Abstract
ABSTRACT Objective: the paper proposes the methodological use of memes as a shortcut to explore consumer culture. Memes as cultural texts can reveal collective circulating ideologies that may not be accessed through regular interviews. Context: memes are cultural texts that convey easy-to-understand messages, gaining strength within social networks. Cultural texts playfully present the social context and beliefs of societies. We analyzed circulating memes during the COVID-19 pandemic about elderly consumers in Brazil to outline a methodological protocol. Method: we analyzed memes adopting the discourse model to conduct qualitative research of memes as a shortcut to cultural discourses. We collected memes during March and May 2020 using social media networks. They were classified following thematic analysis. Result: the proposal is a methodological procedure for analyzing memes as a cultural text. The process starts with the outline of a data collection protocol, followed by data analysis guidelines, illustrated by the context of elderly consumers. Conclusion: the analysis of memes as cultural texts contributed to understanding of consumer behavior through current cultural content, revealing contrasting ideologies that emerge from consumers, as covert value-systems, circulating alongside institutional mass-mediated ideologies.
Highlights
In 2020, a new trending topic emerged on the internet
We propose to methodologically explore new cultural texts such as memes that have been gaining traction in contemporary culture and still have an underexplored potential as a method to access ideologies and consumer interpretative strategies (Miller et al, 2019)
We provide the theoretical background on memes as cultural expression of culture and the role of cultural texts in researching consumer culture
Summary
In 2020, a new trending topic emerged on the internet. Artists and anonymous people worldwide, through their own-crafted photomontages, joined the challenge of summarizing the coronavirus-fighting quarantine and the year of 2020. We identified different formats of cultural texts that are produced by mass media (such as soap opera and reality shows), by advertising agencies and marketing departments (TV or print advertising), by journalism institutions (newspaper articles or TV news), or cultural industry (song lyrics, films, and music shows). They present different angles of social circulating ideologies, associated with varied authorships and value systems.
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