Coronavirus in humorous discourse practices: methods of creating comic effects

Галина Яроцкая

Одесский национальный университет им. И.И. Мечникова. Факультет журналистики. Кафедра новых медиа и медиадизайна

Abstract

The following study is dedicated to the analysis of a collection of internet memes as media products of discursive and humorous practices. The intertextuality of a meme is required criteria that must be present in its discursive, epistemological and aesthetic value; if the meme does not have this quality, it essentially has no chance of being put into use, gaining the status of a precedential phenomenon, and integrating into the culture altogether. Internet practices of humorous discussion reflect the main characteristics of society’s valuative and emotional response to the formed global pandemic situation. The main linguistic and discursive features of this response are intertextuality, interdiscursivity, polycody, and the use of language/word play, among which the most frequently used in this internet collection turned out to be the strategic utilization of absurdity and reframing-based linguocognitive play. Comic effects are achieved in most cases due to knowledge of precedential phenomena, which is why many memes are difficult to decode for those who are uninformed.

Keywords:

internet meme, interdiscursivity, intertextuality, reframing, language play/word play