It would be nice to measure stickiness by say (frequency of Twitter references+reaction gifs)/((budget in a base year)*age)
Some measure of perma-memetic power. Not special interest subcultural power. That’s not zeitgeist stickiness really. You want general public impact.
Conversation
Matrix contributed a whopper — the red/blue pill
HP’s big one is probably the 4 houses as a personality meme
Pre-2000 things tended to contribute vignettes more than memes, like soup nazi
Decays over time. I Love Lucy is now basically the chocolate factory scene.
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The Simpsons is weird. Mostly only context-free useful reaction gifs have survived, like Homer backing into a bush, grandpa shaking fist at cloud, Nelson saying haaha etc. None that recall a plot point
Futurama refs are like 99% Fry suspicious or shut up and take my money
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People defending Friends… I basically never see refs or reaction gifs. Maybe it’s popular in other circles. Especially global. It’s certainly more accessible. But revivalist popularity + active fandom is not quite zeitgeist stickiness in the memepower sense I’m thinking of.
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Okay I’ll take people’s word for it that Friends is sticky. It’s a blank in my mind though I watched it. I can’t remember a single specific thing besides vague personalities.
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Replying to @YouuTeee and @vgr
Many consider it the best show to ever be made, make it a big part of their personality, even mentioning things like, "We won't get along if you don't like Friends". So that has been my experience personally. Similar experience for Harry Potter. I still see it pop up all the time
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Seinfeld definitely has staying power with people 40+ but i doubt it will ever have a revival. Half the jokes won’t even make sense to people raised on smartphones.
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Something sad about how big, complex works best hope for lasting relevance is memes and gifs
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I’ve had a small taste of that. I’m mostly reducible to the phrase “premium mediocre” in the zeitgeist right now 🤣
It’s my “mostly harmless”
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The Office has an unfair advantage due to the use of reality tv style outtakes and reaction shots. Made for memeification. I don’t think it will last. That office culture is dying fast.
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Replying to @vgr
Based on this criteria The Office stickiness is off the charts. Is any show as memed?
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Meme power as a measure is of course contaminated now since new shows consciously aim for memeable shots/moments. Memebait like clickbait. Doesn’t seem reduced to a science yet though.
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Wonder if you can plan to plant a moment like “you can’t handle the truth” without also screwing up the overall story with the setpiece memebait
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Flip side too. Stuff sinks without a trace. Super unsticky stuff. American Beauty won oscars, and the dancing plastic bag was kinda a meme for a while, but it’s a flash in the pan. I suspect nobody rewatches it except film school students.
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I’d like to produce narrative memes without actually writing stories
Like those muffin tops without the stumps on Seinfeld
Sadly impossible. Gotta write the whole stories. Bake the whole muffins.
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Now I’m wondering how to write a story to maximize meme yield
It would likely be a terrible story in other ways
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