When I told my friends I needed to create a meme for homework, they immediately suggested this photo. It is from a live musical theatre production I was in a few years ago. I played the March Hare in a kids version of Alice in Wonderland, and this picture was among many taken of the live show. I really enjoy it since it shows me in the middle of a great expression along with the actress who played Alice. This picture is a cropped version of the original, which also had the Mad Hatter and the Dormouse in strange positions. The image itself is funny to look at, so I was hoping that it would contribute to the humor of the meme even before reading the text.
For the text, I tried to find a topic that many people would instantly connect with that also fit with the picture. Many memes in this style are designed so that the image demonstrates the text or reacts to it, so I took a few minutes to study the image and come up with an idea. Eventually, I thought of the sibling message, because many people can relate to it. So many people have have experienced that relationship and have made fun of their sibling or been made fun of by their sibling, so I thought it would reach a wide audience that would enjoy it. I think it fits the image well and adds to the humor.
In a sense, you could say that this meme subverts the traditional image of family. The general stereotype is that everyone in a family loves each other and is nice to each other, but anyone who has siblings knows that more often than not, peace is rare among relatives. Someone is always annoying someone else, or making fun of them, or telling on them, or getting them in trouble.
Mainly, with this meme I tried to create that instant recognition most people feel when they see memes. I wanted people to look at it and laugh and say they understand. I wanted people to relate to it and remember that many people share their same experiences, which is an important thing to know especially since there has been a lot of drama in our culture concerning different races, genders, sexualities, and other identities. This meme subtly reminds people of that, reinforcing the idea in their minds almost unknowingly. In that way, it is unexpected and does not face resistance.
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