Friday Funnies: Tweety Memes

 


I stumbled across this Tweety meme, which caused me to do what most memes do--laugh for a brief second or two, and then scroll on. Then, for one reason or another, I found myself scrolling back and taking a second look. Not because I thought that the meme was that funny, but because I find it kind of fascinating that Tweety, a character from Looney Tunes appears so often in these memes.

Memes often feature highly recognisable characters, coupled with text that tends to vary. There's condescending Willy Wonka, usually accompanied by the words "tell me again," Haymitch from the Hunger Games who reminds us that "One does not simply ..." and Kermit the Frog, who will follow up a patronising statement by drinking a cup of Liptons tea and adding, "But that's none of my business." Some are funny, others are infuriating, most of them are just downright forgettable. 

Tweety is an interesting choice. The character appears, on the surface to be quite cute. And his catch cry, "I tawt I taw a puddy tat," shows him as small, and vulnerable to attacks. Yet, as fans of Looney Tunes would know, underneath the surface Tweety is tough, sometimes annoying and always willing to outsmart and even taunt that, "Bad ol' Puddy Tat." And it is that diversity of the characters--small and vulnerable, yet tough, that makes him such an appealing choice for a meme. Tweety can be used in memes about kindness, religion or in a passive aggressive meme such as the one above and all will feel like a great fit. 

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