INTERNET MEMES AS DECONSTRUCTIONS OF MYTHS: A PRAGMA-SEMIOTIC APPROACH

Abstract

This study argues that memes, though considered ‘unserious’, may lead to social and political reformation since they potentially express dissent against societal ills. The study utilises Mey’s (2001) Pragmatic Acts to evince how memes are used to express varied reactions and receptions to pressing social and political issues in Nigeria. It explores thirty internet memes by categorising the nature of communication in them, analysing their communicative functions, and discussing the deconstruction of dominant societal beliefs and myths in them. The study contends that internet memes represent a new kind of comment culture and play a significant role in contemporary societal reformation and restructuring.