distributed more easily through social music and images representing Luther’s theses began to circulate as propaganda (Standage 58). Both songs and images enabled the diversification of symbolic encoding, which led to further access to the non-literate communities.  The compilation of all of these artifacts represented the accumulation of media that afforded the religious movement with enough power to fight the religious force that had at once seemed so powerful.  For instance, this was a woodcut of people farting in the Pope’s direction, which implies resentment towards the Pope, but does not require readers to be completely aware of all of the religious issues at hand, which were more easily communicated through words.  The accumulation of the artifacts meant that the transmedia intent of the movement was supported by the widespread individual items created in associations with the movement.

            Pepe is very similar in a few ways.  Pepe was used by white supremacists because he was an image that had already accumulated cultural value through its widespread use. At the same time Pepe was vague enough as a graphic symbol that it could easily be recoded, and based on meme culture, remixing is a practice which is very common already. Pepe embodied a sense of admirable popularity because of its mimetic status, and this was then associated white supremacist ideology, producing a proud and famous white supremacist icon (who is free from the real-world penalties that a human might face with the same ideology, fame, and pride). The same way that Luther might not have necessarily been arguing that the Pope deserved dishonor by plebian flagellation, the accessibility of his symbols made them prone to reinterpretation, and the embodiment of his message could be shared by those with different interpretations. 

One main difference between the two examples is that the accumulation of Pepe artifacts compromised the embodiment of the symbol for future use. This is why Furie started the hashtag #SavePepe in order to disassociate Pepe from white supremacists.  However, one issue with this may be Pepe and Trump’s shared demographic.  Pepe comics were targeted at the millennial males who chill and get high, and Trump supporters have proven themselves to be largely uneducated white males (not to deny that there are also many white females, and other parties that support Trump). This was not a Canadian or British meme… it was an image made by an artist in Ohio, a state that is very pro-Trump. Although the artist was not affiliated with white supremacy, the intimacy of digital media meant that the circulation could have largely been a part of Trump's intended demographic, and thus Pepe’s fan base might not be left-wing enough care. In addition to this, the accumulation of media that will continue to live on the internet with Pepe as Trump can not be unwritten.