Get Gritty with it: memetic icons and the visual ethos of antifascism

Greenwalt, Dustin A.; McVey, James Alexander

doi:10.1080/14791420.2022.2066145

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In one prominent example, only recently did the NFL’s Washington Football Team change its team name from an ethnic slur (the R*dskins), despite calls from Native Americans communities to change the name for decades (Billings & Black, 2018). One key point to extrapolate from this literature is the inherently political nature of sport mascots (Black, 2002; Greenwalt & McVey, 2022). In other words, mascots cannot be removed from the cultural context in which they exist.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Importantly, sport brands that allow fans to co-create the team’s identity in the online community find the most success in building fan identity and emotional connections (Armstrong et al, 2016; Thompson et al, 2017). Perhaps unlike previous mascots, Gritty was ready-made for memetic behavior online, with an image and behavior that lent itself to co-creation and appropriation (Greenwalt & McVey, 2022). Thus, Gritty’s anthropomorphism cemented himself as a “human” member of the Philadelphia fan base on social media and a representative of their culture and identity.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, the internet age in which he was created and communicated provided a space for fan co-creation unlike previous mascot launches in sport. Second, that Gritty emerged during an era of political upheaval and incivility may have contributed to his cultural adoption outside the context of sport (Greenwalt & McVey, 2022).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“A Manifestation of Their City as a God”: Gritty Memes, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and Online Representations of Home

Harrison

Boatwright

Bober

2022

Communication & Sport

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During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty starred in political election-related memes as Philadelphia voters became central to the election outcome. With Gritty’s ability to transcend sport as a symbol of the political left during the election, our study was framed with theoretical discussions of mascot anthropomorphism and the concept of “home” in sport fandom. Using systematic discourse analysis, this paper analyzes purposefully selected Gritty memes to understand the interplay of sport mascots, meme co-creation, and the meaning of home in online spaces. Memes were evaluated for form and function. Evidence was found for meme intertextuality and polyvocality as well as four personas of Gritty (Aggressor, Humorist, Leftist, and Hometown Hero) that propelled the mascot to becoming a historic symbol of Philadelphia’s role in determining the election outcome. Contributions of the study include expanding the concept of home to include instances of fan co-creation and online spaces and further understanding mascot anthropomorphism in a unique socio-political context.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“A Manifestation of Their City as a God”: Gritty Memes, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and Online Representations of Home

Harrison

Boatwright

Bober

2022

Communication & Sport

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Stalled Life with Rhetoric: Notorious RBG and the Limits of Feminist Imagery

Swartz

2024

Women's Studies in Communication

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The left can meme

Greenwalt¹,

McVey

2023

Explorations in Media Ecology

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While the use of memes as a persuasive strategy by the alt-right in the 2016 election gave rise to the notion that the left had been thoroughly outflanked in the meme wars, this project argues that the left can meme. Attending to the mimetic practices of anti-fascist, anti-capitalist and anti-racist online publics reminds scholars and practitioners that reactionary forces do not monopolize memetic persuasion. We are interested in how left-wing publics constitute themselves and gain adherents through memetic labour or the work of inventing, sharing, remixing and commenting on images, objects and slogans. This exploratory essay charts a nascent rhetorical research agenda on leftist meme culture, tracking previous interventions such as the anti-fascist meme Gritty and speculating on generative terrain for scholars interested in examining the memetic labour of the left. This essay posits that if we are interested in actualizing more democratic and egalitarian futures, providing assessments of left-wing publics’ strategies might be one useful contribution to the struggle.

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Get Gritty with it: memetic icons and the visual ethos of antifascism

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

“A Manifestation of Their City as a God”: Gritty Memes, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and Online Representations of Home

“A Manifestation of Their City as a God”: Gritty Memes, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and Online Representations of Home

Stalled Life with Rhetoric: Notorious RBG and the Limits of Feminist Imagery

The left can meme

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