Meme. A meme, as defined by Urban Diction, is an idea, belief or belief system, or pattern of behavior that spreads throughout a culture either vertically by cultural inheritance (as by parents to children) or horizontally by cultural acquisition (as by peers, information media, and entertainment media). In the past decade, memes have increased in popularity and became a modern art form. You either like it or you’re not familiar with it.
Recently, Drake’s music video, Hotline Bling, became extremely popular, but not because of the “awesome music” he creates. Instead, it is the memes that are created after the video is made. The original video is not exceptional and I did not care about it either. How did I find out about his Hotline Bling then? Through the hilarious and ridiculous memes created by others on social media! In fact, the memes of the videos are so widespread, the New York Times even has an article on it.
So what made this video is meme-able? Simple. The video is simple: just him dancing for extended periods of time in front of a plain background that’s constantly changing colors. Because the backdrop is so simple, the social media let their minds run wild with his gestures. The New York Times article calls his moves “concise, universal, more about implication than full expression. The author believes that is what makes his video so meme-able.
“In part, that has to do with the unclutteredness of the video, which mostly surrounds Drake with blank space. There’s also the nature of the dancing itself, which is also more or less blank: a series of slight shifts of weight, quick hand gestures, head bobbles and side-to-side steps. They’re small moves that he repeats — in essence, he’s making a GIF of himself, anticipating what will inevitably happen to him online.”
Here, you can see some of the memes created. Be warned, you may disturb others with your laughter as you watch this.
His dance partner-choreographer, Tanisha Scott, told Complex that Drake knew this was going to cause these interestingly new gifs. For that, he should be respected: he inspired people indirectly to create their own stories based off his dance movement. Dance is about expression of the dancer and the interpretation of the viewer. What better way to express this idea than with such an open video.
In essence, “you don’t meme Drake; Drake memes Drake.”(Caramanica)
I was very amazed at how fast Hotline Bling and its memes were made so popular after the music video came out. They’re actually very creative! The fact that Drake admitted that he knew this would happen though really surprises me because I didn’t think someone would make a music video knowing how much it could be made fun of. But I guess that’s more creative that it’s a an original video on its own and then there’s a mass amount of comedic portraits (memes) that has been inspired by it.
This was a very odd music video. I was first attracted to the song because I think Drake can sing well, and I prefer his singing to his rapping. However, when I saw 4 minutes of flashing lights and bizarre dancing, I was immensely disappointed; how could such a depressing and heartfelt song be reduced to such eccentric terms? This certainly sent a green light to the internet, saying “make fun of me,” which is exactly what the internet did. Although the video wasn’t my favorite, I found most of these memes quite funny.
I had no idea why people were posting his memes until recently because of his new music video. I think that his dancing is very awkward and unconventional, but it is done on purpose to draw haters and fans alike to blow up his fame. I personally enjoyed the song, since usually his singing voice touches raw emotions that most rappers don’t do.
I happen to be a victim of the uncontrollable laughter which follows the memes of Drake’s music video. The memes have become so widespread that they are starting to frustrate me a bit. When everything on social media includes this meme, it is safe to say that Drake was incredibly successful with his “indirect” goal. Though I find the actual music video to be weird, and awkward, I end up thinking that all publicity is good publicity– this is why Drake is a genius of our time. Using social media to promote your celebrity status is epitomized by Drake.
Don’t let your memes be dreams, Jason. The beauty of memes is that they are so simple yet so complex. One could gain internet fame for just exposing how silly something is. I must disagree with your meme analysis though. I don’t believe Drake got memed because the video is simple, it think it got memed because there are some many silly moments that you could pause and add stuff too. His facial expression at any given moment is awkward too which contributes to the meme ability.
In my opinion, what Drake did was a very smart move to actually bring attention to himself by using making a video he know would lead to memes. Memes are very popular now, and people love making and seeing how it relates to their lives. I do agree that it does open up to people interpreting and making their own stories and expressing themselves. While it can be fun and silly, it’s not the most artistic or profound I believe.
It’s so interesting how our media-frenzied culture is able to take such a simple video and make it so popular and widespread, shared throughout different social mediums like Facebook, Instragram, and Vine. What’s even more interesting is that the memes that resulted from the video, weren’t inspired accidentally. Drake KNEW that the content and dance styles of his video would be used for various types of spinoffs. The way I see this is a very original, unique and advanced form of marketing and self-publication. Facebook sharing, hashtags and tweets (etc) used to be and still are a way of sharing information/news/ideas/opinions etc, but now memes are able to accomplish that as well! But in this case, Drake cleverly inspired people to do the same, but in a way that promotes himself and sheds light to his unique professional position as a rapper.
