What’s Really Driving the Memeing of the Johnny Depp–Amber Heard Trial?

There’s a reason why it’s difficult to describe a meme out loud: Any given unit of these digital artifacts, composed of words and pictures in varying grades of conventional aesthetic value, is almost always so heavily enshrined with niche context and references that it resists verbal translation. Whether said meme is circulated in service of, say, a political ideology, a hit Netflix show, or the lifestyle of a particular subset of skin-care bros, the specificity is the point. Like a face, it either provokes recognition or not; like an inside joke, or a pass code given at the door, it… Read Full Article