Lockdown and Internet Memes: A Creative Tool to Present Popular Culture of India

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the role of the popular culture of India and its impact on internet memes during the lockdown of COVID-19. India has the oldest civilization and the important elements of the country are Languages, Religious Rituals, Beliefs, Values, different Cultures, and traditions are here socially independent so, there is a strong connection of unity in diversity. Indian contemporary culture and its reflection we can see in various forms like Bollywood Films, Music, and in Cricket also. The Internet is the essence of the fast-moving lifestyle, in the twenty-first century. The Internet now has become overpower the television and radio in today’s globalized world. An Internet meme are in the trend, in the pandemic condition of the COVID-19. The lockdown is announced by the government and the demand of the lockdown is to stay at home and maintain social distancing in public space. People reacted to this situation through Virtual media of communication like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Internet memes are commonly used to reacts situation which from the popular culture of India. The various example of this paper will more focus on the Internet Meme and Popular culture of India.

Introduction

The Internet has emerged as a prominent medium of communication in the era of information and technology. The changes in the mode of communication have brought significant and historic changes to society. The Internet creates a new virtual social environment, which also links directly to the private space of the home to the wider world. There are various social media platform allow us to react to the situation it is the charm of the new media. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic condition government announced the lockdown in India. This Lockdown upset the most of us day to day schedule, it’s compulsory free time to spend with family and to work from home. During the lockdown, the people are inquisitive eager to know the update regarding pandemic conditions, various data/ instructions, and the new guidelines from the government and other information related to COVID 19. People are sharing their experience on the lockdown through Jokes, Videos and Internet Memes and the Indian popular culture is gives the verity of the idea and a visual image for a meme. “The term “meme” was introduced by the biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. As part of his larger effort to apply evolutionary theory to cultural change, Dawkins defined memes as small cultural units of transmission, analogous to genes, that spread from person to person by copying or imitation.”[1] “Popular culture is also influenced by professional entities that provide the public with information. These sources include the news media, scientific and scholarly publications, and ‘expert’ opinion from people considered an authority in their field. For example, a news station reporting on a specific topic, say the effects of playing violent video games, will seek a noted psychologist or sociologist who has published in this area. This strategy is a useful way of influencing the public and may shape their collective opinions on a particular subject. At the very least, it provides a starting point for public discourse and differing opinions. News stations often allow viewers to call or email in their opinions, which may be shared with the public.”[2]

Routine life during the lockdown in India

“On 24 March 2020, the Government of India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ordered a strict nationwide lockdown for 21 days. This limited the movement of an entire nation consisting of a population of 1.3 billion people. Phase 1 of the lockdown ran from 25 March-14 April 2020; Phase 2 from 15 April-3 May, while Phase 3 began on 4 May and is scheduled to end on 17 May - all being well.”[3] Lockdown has pushed into a fixed lifelike Eat, sleep and watch television, it’s like schedule of the day, during the lockdown people are standing in the queue with social distance to purchase the grocery and the essential product from the locker shopkeepers and the departmental store. It’s suddenly a break time for those who are not engaged with emergency service and worked from the home. It’s time to rediscovering the connections with friends and family members. People have engaged them with the various activities preparing the different type of recipes and the uploaded the posted on social media. Online classes are for the students is the different experience has been overwhelming and exhausting. Covid-19 pandemic people focus on the safety measure and the focus on the how-to boos the immunity and spared through the various social media platforms. The fact that people are at home and have lost that personal connection with the outside world has broken many links. During the lockdown celebrities and film stars are also sharing their experience of life during the lockdown.