It’s so interesting how our media-frenzied culture is able to take such a simple video and make it so popular and widespread, shared throughout different social mediums like Facebook, Instragram, and Vine. What’s even more interesting is that the memes that resulted from the video, weren’t inspired accidentally. Drake KNEW that the content and dance styles of his video would be used for various types of spinoffs. The way I see this is a very original, unique and advanced form of marketing and self-publication. Facebook sharing, hashtags and tweets (etc) used to be and still are a way of sharing information/news/ideas/opinions etc, but now memes are able to accomplish that as well! But in this case, Drake cleverly inspired people to do the same, but in a way that promotes himself and sheds light to his unique professional position as a rapper.
The moment I saw this music video I knew that the internet would take this music video to another level. Drake made his music video (in a sense) a blank slate for people to express their own ideas and creative humor, and lay it on top of his music video. The memes and variations I’ve seen are so hilarious that they just keep me wanting more creative ideas to brought to the online world. Partially I believe this music video was a great marketing strategy in order to boost Drake’s popularity even further. When people are given the right medium, they can take their imagination to another level that people would’ve never thought existed.
I find it interesting how art forms constantly change over time. Not too long ago, memes would have never been considered art, but today they are yet another way to expression. Drake was really smart about the way he made his video. Most artists don’t think this through and overload their music videos. Drake really seems to care about connecting with his fans and that’s why he puts in effort into choreographing the dances.
I actually hadn’t heard of hotline bling until a few days ago when I was scrolling through an app on my phone and a clip of the video came up. In the clip, someone had put a lightsaber in Drake’s hand and he was using it to deflect projectiles from the blasters used in Star Wars, I was amused to say the least. Drake has done something clever here, I believe he carefully chose a rhythm to dance to that would be a common denominator for other music. By doing this, Drake opened up the ability to go viral with memes and clips, as we have seen.
During the past week, I have seen plenty of hotline bling memes. Perhaps the most notable variation for me had been a video of Bernie Sanders dancing. The absurdity of the video makes me laugh every time. I applaud Drake for making such a simple music video with the intention of making it meme-able by his audience. It serves as a way for his fanbase and audience to connect with the artist on a more personal level. Instead of merely watching the video and listening to the music, viewers can now customize the experience based on how they feel the music should be represented, even if it means giving Drake a tennis racket or a light saber. Just in case anyone wants to check out the Bernie video, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLveuzoauBo
I dont agree with what you said about the actual video not being “exceptional.” Videos just like any other forms of expression are art and should not have to meet the expectations of anyone. You might not think that his video was exceptional but just due to the fact that it is so widely known, many people find it better than exceptional. I like that Drake is opening himself up to social media manipulation. To me it shows that he is putting himself out there. Also, what do you mean by putting awesome music in quotation marks? Do you not think his music is enjoyable?
I enjoyed how social media rose up and created thousands of memes to Drake’s Hotline Bling video. Through releasing his music video, Drake was able to create an incredible amount of publicity. The memes he inspired are a testament to the public’s creativity and ability to think “outside the box.” I found a majority of the variations to be hilarious and just plain fun. I think the idea that we live in a society where we can easily interpret and present our own variations of art to the world is interesting. One could create a meme or gif of absolutely anything in seconds and then present it to a huge group of people through the Internet.
Drake was clever to make a meme-able music video! I can’t say there are many artists that I’ve heard of who took advantage of the rising meme trends on the internet. As it is, I already knew Drake as a meme-able artist, usually with quotes about sensitive, emotional material attached to his name and picture. Good for him for realizing it and taking advantage of it, even if it means approving people making fun of the music he lives and works for.
Memes are such a modern topic that I definitely did not expect to read about them. I think that they are definitely a very popular form of entertainment among young adults. You will find memes on every social media website/ app. I agree that Drake should be respected, not just because of the fact that he wanted to inspire people to make their own stories based off of his video, but also because as an artist he is not afraid to be made fun of his viewers. That must take courage, something a true artist possesses.
It’s very hard to imagine what may happen to to something after it is posted or shared with others. Artists especially have to go through the unexpected outcomes of whether or not what they created is going to be popular or not. With that said it is surprising to know that Drake himself had some idea of how popular and how his video would be seen by the vast public. However given his popularity and name it is inevitable that his music would be well-known. Personally, i saw hotline bling as a meme rather than the song itself due to the fast works of internet users all over.
I absolutely love the Hotline Bling music video, and it’s definitely one of my favorites of the moment. For some reason, I can’t get over how Drake dances. I think it’s absolutely hilarious, and I quite like the song itself. However, I didn’t think about Drake actively providing a canvas for the public to use as memes. After reading your article, I realize that there is a tremendous amount of blank space. There isn’ much to distinguish in the video besides silhouettes and Drake’s fantastic dancing. Realizing that this creative decision was intentional only adds to my admiration for the song. I just though Drake was trying to be silly, but I realize that every form of art is multi-dimensional, and when I acknowledge this, people such as Drake become multi-dimensional as well.
Drake memes will never get old. It’s truly fascinating how one music video could have blown up like that, not because of the music but because of the dance form. The artworks that people have created from the video have had me in tears ever since the video was released. Although these memes are generating Drake more attention, i feel like they are degrading his work in a way, and taking away from it. That’s just my opinion, i wonder what others think.