lifestyle

“How long are winters in Minnesota again?” Wilmers asked.

Remixes (noun): a popular video or photo that has been changed, added to and reposted to the Internet.

 

Some memes went viral because they were remixed, localized and re-shared. Remember “Gangnam Style”? Who could forget? The 2012 Korean dance pop single spawned hundreds of parodies and knockoff videos on YouTube, raking in more than 1 billion views.

Other popular remixes are of photos, not videos. “Texts From Hillary” is a single image of a serious-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton texting on her phone. The photo has been reproduced with dozens of silly captions and reposted. And reposted. And reposted.

“Today’s memes are a manifestation of the remix culture that’s permeating art, advertising and media right now,” said Weber Shandwick’s Greg Swan. “Many discount the impact on pop culture that [they] have, but I challenge you to find someone who doesn’t know the chorus of Rebecca Black’s “Friday.’ ”

LOLCats (noun): Images and videos of cats, often accompanied by humorous text.

 

Grumpy looking cats. Babies laughing at cats. Cats playing ping-pong. While cat memes aren’t new, they are peculiar — and increasingly popular. According to KnowYourMeme.com, cat-related media took a leap forward beginning in 2006, with the growing influence of websites like LOLcats and Caturday.

Last year, the Walker Art Center hosted a one-day film festival dedicated to online feline videos. Curator Katie Hill said the event was an experiment, of sorts.

“The whole point of the festival is to see if this community exists in real life,” she said.

That question was answered when more than 10,000 people came to see the outdoor show.

 

Aimee Blanchette • 612-673-1715