One Crazy Meme

July 19

If you could track the Inconvenient Truth meme, to follow the idea wherever it went as it passed from Al Gore to Davis Guggenheim to film, then to newspapers and advertisements, to moviegoers who passed it on through email & the web, telephone, casual lunch meetings and of course steamy bedroom conversation, it would be fascinating, and fantastic to behold. You might notice two interesting things – aside from the inevitable brilliant surprise that you had spontaneously become omniscient:

1. It has spread from the coasts inward.
2. It is passed on with such fervor, re-flares of the meme are not uncommon, and seem to happen in spite of the meme itself.

Have a look at the sharethetruth map of inspiration for a rudimentary but accurate, microcosmic illustration of the movie's reach. Of particular note, those dots in Wisconsin, Missouri, Mississippi, Colorado, and most of Texas? They sprouted during the last week alone. While people much smarter than I have eloquently doubted whether Al Gore is correct to hope that political will is a sufficiently renewable resource, their outlook might be improved by considering how this movie spreads and even changes minds.


The feedback loops of ocean currents.
Are the Caribbean pirates spinning around in there?

Re-flares of the meme are impressive too, sparking large amounts of wildly disproportionate interest in An Inconvenient Truth. When re-flares occur, they create feedback loops wherein people become so active in participating, their contribution becomes vast and ongoing, far greater than that which they received. In the case of sharethetruth, when people write in with commendations, or simply that they're now going to watch the film, it keeps this hub of activity well-oiled, making clear that the system is working.1 Visitors here, or to other Inconvenient Truth ticket giveaway sites, or to the gopher-popping abundance of local free screenings, such as the 105 theater seats offered today in Pensacola, can then absorb not only the film's message, but also the meme's meta-message: people are seriously gung-ho (and possibly insane).

What's so special, you ask? Memes frequently spread like wildfire. However, there's a large difference between the way this one spreads and the way a funny video about diet coke and mentos does. This one must overcome resistance, every minute of each day. And yet it reaches people who decided beforehand that they didn't need to be reached.2 How's that for a meme?

Comment https://sharethetruth.us/articles/crazymeme Top ↑

Footnotes

  1. To not be able to see it working would make everything far more difficult. How tragic is it that humans almost always dwell on immediate returns rather than broad, long-term understanding. That seems precisely the whole problem in the first place, but what can you do?

    Return to article

  2. Enter Mademoiselle Free Ticket, who surely has some way of helping out!

    Return to article