I Can Haz Azn Memes?

First off, I’d like to give a shout out to the internet for making memes happen. Internet, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to realize the aweseomness of “memes.” According to good ol’ Wikipedia, “internet memes“are “simply an idea that is propagated through the Web. This idea may take the form of a hyperlink, video, website, hashtag, or even a word or phrase.” For instance, remember the “I CAN HAZ CHEEZBURGER” cat to the left? Now, you can check out thousands of more lolcats and loldogs here.

Now, I love following memes, but my favorite are definitely the ones referencing famous Asian people (which for me includes parents). Check out a few of my favorite!

Note: Many of these memes may seem to trivialize important subjects or exploit stereotypes, but we think it’s important to look at these memes beyond face value.  Yes, some of these memes are just plain silly, but some also highlight issues pervading society or bring out the absurdity of the seemingly commonplace, all the while bringing in a sense of humor.  For more critical reading (with a political slant), Foreign Affairs Magazine recently published an essay on the potency of social media.  Memes are, by their very nature, social products.

1. Kim Jong Il Looking At Things

“Kim Jong Il Looking At Things” is a blog dedicated to showing pictures of the North Korean dictator looking at things.  We understand that North Korea and Kim Jong Il are both grave subjects, but “Kim Jong Il Looking At Things” has been a comical attempt at demystifying and simplifying the enigmatic leader.  He is usually found inspecting factories and buildings. Late last year, this blog and its images became popular through reddit and then more mainstream media.

2. Asian Prince

Some of you may know this person as the Vietnamese singer Tuan Anh, but to the internet, he is the “Asian Prince” named Wo-Hen Nankan, or “I am so ugly” in Mandarin.  Curious how the infamous Vietnamese ballad singer became internet royalty with a Chinese name?  This meme became popular when internet user “Asianprince213” created a Geocities website to find a wife and posted self-affirming pictures of “himself.” It was obviously a hoax, but now Tuan Anh’s face and mustache fill the internet like in picture above. While the Geocities site no longer lives, you can check out his myspace.

3. Little Fatty

This picture of 16 year old Qian Zhijun was taken by a teacher and posted on the internet. The rest was internet history. Take note of the before and after. In China, Qian Zhijun became extremely famous, even creating a website about weight loss!

4. Confucius Say

Also known as Wise Confucius, the meme shows the face of the wise man spreading his wisdom, often in Engrish. Obviously, these words aren’t from the mouth of Confucius, but they definitely will give you a chuckle.

5. High Expectation Asian Father

This meme became popular after this blog started posting stereotypical sayings of first generation Asian parents. By far my favorite, it often speaks some truth, though exaggerated for laughs. I’ve definitely heard some of these sayings from my own beloved mother, but that’s not to say that we don’t see the absurdity in them! This meme definitely brings up many points from Amy Chua’s article about the superiority of Asian parenting.