TREND-MEMES AS AN ACTUAL FORMAT OF INTERNET PROTEST COMMUNICATION IN RUSSIA

Abstract

The article presents results of a comprehensive study of the functioning of meme-trends in political Internet communication in Russia in 2019-2022. Trending memes are characterized by popularity, recognition, completed decontextualization and formed generalized meaning, series of variations as a result of new recontextualizations of the original meme. The source of the material is the memotheque “Memepedia” with a separate collection of trending memes. The characteristics of the memes targeting are presented and universal, situational and narrow-target memes are identified. The types of relationships between the verbal and visual components of memes (consonance-complementarity, consonance-duplication and dissonance) are established. Features of functioning of the precedent phenomenon in internet-memes and the field structure of memes are described. Frequency genre varieties of meme-trends on political topics are determined, which include advises, image macros and parodies. Relevant means of creation of comic effect in meme-trends functioning in the political sphere are shown.