First Seen
2023-05-10T21:03:36+00:00
gemma3-27b-vision
Okay, let's break down this meme through the lenses of various critical theories, applying them only where relevant. ## Visual Description The meme is a two-panel comparison. * **Top Panel:** Depicts a scene from *Jurassic Park*. Dr. Alan Grant, looking surprised and slightly apprehensive, is confronting a large, realistically rendered Tyrannosaurus Rex. There is a small red vehicle in the background. The lighting is dramatic and suggests a sense of danger and awe. The text above reads, "What scientists thought of dinosaurs in the 80's-90's" with the text “RooaAr” below the image. * **Bottom Panel:** Shows a clip of a dinosaur, likely a *Microraptor* or similar feathered dinosaur, seemingly flapping its wings and looking confused. The coloring is vibrant and cartoon-like. The text above reads "What scientists think of dinosaurs now," and below is “WoT DooiN?” The meme’s humor rests on the contrast between the traditionally imagined, intimidating dinosaurs of popular culture (and early paleontological reconstructions) and the current understanding that many dinosaurs were feathered, potentially colorful, and behaved in ways that challenge previous assumptions. ## Foucauldian Genealogical Discourse Analysis This meme powerfully illustrates a shift in *discourse* about dinosaurs, a key concept in Michel Foucault’s work. * **Early Discourse (Top Panel):** The *Jurassic Park* image represents a discourse characterized by *power/knowledge* constructs. Dinosaurs were presented as monstrous, powerful, and dangerous—a reflection of anxieties about unchecked scientific progress, the “natural” power of nature, and the “wild” beyond human control. The representation was linked to scientific authority – the “knowledge” of what dinosaurs were legitimized the dramatic, fearsome portrayal. This constructed a “truth” about dinosaurs based on a particular framework (big, scaly, dangerous). * **Shifting Discourse (Bottom Panel):** The feathered dinosaur, looking perplexed, signifies a break from that established discourse. New paleontological discoveries (particularly in China) revealed evidence of feathers, potentially more bird-like behavior, and a wider range of colors and forms. This disrupts the previous “truth” by presenting a different, more nuanced understanding. The “WoT DooiN?” text encapsulates the disorientation and uncertainty this new knowledge generates. It’s a question directed *at* the old paradigm, highlighting its inadequacy in explaining the current evidence. The new discourse decenters the idea of dinosaurs as simply monstrous creatures and encourages consideration of their complex behaviors and evolutionary relationship to birds. The meme’s humor is directly linked to how the genealogy of dinosaur knowledge has *changed* – revealing how our understanding of dinosaurs isn’t simply a natural unveiling of truth, but a construct shaped by scientific inquiry, technology, and cultural anxieties. ## Postmodernism The meme also plays with *postmodern* themes. * **Deconstruction of Grand Narratives:** The shift from the *Jurassic Park* dinosaur to the feathered one represents a rejection of a single, monolithic “truth” about dinosaurs. The old image embodies the “grand narrative” of dinosaurs as terrifying beasts. The new image destabilizes that narrative, revealing it as a simplification of a far more complex reality. * **Simulation and Hyperreality:** *Jurassic Park* itself, and the depiction of dinosaurs within it, is a *simulation*. The meme implicitly acknowledges that our understanding of dinosaurs is always mediated by representations, interpretations, and incomplete evidence. The "truth" about dinosaurs is never directly accessible, only representations of it. * **Irony and Playfulness:** The use of "WoT DooiN?" is inherently ironic and playful. It undermines the seriousness of scientific inquiry, acknowledging the absurdity of trying to reconstruct a creature from millions of years ago, and the ever-shifting nature of that reconstruction. ## Critical Theory The meme, while not explicitly making an argument about social power structures, *can* be read through a critical lens. The shift in dinosaur depiction reflects a broader change in scientific thinking, moving away from a model of *mastery over nature* to a more humble and nuanced understanding of the natural world. * The "terrifying" dinosaur of the 90s image, presented as something to be contained (as it is in the film), embodies a desire to control and dominate the natural world. * The confused, feathered dinosaur, on the other hand, resists easy categorization and control. It reminds us that nature is complex, unpredictable, and often defies our attempts to impose order upon it. It's important to note that these interpretations are not necessarily *intentional* on the part of the meme's creator, but they are plausible readings that emerge from the image’s content and context. **Note:** A Marxist analysis or Queer Feminist Intersectional analysis isn't as readily applicable here. While one could stretch to find connections to broader themes of power dynamics or the disruption of normative categories, those readings wouldn't be particularly strong or central to the meme's meaning.
tesseract-ocr
What scientists thought of dinosaurs in the 80’s-90’s: ae oh aa a. Se é be NG Eo) Ne ey j Monee , ( ory ed Sf Sa i 6 Oe Pe cae What scientists think of dinosaurs now: a. a sot. fs Os Pa] ; & Ry WoT DoOoiN?...2*
llama3.2-vision
This meme is a humorous comparison between the public's perception of dinosaurs in the 1980s and how scientists now understand them. The top image depicts a scene from the 1984 movie "The Lost World" with a dinosaur attacking a car, and the text above it reads "What scientists thought of dinosaurs in the 80's". The bottom image shows a scientist in a similar situation, but with a massive, cartoonish, and absurdly oversized dinosaur, and the text above it reads "What scientists think of dinosaurs now". The meme pokes fun at how our understanding of dinosaurs has changed over time.