MEMES AS MICRO-NARRATIVES: CODE-SWITCHING, EMOTIONAL RESONANCE, AND THE DEFAMILIARIZATION OF REALITY

Abstract

Memes are the best way to talk to each other in the digital age. They are short stories that use a few words and pictures to explain complex social and cultural ideas. Memes are often seen as funny, but they are actually short stories that look into identity, behaviour, and how people express their feelings in online social settings. This paper examines memes as culturally nuanced communicative phenomena through the theoretical lenses of Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Jean Baudrillard, Russian Formalist concepts of defamiliarization, and posthuman theory. The research asserts that memes operate through precise code-switching, behavioural amplification, and emotionally impactful narratives, facilitating a transition from singular organic realities to complex interpretive coexistence. Memes alter perceptions of social issues and transform contemporary storytelling by rendering mundane events peculiar.