Blog Post #3: Luther & Pepe the Frog

Luther & Pepe the Frog

The utilization of Pepe the Frog during the United States’ 2016 Presidential Election and Martin Luther’s 95 theses both display comparable relations of inventiveness and creativity.

To summarize Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses, Luther was distressed over the offer of indulgence by the Catholic Church to subsidize the development of St. Dwindle's Basillica. He was distressed due to the fact that he had true feelings for the church, which ultimately resulted in him trying to test the church with his own thoughts. All together for his oppositional thought's and supposition to have any impact, he initially made his message loud and clear in his Ninety-five Theses. When Luther's message was plainly figured to a viable way, the printing press made Luther’s voice heard through the use of creating various copies for others to then read. Although today we feel as though this is a very simple method to enhance our voices, it was ultimately the reason why Luther’s message was able to gain the attention that it rightfully deserved.
In comes Pepe the Frog. During the 2016 US election, mems of Pepe were demonstrating the same creativity characteristics that Luther displayed. As anyone with social media could notice, during the election, individuals were not afraid of sharing how they felt about the now-current president: Donald Trump. From memes to videos, it seemed that every type of creative post was an attempt to influence the voters – and essentially, the election. However, many modifications were made by individuals were done to make it ‘their own’. Much like Luther and the printing press, memes of Pepe the Frog as Trump were mass produced and shared all around not only social media, but websites as well – making it almost impossible not to be seen by anyone with an internet connection. The circulation of items is made much easier due to the advancement of technology.

This is where you're able to see how the circulation of media occurs. Both Pepe and Luther's work desperately needed the proper circulation so that it could gain attention. For Pepe, his circulation was done through social media, while Luther's was done through the printing press. Both circulated the same way but just through different mediums, and both conveyed a similar theme: that of power. And it does not stop there; they both also shared similar characteristics of consumption and reception. With Pepe flooding the internet, after the original meme was posted, the original creator had no control over the interpretation of the meme - the same happened with Luther and his Ninety-five Theses - he was unable to control the audience's interpretation of his work. It was, and still is, very difficult to understand the meaning and context. Many are prone to misinterpretation of messages - which is why media is extremely influential.