Bernie or Hillary?

The template for the meme.

"Bernie or Hillary?"[1][2][3] (or "Bernie vs. Hillary"[3][4]) was an Internet meme made popular during the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nomination in the United States 2016 election, in which Internet users who mostly favored Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton compared the two candidates in faux political posters.

History

The meme started out as a joke campaign by comedian Jeff Wysaski, who posts as Tumblr user Obvious Plant, where he posted fake political posters around Los Angeles, California.[3][5][6][7] In January 28, 2016, Wysaski started posting the images on social media starting with the Tony Hawk version.[8] The meme was popularized via the Facebook group Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash, Tumblr, and Twitter.[3][6][8][9]

Format

The meme uses the format of the political poster to compare the candidates on a particular issue. The caption reads "Bernie or Hillary? Be informed. Compare them on the issues that really matter."[4] Variations of the meme compare comments on such issues as: anime,[4][6] English rock band Black Sabbath,[7] cannabis,[2][10][11] Carly Rae Jepsen,[6] caves,[6] Drake,[6] electronic music,[9] first-person shooters,[4] gaming,[4] Harry Potter,[3][5][6][7][9][12] heavy metal,[7] Australian rapper Iggy Azalea,[6] Internet memes,[2] jazz,[6] jet skis,[6][7][8] lizards,[4][6][9] Meek Mill,[6] Netflix and chill,[10] American indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel,[1] Nutella,[9] American casual dining restaurant chain Olive Garden,[4][6][13] philosophies on sneaking soda in the free water cup,[4] PlayStation,[4] Pokemon,[4][6][8][9] preferred gaming consoles,[4] Radiohead,[4][5][6][8][9] Sriracha sauce,[8][10] sleeping,[3][6] space vampires,[6][7][9] stand-up comedy,[2][6] Star Wars,[4][5][6][9][12] Tony Hawk,[4][6][8][9] and wolves.[3][5][6]

Art

On February 12, 2016, new media artist Matt Starr organized the art exhibition "Weekend with Bernie" for Wayfarers Gallery in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. The exhibition included Ryder Ripps's installation "Faces of Bernie Sanders Dank Meme Stash" featuring Skype video chats with members of the Facebook group Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash and the meme.[14][15]

Reaction

Criticism

In an interview with Yahoo Politics's Alyssa Bereznak, author of Memes in Digital Culture Limor Shifman used the meme as an example of sexism in Bernie Bro culture: "A lot of commentators said that in fact this resonates with the same anti-female discourse within fandom[...]. Female fans are considered less sophisticated. There's a strong gendered structure built into it."[5] BuzzFeed's Ryan Broderick says "others are pointing out that the 'Bernie or Hillary' meme is actually just using Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton to reinforce sexist 'fake geek girl' stereotypes.[6] The Washington Post's Caitlin Dewey described "Bernie or Hillary?" as a "persistent example" of "some of the most successful Bernie Sanders memes are also, on their face, the least factual" since "[it] paints Clinton as a semi-literate hanger-on."[16] Pajiba's Courtney Enlow appraised two memes with "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU EVEN DOING?"[12] Tech Insider's Sidney Fussell says the memes "portray Clinton as a bit clueless, unfamiliar with the topics yet eager to please. Sanders comes across well informed, yet over-enthusiastic."[8] Slate's Amanda Hess criticized the sexism of the meme stating "[i]nvariably, Bernie Sanders' response is passionate and charming while Hillary Clinton's is insufferable and cloying."[4] Houston alternative weekly newspaper Houston Press's Jef Rouner compared the meme to the "Idiot Meme Girl"[4] stating "that shit was sexist and unfunny then, too. Some of them are literally the same jokes. So on top of everything else, it's just really unoriginal."[7] NPR's Sam Sanders said the meme was "either light-hearted and fun, or a symbol of gender bias and discrimination."[3]

Impact

Vice's Gabriella Lewis claimed the meme has gotten more people interested in electoral politics.[2]

Reception

American electro house musician Steve Aoki called it "dankest of the dank memes."[9] Oberlin College student newspaper The Oberlin Review's Josh Ashkinaze said "Bernie or Hillary?" is "[t]he dankest meme now."[1] Tech Insider's Sidney Fussell called the meme "hilarious."[8] Thought Catalog's Jacob Geers called the meme "dank."[10] Slate's Amanda Hess found that "Bernie vs. Hillary has already evolved into such an undank meme."[4] University of Toronto student newspaper The Newspaper's Nick Hornby says the memes "don't overtly argue the existing political differences between the two, but instead cast Sanders as a cool, authentic individual with reasoned, balanced views. Clinton is obversely portrayed as basic, untrustworthy, and out of touch with young people."[11] The Daily Dot's Stephen Thomas has called the meme "hugely popular."[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ashkinaze, Josh (February 12, 2016). "Politicians Should Embrace Internet Memes". The Oberlin Review. WordPress. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Lewis, Gabriella (March 20, 2016). "We Asked an Expert if Memes Could Determine the Outcome of the Presidential Election". Vice. Vice Media. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sanders, Sam (February 5, 2016). "#MemeOfTheWeek: Bernie Or Hillary. Sexist Or Nah?". NPR Politics. NPR. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Hess, Amanda (February 9, 2016). "The Bernie vs. Hillary meme is weird, ceaseless, and kind of sexist, just like the 2016 campaign.". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bereznak, Alyssa (February 9, 2016). "The Bernie Bros rule the Internet". Yahoo!. Yahoo!. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Broderick, Ryan (February 1, 2016). "There's A New "Bernie Or Hillary" Meme, But Is It Just Reinforcing Sexist Stereotypes?". BuzzFeed News. BuzzFeed. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rouner, Jef (February 5, 2016). "Your Pop Culture Sanders vs Clinton Memes are Sexist and Unfunny". Houston Press. Voice Media Group. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Fussell, Sidney (February 1, 2016). "Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate Pokémon and Radiohead in this hilarious meme". Tech Insider. Business Insider. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Aoki, Steve (February 22, 2016). "The 17 Dankest Bernie Sanders Memes On The Internet". Steve Aoki. Aoki Media. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Geers, Jacob (January 29, 2016). "19 Bernie Sanders-Themed Dank Memes That Will Have You LOLing (Whether You're Super Political Or Not)". Thought Catalog. Thought Catalog. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Hornby, Nick (February 13, 2016). "Berning for you". The Newspaper. Planet Publications Inc. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Enlow, Courtney (February 2, 2016). "An All-Caps Explosion of Feelings Regarding the Liberal Backlash Against Hillary Clinton". Pajiba. Pajiba.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  13. ↑ .Buzz, Carles (February 22, 2016). "Can Bernie Sanders' Dank Meme Stash Swing the Election?". Motherboard. Vice. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  14. ↑ Armstrong, Annie (February 18, 2016). "Young Artists Rally to Raise $10K for Bernie Sanders". The Creators Project. Vice Media, Inc. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Inside "Weekend With Bernie", A Bernie Sanders-Themed Art Exhibition In Brooklyn". Paper. Paper Communications. February 15, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  16. ↑ Dewey, Caitlin (February 23, 2016). "How Bernie Sanders became the lord of 'dank memes'". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  17. ↑ Thomas, Stephen (February 11, 2016). "Maddi of #ImNotKiddingMaddi opens up about Hillary, Bernie, and Beyoncé's 'Formation'". The Daily Dot. The Daily Dot. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
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