Online Humour, Cartoons, Videos, Memes, Jokes and Laughter in the Epoch of the Coronavirus

Abstract

From the onset of the indefinite deferral of our previously taken-for-granted lives, an abundance of humorous online cartoons, jokes, memes, videos and other satirical material relating to the COVID-19 outbreak—and its consequences—has emerged. Humorous responses to this dire global pandemic proliferate irrespective of location, nationality, ethnicity, age, gender and/or socio-political affiliations. Against a background of enforced lockdowns, quarantine, and sometimes gross political ineptitude, with a mounting daily global death toll, humour referencing this scourge continues to blossom. This may seem counterintuitive or inappropriate at a time of heightened anxiety and fear apropos of an invisible killer-virus, known only in diagrammatic—and, ironically, aesthetically pleasing—visual form. Online humour evoking the COVID-19 crisis is expressed recursively via intertextuality referencing literary, visual, written, oral or other “texts.” Interpictoriality is evident with memes that reconfigure renowned visual artworks. The internet enables copious discourse related to the COVID-19 eruption/disruption.
 Embedded in this article are examples to support the article’s theoretical basis, with intertextuality its major focus. Discussion follows, with speculation as to why humour, absurdity and wit are able to prosper in an environment of radical uncertainty and why joking about our parlous global predicament acts as a vital coping mechanism.

Smile! It's only Covid: Analyzing covid-19 internet memes

“… A survey of research articles and books describing internet memes that were published during the pandemic. These sources analyzed several hundred, and in some cases several thousand memes (e.g., Nicholls, 2020 ; Taecharungroj & Nueangjamnong, 2015 ; Sebba-Elran, 2021 ). Each source tended to focus on one main issue, such as a possible infringement of copyright laws by the memes’ creators ( Adler & Fromer, 2022 ), the satirical use of memes to ridicule political leaders (Mpufu, 2022; Rehak & Trnka, 2019 ), the kinds of humor that were used ( Sebba-Elran, 2021 ) or the impact memes could have on a wide range of feelings that the pandemic and lockdowns evoked, from depression and fear to resilience and well-being ( Wenderoth, 2020 ; Reizer, Munk & Frankfurter, 2022; Fessel, 2020 ).…”

“…During the Covid-19 pandemic, memes have turned to be a major mode of expression in instant messaging and social media apps like WhatsApp, Twitter, TikTok or Facebook ( Shifman, 2013 ; Mpufu, 2021; Nichols, 2020 ; Glaveanu & de saint Laurent, 2021 ; Sebba-Elran, 2021 ).…”

Metaphorical representation of coronavirus in Spanish and Brazilian cartoons

“…Usually, cartoons offer satirical perspectives and figurative meanings about important current events which make this genre an interesting area for linguistic research. Some relevant work on graphic art can be found, for instance, in El Refaie (2003,2009), Tsakona (2009), Schilperoord and Maes (2009), Bounegru and Forceville (2011), Negro Alousque (2014), Forceville (2016), and Nicholls (2020).…”

Življenje s COVID-19 v spletni folklori

“…2 po tem ko je bila članek avgusta 2020 že napisan in oddan v objavo, je bilo objavljenih nekaj člankov na temo spletne folklore o covidu-19. Nekateri avtorji so v njih prišli tudi do deloma podobnih rezultatov, a ker v času pisanja tega članka še niso bili natisnjeni, jih v razpravi ne upoštevam, naj pa jih na tem mestu nekaj naštejem : Nicholls 2020;pulos 2020;Aslan 2021;Bischetti, Canal, Bambini 2021;Blaber, Gougoumanova, palatnik 2021;Chłopicki, Brzozowska 2021;Dynel 2021;Olah, Hempelmann 2021;Sebba-Elran 2021;Strick 2021.…”