Lately, there has been much speculation circling around Bruce
Jenner and his recent decision to have a sex change therefore transitioning
into a woman. I've found one meme out of many in which pokes fun Bruce Jenner’s
sexual transitioning situation of and a recent deadly car crash in which the
past Olympic gold medalist was involved in. Here shown in the meme at the bottom right, is a picture of Jenner and the caption saying, “It wasn’t my fault my truck has
tranny issues.”
.jpg)
For those of you who may not know, the
term "tranny" can be used
for short for the word "transmission"
which is an automotive part to a vehicle. You can also use the term "tranny" as short for the word
"transsexual" which is used
to describe someone who acts and identifies with the opposite sex. Several
weeks after the media had always been making speculations about Jenner’s up and
coming sex change, he was involved in a car accident. Jenner is being investigated
as being the one who caused the accident which killed one person and injured
multiple others. This awful car wreck immediately led people without any
hesitation to make jokes about his sexual identity including one in which mentions
that ever since he became a woman, he now drives like one.
Within this meme, people are making fun of
the fact that now that Bruce Jenner is transitioning into a woman. People are
poking fun at that it had something to do with his car transmission while
jokingly (or not) at the fact that he is a transsexual. A person can take this
meme one of two ways depending on how they want to look at it. They can take
this meme as thinking it is actually talking Bruce Jenner’s automotive
transmission and that’s the blame for the car crash. Or they can take this meme
and think of it as making a joke about Bruce Jenner’s sex change and understand
it is a joke about the car accident.
I think most younger people may not know the meaning behind the
term "tranny" therefore that specific audience may not understand the
joke very well. Also, young people may not even know who Bruce Jenner is which
therefore they don't really care to understand the meaning behind this meme. I
think an older more mature audience is more likely to understand the humor
within this specific meme. People in their late teens up to those even older
than Jenner himself would likely understand the humor behind this meme if they
are aware of his current sexual situation.
An adult audience is probably the
most effective audience for understanding this meme due to its mature content.
Many older adults don't exactly pay attention to everything the media says
therefore they may not even know about Jenner's sexual transition but they more
than likely know that he is an Olympic gold medalist. Finding out about this
issue and the joke behind it would probably shock them. I would say that
younger adults are probably the most effective because they are more intact
with the media, social media, and the memes that circulate around such
situations.
Rather than concentrating on one picture with one caption, you should consider expanding your examination beyond this to include more memes involving Bruce Jenner. His transformation has become de rigueur for tabloids; even involving more legitimate media personality Diane Sawyer instead of another E! personality. The fact that this person has now apparently been involved in a reckless death really turns the type of attention around dramatically. It seems likely that Bruce had hoped to become an icon for the transgendered, but the accident severely damages his reputation. I'm not sure most would associate Jenner with "bravery" now, given the investigation.
ReplyDeleteThis individual has, much more than most, shown himself publicly in many diverse ways - all of them very much in the public eye, and until recently, very successful. It is certainly true that younger people, more attuned to the culture of reality TV, would be more familiar with Jenner. The Kardashians, however, transcend reality TV - they are ubiquitous; they take aim at every demographic. Remember that your job is to unpack the elements in the message, not determine whether or not the way his image is used is fair, or respectful, to Bruce.
Take your time and consider a few memes involving Jenner. What commonalities might you find in what his image now seems to mean? Don't assume that the ridicule is somehow rooted in a disrespect for the transgendered generally; these are directed at Jenner specifically - and remember that biting satire is an important part of freedom of speech.
Keep working!