Memes from the mercenaries

Photo: Moja Loss

Mames have evolved from being pictorial jokes to actually becoming a sophisticated tool used for political satire. This evolution is most observed on social media, where a meme cuts to the sensitive of all chases without a single layer of a sugar-coat and manages to offend no one whatsoever. It's a meme and it's an acceptable form of communicating the most offensive and controversial of all ideas. A meme is Muhammad Ali in his prime; outspoken, in your face yet oddly charming.

Two pioneers of such satirical meme from Bangladesh are Moja Loss and Thikase Bhaa, with the former having transcended from being a mere Facebook page to being engaged in activism. Moja Loss emphasises a lot on the use of memes while Thikase Bhaa conveys its messages, eloquently so, using status updates. Starting from bashing on the ambulance-chasing NGOs to summing up people's numerous frustrations, both these pages have been active in making statements.

Disguised in the sheer fabric of humour, the memes echo unspoken sentiments of the masses, albeit with stronger use of language. At times they reach the heart of the matter but they too can be a little controversial. However, generating a reaction, any reaction, is the mark of hitting the nail on the head. That's what these Facebook pages do, using an innocuous medium as a meme. Far from garnering idle glances and likes, these memes actually help spread a message and incite actions among the social media users. Using the oldest form of activism, that of using humour, and packaging it to succinctly sum up the message and adding attractive visuals, memes are the latest method of making your statements go viral.

With more than 150,000 likes between the two pages mentioned, their popularity isn't doubted. Tongue in cheek as they may be, the memes they create are admired, liked, shared and talked about. Effortlessly pulling no punches yet leaving bruises, the memes' favourite targets are also Bangladeshi celebrities like Ananta Jalil and Shakib Khan, but they also move towards other sensitive issues like Rana Plaza and Mahasen. What is mostly observed is that these pages are now a medium for voicing frustrations in the loudest and most visible manner. It really is a matter of taking the words right out of your mouth, lending it a sarcastic tone and then using just about enough profanity to draw attention. Of course, with any unsupervised tool, there may be instances of getting diverted from the point. This can't be the case here, because the two pages don't really have a point which they want to prove.

The social media revolution is seen as the next age of civilisation. Thankfully, those who pull the strings have enough humour, self-deprecating too, to make us laugh a little at ourselves and our problems. Bordering on defamation, memes still manage to lend credence to incidents that we should be wary of. And it isn't preaching; it's calling a spade a spade, whether one likes it or not. Of course that kind of attitude, without political correctness and diplomacy is what separates a revolutionary from a mercenary; however, lest we forget, mercenaries are merely seeds of a revolution waiting to happen.