First Seen
2024-09-11T02:38:18+00:00
simple-description (qwen3.5_2b-q8_0)
Under the "Average Necromancer" label, a hooded figure holds a candle and requests a connection with a grandmother, displaying the text "I MISS YOU GRANDMA" and "I'M ALWAYS WITH YOU, HONEY ❤️". In contrast, the "Pro necromancer" version strips the human element to sell a product, with the caption "THIS IS KORN'S DUBSTEP ALBUM" and the instruction "PLEASE LET ME GO BACK TO HELL". The vertical text "@SECRETXNAKE" identifies the creator of this dark satire regarding the commodification of the dead.
detailed-analysis (gemma3_27b-it-q8_0)
Okay, let's break down this meme through the lens of an anti-neoliberal framework, covering the relevant theoretical angles. This is a rich meme, and the anti-neoliberal interpretation brings out its layered critique.
Visual Description
The meme is a four-panel image. It contrasts an aesthetic associated with "average" and "pro" necromancy.
- Top Panels: Depict a stereotypical, almost cartoonish "average" necromancer. The first shows a hooded figure holding a candle in a dimly lit space with a caption "I miss you grandma". The second shows a similar figure, but more gaunt and animated, with "I'm always with you, honey" as a caption.
- Bottom Panels: Present a "pro" necromancer. The first shows a hooded figure standing in front of a boombox playing music, labelled "This is Korn's Dubstep album”. The second shows a photo of Ronald Reagan at a podium saying "Please let me go back to hell."
- Title: The meme is titled “Average Necromancer” then “Pro Necromancer”
- Watermark: The watermark in the image reads "@SECRETYSNAKE"
Foucauldian Genealogical Discourse Analysis
From a Foucauldian perspective, this meme is about power/knowledge formations and their historical shifts. The “average necromancer” relies on personal, familial bonds—nostalgia and simple ritual (candlelight). This suggests a localized, almost pre-modern form of power. The “pro necromancer”, however, resurrects the most potent symbol of a specific historical power structure: neoliberalism embodied by Reagan.
- Genealogy of Neoliberalism: The resurrection of Reagan isn't about fondness for the individual. It’s a cynical acknowledgment of the enduring discourse of neoliberalism, the ideas of deregulation, privatization, and trickle-down economics. The meme is suggesting that the logic of neoliberalism has become so deeply ingrained in our systems it has an afterlife.
- Power/Knowledge: The music choice – Korn's dubstep album – is critical. Korn represents the angst and alienation of the late 90s/early 2000s, a period when neoliberal restructuring was really taking hold and leaving a lot of people behind. Dubstep, as a genre, is often associated with subcultures and a feeling of disruption. The pro-necroancer is not just raising the dead; they’re raising a cultural dead end, a sound that reflects the failures of the system, and then weaponizing that sound. It’s a reclaiming of negativity.
- Discursive Shift: The juxtaposition shows how power has moved from the familial/spiritual to the political/economic.
Marxist Conflict Theory
The core of the anti-neoliberal critique is fundamentally Marxist. This meme visualizes the class struggle, but in a uniquely spectral way.
- Resurrection of Capital: Reagan represents the pinnacle of the conservative counter-revolution against the New Deal and the post-war Keynesian consensus. His policies are seen by anti-neoliberals as foundational to the rise of austerity, deregulation, and the increased power of capital. Bringing him back is like resurrecting the very forces that exploit and oppress the working class.
- Alienation & Commodity Fetishism: The "Korn's Dubstep album" represents the cultural product of a society alienated under capitalism. The desire to listen to that sound, to engage with that negativity, is a form of resistance (though a potentially co-opted one).
- False Consciousness: The average necromancer, focused on "grandma," is a representation of an older, potentially naive form of longing for a simpler time. The "pro" necromancer recognizes the real, systemic evil that needs to be confronted.
- Class Warfare: The phrase "Please let me go back to hell" isn’t a statement of personal regret, it’s the realization that the policies of Reagan and the neoliberal order have created a hell on earth for many, and that figure wants to return to continue the destruction.
Postmodernism
Postmodern elements are at play here, particularly in the collapsing of hierarchies and the embrace of irony.
- Simulacra and Simulation: Reagan is not “really” back. He's a hyperreal image, a simulacrum representing an idea. The meme plays with the idea that our political landscape is increasingly populated by these empty signifiers and the simulation of real political debate.
- Pastiche & Irony: The combination of the occult imagery (necromancy) with political figures and a specific music genre creates a deliberate pastiche. The irony is thick: someone is taking something traditionally associated with darkness and decay and using it to bring back a symbol of…well, many would argue the same thing.
- Deconstruction of Authority: The meme undermines the traditional authority of political figures. Reagan, a historically powerful figure, is depicted as desperate to return to a place of suffering, thereby dismantling his own image of strength.
Critical Theory
Critical Theory, with its focus on ideology and critique of systems of domination, helps illuminate the meme’s deeper meaning.
- Ideology Critique: The meme acts as an ideology critique by exposing the enduring power of neoliberal ideology even in the face of its evident failures. Reagan's desire to return to "hell" acknowledges the suffering caused by his policies.
- The Culture Industry: The invocation of Korn's dubstep album touches on the concept of the culture industry (Adorno & Horkheimer). The commodification of dissent and the way that even counter-cultural expression can be absorbed and neutralized by the system are hinted at. The ‘pro’ necromancer appropriates the sounds of rebellion, turning them into a tool for (ironically) resurrecting the forces of oppression.
- Total Domination: The meme suggests that neoliberalism aims for total domination, even over death itself. The desire to bring back a figure from the past represents an attempt to perpetuate a destructive system indefinitely.
In summary: This meme is a sophisticated piece of anti-neoliberal commentary. It utilizes occult imagery as a metaphor for the persistence of harmful ideologies, a critique of the system’s failures, and a darkly ironic acknowledgment of the power structures that continue to shape our world. It's not just about "missing grandma," it’s about confronting the ghosts of capitalism and refusing to let them rise again.
simple-description (llama3.2-vision_11b)
The meme is a comparison between a typical "Anti-Neoliberal" (a person who opposes neoliberalism, a economic ideology that promotes free market capitalism) and a "Neoliberal" (a person who supports neoliberalism). The meme is saying that an "Anti-Neoliberal" is a person who is against neoliberalism and a "Neoliberal" is a person who supports neoliberalism. The meme is showing the difference between the two types of people.