![Wikipedia meme vector version](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Wikipedia_meme_vector_version.svg)
An image macro is a piece of digital media featuring a picture, or artwork, with some form of text superimposed. The text frequently appears at the top and bottom of the
image. Image macros are one of the most common forms of
internet memes, and often feature a witty message or catchphrase, although not all image macros are necessarily humorous.
LOLcats, which are images of expressive cats coupled with texts, are considered to be the first notable occurrence of image macros. Advice animal image macros, also referred to as stock-character macros, are also highly associated with the image macro template.
Etymology and use
The term "image macro" originated on the
Something Awful
''Something Awful'' (SA) is an American comedy website hosting content including blog entries, Internet forum, forums, feature articles, digitally edited pictures, and humorous media reviews. It was created by Richard Kyanka, Richard "Lowtax" K ...
forums.
The name derived from the fact that the "macros" were a short bit of text a user could enter that the forum software would automatically parse and expand into the code for a pre-defined image.
This, in turn, related to the computer science concept of a
macroinstruction; "a rule or pattern that specifies how a certain input sequence (often a sequence of characters) should be mapped to an output sequence (also often a sequence of characters) according to a defined procedure".
Beginning in 2007,
lolcats and similar image macros (a form of
internet phenomenon
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
) spread beyond the initial communities who created them and became widely popular.
Formats
![Newer image macro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Newer_image_macro.png)
Although they come in many forms, the most common type of image macros consists of:
# Text, typically a large text in the
Impact
Impact may refer to:
* Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period
* Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US
Science and technology
* Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event
* Impac ...
font, centered at the top and bottom of the image, using all upper-case letters. White text with a black border is typically used because it is easily readable on almost any background color. Typically, the text at the top is only for introduction and the text at the bottom is the main message. Exaggerated, intentional spelling errors are also used frequently for humorous effect.
# An image to be placed behind the text. These are typically drawn from a specific set of images that are understood by many Internet users, such as
Bad Luck Brian
Kyle Craven (born August 10, 1989), commonly known by his Internet nickname "Bad Luck Brian", is an American Internet celebrity known for his ubiquitous photo posted on Reddit in 2012, which quickly became a popular Internet meme. Bad Luck Br ...
. However, by using the aforementioned typographic style, any image can take on the context or aesthetic of an image macro.
Examples
![O RLY](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/O_RLY.jpg)
Cats and other animals in general have been a popular choice for images with humorous captions since the mid 2000s.
Some common animal-related image macros include
lolcats,
every time you masturbate... God kills a kitten,
O RLY?
O RLY? is an Internet phenomenon, typically presented as an image macro featuring a snowy owl. The phrase "O RLY?", an abbreviated form of "Oh, really?", is popularly used in Internet forums in a sarcastic manner, often in response to an obviou ...
,
Doge
A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics".
Etymology
The ...
and
Grumpy Cat
Tardar Sauce (April 4, 2012 – May 14, 2019), nicknamed Grumpy Cat, was an American Internet celebrity cat. She was known for her permanently "grumpy" facial appearance, which was caused by an underbite and feline dwarfism. She came to promi ...
.
O RLY is often used on the internet as an abbreviation for the phrase "Oh, really?" Originally started with a
snowy owl
The snowy owl (''Bubo scandiacus''), also known as the polar owl, the white owl and the Arctic owl, is a large, white owl of the true owl family. Snowy owls are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding m ...
photograph (which is the classic O RLY image macro), it spread out over the Web quickly and was followed by other macros that convey a wide range of emotions.
Another style of image macro that has amassed its own separate subculture is the "
lolcat", an image combining a photograph of a cat with text intended to contribute humour. The text is often idiosyncratic and grammatically incorrect, and its use in this way is known as "lolspeak". Many times, the image is told from the point of view of the animal.
"Rage faces" from
rage comics are used to humorously depict an everyday or exaggerated situation or reaction. Although Rage Comics in themselves are not image macros, images of specific rage faces are taken and put into image macro format and used in conjunction to their implied emotion or context.
Another popular type of image macro includes a picture of a certain person or figure drawn from various sources in front of a colored background, known as "advice animals". These "characters" often share the same image, but different internet users can choose different humorous captions.
These characters can include "
Bad Luck Brian
Kyle Craven (born August 10, 1989), commonly known by his Internet nickname "Bad Luck Brian", is an American Internet celebrity known for his ubiquitous photo posted on Reddit in 2012, which quickly became a popular Internet meme. Bad Luck Br ...
", "
Success Kid", and "
Scumbag Steve Blake Boston, commonly known as Scumbag Steve, is the subject of an Internet meme that became popular in 2011. It originated with a 2006 picture taken by Boston's mother, Susan, of then-16-year-old Blake Boston of Millis, Massachusetts
Millis is ...
", among others. Bad Luck Brian image captions are used for unfortunate situations, Success Kid image captions depict an everyday situation involving good luck, and Scumbag Steve captions describe an unfriendly action taken by somebody.
Websites such as
Know Your Meme
''Know Your Meme'' (''KYM'') is a website and video series which uses wiki software to document various Internet memes and other online phenomena, such as viral videos, image macros, catchphrases, Internet celebrities and more. It also inves ...
document image macros such as Bad Luck Brian that have become popular enough to become
internet memes, covering such topics as their original intended meaning, spread and popularity (as measured by Google search interest over time).
Another common trend in image macros is using specific scenes from television or movies such as
One does not simply walk into Mordor
Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of ''The Lord of the Rings'' (''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ''The Two Towers''), and is mentioned in the last volume, ''The Return of ...
from
''Lord of the Rings'' and 'Not Sure If-' from ''
Futurama'' that uses a screen image of the character Fry looking unsure with his eyes squinted.
See also
*
Motivational poster
A motivational poster, or inspirational poster, is a type of poster commonly designed for use in schools and offices.
Intent
The intent of motivational posters is to make people achieve more, or to think differently about the things that they m ...
*
Rage comic
A rage comic is a short cartoon strip using a growing set of pre-made cartoon faces, or rage faces, which usually express rage or some other simple emotion or activity. They are usually crudely drawn in Microsoft Paint or other simple drawing prog ...
*
Internet meme
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Image Macro
Internet forum terminology
Internet culture
Internet memes
2000s neologisms