PAB #2

PAB #2

The article, “The Riot Kiss: Framing Memes as Visual Argument” written by Leslie A. Hahner, published in the American Forensic Association analyzes the infamous riot kiss photograph taken by Rich Lam after game seven of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Vancouver. What is mainly being claimed is the subsequent life of this photo as a visual internet meme. The overall argument being acclaimed here is the exploration of this riot kiss photograph and how its clever appropriations engage this new understanding of memes and general frames. The author briefly illuminates how the insights of framing analysis and, “accounts of controversy provide a productive avenue to pursue the multiplicity of arguments created about the riot kiss photograph” (pg. 3). Most importantly, Hahner explains how the particular circulation of memes desires scholars to broaden the scope of frame analysis as it relates to the mode of visual argumentation.

           

The claims made by this article are able to show me the breaking down of an image when it becomes an internet meme and how it’s visualized in sparking a specific argument regarding whether the picture is valid or not. The image captured a couple on the street sharing their physical love with a kiss while on the ground during a riot. Many people, mainly photographic experts, made comments such as the photo being ‘fake’ and ‘photo shopped’. Other experts said that the photo indeed was genuine and that the attention it gained after being seen as a meme made the speculation of doubts among its credibility. Anderson H. mentions, “We live our narratives and our narratives become our living.” (216) to further incorporate this quote with the riot kiss photographic meme, a narrative is being expressed through the visuals. Not only does the couple compose the visual, but the surrounding police officers and mayhem make up the actual story of what’s actually happening. In relevance to my inquiry, the knowledge of knowing how memes truly become ‘memes’ and how in this case a frame analysis is able to break down a visual brings up a question in which I am hoping to answer. How does a frame analysis on an image influence the self-identity of that image, in this case a meme? 

Hahner, Leslie A. "The riot kiss: framing memes as visual argument." Argumentation and Advocacy, vol. 49, no. 3, 2013, p. 151+. General OneFile 

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Anderson, H. (1997). Self: Narrative, Identity, and Agency. Anderson's Conversations, Language and Possibilities. New York: Basic Books, 1997. 211-234. Print. PDF.