Internet Meme and Popular Culture of India

“Popular culture (also called mass culture and pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of the practices, beliefs, and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of interaction with these dominant objects. Heavily influenced in modern times by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the everyday lives of people in a given society.”[4] “Examples of popular culture come from a wide array of genres, including popular music, print, cyber culture, sports, entertainment, leisure, fads, advertising and television. Sports and television are arguably two of the most widely consumed examples of popular culture, and they also represent two examples of popular culture with great staying power.”[2] While the memes became an important part of the popular culture its evolution began when social media networks opened the way for user-generated content on the internet. Users can post creative images and posts with messages. There are various groups that are creating and post on various platforms. The picture of Alia Bhatt from the Bollywood film “Raazi” the image which is used for two different memes (1) “Mujhe exam nahi dena hai” meme is posted by “Simran Sing” Following the announcement, #unlockone started trending on social media about the new guidelines. (2) “Mujhe ghar jaana hai” the same picture of Alia Bhatt compose with Sonu Sood in the different context “Arey abhi pohucha deta hoon” this meme is posted in the context of - the people especially the laborers who were working far from their home towns and who want to go home during the lockdown, Bollywood actor Sonu Sood he firm to send these laborers home by providing them transportation.

Sports are played and watched by an associate of all social classes, some sporting events, such as the World Cup and the Olympics, are consumed by a world community. There are various games are played in Indian but cricket has its own charm. There are various memes are based on Indian cricket and Indian cricket players. There are several films are also on the cricket-like Lagaan, Iqbal, Ms. Dhoni, India is recognized as the new home of cricket while cricket is not a national sport.

Many people watch numerous hours of television every day. It is such a prevalent aspect of contemporary culture it is difficult to imagine life without it. The TV series affect a lot to the Housewife and society. “Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashma is, without doubt, one of the most-watched shows on Indian television. It completed more than a thousand episodes and has fans across the globe. The show is only loved because of its sense of humor and various twists.”[5] “According to the report, approximately 5.1 crore viewers came together to watch 'Ramayan' on its first day. The show airs on DD National on two time slots - 9 am to 10 am, and 9 pm to 10 pm.”[6]

Bollywood is one of the leading cinema hubs in the world; the Indian film industry is renowned for its glamour, dialogue, actors, actresses, and drama. Bollywood covers a large area of emotions love, enthusiasm, sadness. A large number of Bollywood film actors fan following are in India and abroad. Memes that are based on the Bollywood are now in the trend, which does not only reflect the popular culture of Indian but also connects all classes of society.

Conclusion

This lockdown brings the lofts of changes and new reforms for the citizens of India. During the lockdown lifestyle of the all class of society change, everyone has their own unique experience on this lockdown, in the era of the Internet it is very easy to express your experience by the share of Joke, Text Messages Videos and the Meme. The images are used in the meme are the part of the popular culture of India, India is famous for its culture from ancient times, the culture and traditions are reflected in the literature, Poems, Mythological Documents, Architect, and in our day to day lifestyle. The visual culture of Indian is providing inspiration to the Poet, Artist, and New Stories for the film industry / TV serials and visual culture connect with traditions. Urbanization is a key ingredient in the formation of popular culture, the meme can also be illustrated as an expression and which carry the emoticons. It’s not only Image or text it presenting the idea through expressions. Internet memes are on the popular culture of the Indian which reflects the culture of India.

Citation

1. Shifman, L., 2015. Memes In Digital Culture. Boca Raton: CRC Press (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series), p.9.
2. Delaney, T., 2020. Pop Culture: An Overview | Issue 64 | Philosophy Now. [online] Philosophynow.org. Available at: [Accessed 5 August 2020].1
3. Srinivasa, K., 2020. View From India: Lockdown Life. [online] Eandt.theiet.org. Available at: [Accessed 6 August 2020].
4. En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Popular Culture. [online] Available at: [Accessed 4 August 2020].
5. IWMBuzz. 2020. Here’S Why Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah Is The Longest Running Comedy Show | Iwmbuzz. [online] Available at: [Accessed 6 August 2020].
6. Irani, S., 2020. 'Ramayan' Is India's Most Watched TV Show During Lockdown: Report. [online] DNA India. Available at: [Accessed 8 August 2020].

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Nimesh Shah, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Applied Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, The M. S. University of Baroda. 9824333265 e9824333265@gmail.com