Symbolic nature, cultural codes and media functionality of “The Russian warship” meme. (Part two)

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to analyze the symbolism, cultural codes of miscellaneous modifications of one of the most widespread Ukrainian memes in 2022 — the Russian warship meme, its role in the creation and development of the latest media discourses; it also specifies the tendencies concerning the meme use in mass media publications. The subject of the study is “the Russian warship” meme and a group of its modifications spread in the media environment after January 24, 2022. It is stated that the media area of the meme’s functioning is extremely wide, it is not only spread verbally but also visually, represented by a range of media and mass media genres: from posts on social networks from the state public officers to individual media projects and media branding. A peculiarity of this meme is also the fact that it crosses the borders of a nationally-oriented media environment by the rules of news-related genres as topical and socially important information. Another peculiarity of the meme’s circulation is the fact that its verbal core is an obscene expression, the use of which is exceptionally limited according to the standards of numerous lingual cultures. Thanks to the methods of narrative analysis, generalization and interpretation the author of the article determines the meme’s role in the formation of new kinds of discourse of heroics and immortality, which are important in the conditions of hybrid war and information confrontation. As a result of our research, we explain that the meme becomes a symbol of brave and desperate resistance to unjustified military aggression, a violation of the world order established after World War II. Studying an ironic philological media discourse of the Russian warship meme exhibits its transgressive nature on one hand, i. e. the function of prohibitions overcoming during critical extremal situations and on the other hand, demonstrates the significance of the meme for national self-identification processes. The article specifies the tendencies for change in meme’s media functionality, which lies in the gradual down-toning of the obscene categorical nature of a verbal structure through its substitution with ellipsed options, metaphoric euphemisms, allusive expressions, etc. The novelty lies in the study of the functionality of the meme in various media discourses, in particular professional journalistic, heroic mythological, ironic philological, etc. Further study of the meme at different stages of its media lifecycle can be perspective. The article is presented in two parts. This issue deal with the linguacultural code of this meme.