Shitposting the Spectacle

Shitposting the Spectacle is a podcast all about memes, whether it's "This is Fine" or Richard Dawkins’s definition that calls it a “unit of cultural transmission"—or, as we see it, both. Each episode, Rock and Colin analyze memes using different theories and concepts to deconstruct both the images themselves and their function in society.

Deep Fried Memes at the End of History 10/10/2020

Deep Fried Memes at the End of History With the fall of the Berlin Wall, Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history, but for memes, this was only the beginning. This episode explores how the advanced capitalism of Fukuyama’s “end” invokes memes where existence itself is a crisis and people like Elon Musk and Donald Trump are revived as Napoleon, all while political activists continue to subvert old memetic traditions. **Warning** This episode covers the topics of suicide and suicide ideation. /episode/index/show/shitpostingpodcast/id/16351214

STS004: The Meme Is Dead, Long Live the Meme! 05/06/2020

STS004: The Meme Is Dead, Long Live the Meme! Crisis—a catalyst of change in society, thus also in memes. In this episode of STS, Colin and Rock expand on this point from last episode. This continuation focuses on how the responses to world war (Bernays’s public relations, advertising, Dada, and the Situationists) arose to challenge the supremacy and relevance of meme as power in the modern western memecosystem. /episode/index/show/shitpostingpodcast/id/14307557

STS003: God Save the Meme 08/30/2019

STS003: God Save the Meme God save the Queen, or better yet, God save the Meme. In this episode of STS, Colin and Rock step back from the present’s commercialized memes into the memes of European political powers from the Medieval to the modern. Tracing the Sistine Chapel to Napoleon Crossing the Alps demonstrates that the birth of political power, and its ability to hold onto power in moments of crisis, relies on memes. /episode/index/show/shitpostingpodcast/id/11063366

STS002: The Memecosystem 06/14/2019

STS002: The Memecosystem Distracted Boyfriend, Viacom, Facebook, and Suffragettes smoking Lucky Strike: connecting them all is the meme ecosystem, or memecosystem. In this episode of STS, Colin and Rock explore the idea of memes as a medium of commercial, cultural, and political exchange. /episode/index/show/shitpostingpodcast/id/10147693

Four Pillars of Meme Analysis 04/04/2019

Four Pillars of Meme Analysis What are memes? How can we dissect the meaning and function of memes in society? These are the foundational questions Colin and Rock attempt to answer on this premiere episode of Shitposting the Spectacle. They introduce four lenses they will be using to deconstruct memes: memetics (Dawkins), genealogy (Foucault, Nietzsche), semiotics (Barthes), and the spectacle (Debord). Complete with a breakdown of the hallmark This is Fine meme, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in STS. /episode/index/show/shitpostingpodcast/id/9200792

Shitposting the Spectacle

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