Loquen: English Studies Journal
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.32678/loquen.v14i01
Available online
http://jurnal.uinbanten.ac.id/index.php/loquen/index
48
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
Yosi Destira
1
, Didin Nuruddin Hidayat
2
*, Alek
3
,
Agus Sufyan
4
1,2,3,4
Department of English Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences
Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, Indonesia
Jl. Ir. H. Juanda No. 95 Jakarta 15412
Submission Track:
Received: September 20, 2020
Final Revision: June 17, 2021
Available Online: June 22, 2021
Keywords:
Critical Discourse Analysis, English,
Instagram, Internet, Memes
*Corresponding Author:
Copyright@2021 (author/s)
Abstract: In the modern era, human has many ways to communicate,
interact, and spread the idea. With the advancement of digital
technologies, various media convey messages, one of which is
through internet memes. The present study aims to investigate
memes on Instagram through the lense of Critical Discourse
Analysis. The objectives are to find out (1) the similarities and
differences between Indonesian students and foreign students, (2) to
analyze the relationship between pictures and text, and (3) to know
the social function of memes. To seek answers, the researchers chose
the ten best memes randomly from two Instagram accounts: Best
Memes and Zona Mahasiswa”. Furthermore, the memes have been
taken randomly. The study revealed no significant evidence of
differences in education culture between Indonesia's and other
countries’ memes. The results also indicated that the memes were
able to serve as a means to communicate people’s activities to the
readers. Further, the memes could be a compliment in
communication and serve as a medium for internet literacy
development.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
INTRODUCTION
Social media has an extensive
connection that territorial borders cannot
limit. It connects people from various
parts of the world. Thus, the information
access is unlimited; it may include
information banned in the mainstream
media like televisions or newspapers.
Besides, people are free to write or share
their thoughts, feelings or expose their
daily routine on it. That makes social
media-rich information with various
perspectives. Al-Sharqi et al. (2015)
asserted that social media is becoming
part of our society, changing social
norms and culture. It means that social
media brings a significant number of
influences worldwide. One of the
contents on social media is a meme.
There are many themes on
memes created by the creators. One of
them is education memes. The creators
have made them share a joke, make
funny things, or provoke people. People
can find memes on the internet through
google pictures, Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram. Instagram is one of the
applications popular recently from the
young generation to the old generation.
To investigate the meaning of the
memes, the researchers conduct this
study with the following research
questions: are there any similarities
between Indonesian students and foreign
students through the ten memes? What is
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
Yosi Destira, Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, Alek, Agus Sufyan
49
the purpose of the ten memes? What is
the deep meaning of those memes?. To
seek the answer, the researchers
employed a critical discourse analysis.
Discourse is a form of written
or oral text or visual description that
unites the whole. Discourse Analysis
(DA) itself is a theory and method
(Rogers, 2004). Discourse analysis can
be defined as "above the sentence or
outside the sentence". That means DA is
about sentence structure and the
meaning and power behind the sentence.
In a similar vein, Wodak and Meyer
(2001) stated that the discourse focuses
not only on the text, oral, or written. As
a field of inquiry full of 'critical'
discourse requires theorization and
description of the social processes and
structures that publish the production of
a text, and about social structures and
processes in which groups or
individuals, as subjects of social history,
create meaning in their interactions with
the text.
In the present study, the
researchers employed CDA concerning
critical theories of the social world of
education, language relations and
discourse in constructing and
representing this social world, and
methodologies that enable them to
describe, interpret, and explain the
relationship (Rogers, 2004). Fairclough
and Wodak (1997, cited in Rogers,
2004)) offer eight basic principles of
analysis of discourse. These principles
are a beneficial starting point for
researchers who are interested in doing
CDA. The principles are: CDA discusses
social issues, power relations are
discursive, discourse is society and
culture, discourse does ideological work,
historical discourse, the socio-cognitive
approach is needed to understand how
the relationship between society and text
is mediated, discourse analysis is
interpretive and clear and use systematic
methodology, and CDA is a socially
committed scientific paradigm. On the
other hand, CDA also has several
approaches stated by Schiffrin (1994).
These principles are the speech act
approach, variations in approach,
communication ethnography,
interactional sociolinguistics, pragmatic
approach, conversation analysis, and
systemic functional linguistics (SFL). In
this study, researchers used a pragmatic
approach used to analyze memes.
Pragmatic is the study of meaning in
context. Besides, Griffiths (2006) states
that pragmatics relates to the use of tools
in meaningful communication. This is
about the interaction of semantic
knowledge with our knowledge of the
world, considering the context of use.
Levinson (1983) concluded pragmatic as
a study of language use.
Furthermore, memes are a part of
the humor in the digital world, and it is
an exciting phenomenon. Memes have a
simple way to deliver simple language,
funny illustrations, emoticons, and some
other visualization. Furthermore, behind
its simplicity, memes have the power as
a propaganda tool to unite and also to
disperse some religions, races, and
ethnic groups. Nowadays, in Indonesia,
the viral meme can influence the
netizens to side in a particular issue. The
origin of memes is associated with the
fundamental theory of self-replicating
unit of cultural transmission, which
deals with imitation (Chandler, 2012).
On the other hand, internet users
think it refers to the sequence of images
and phrases produced to criticize or
make funny jokes about social
phenomena. Dawkins (2006) stated that
a meme is a form of lifestyle, belief,
behavior, fashion. It is adopted and
propagated to be shared from individuals
to others in social culture over social
interaction by using media like images
and writings.
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
Yosi Destira, Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, Alek
50
Instagram has been developing
since 2010 (Becker, 2017). Instagram is
an application in many circles because
users can create, share, and upload
photos or videos, and can be linked to
other social media sites like Twitter and
Facebook. The sides copy Instagram is
one of the fastest-growing social media
applications of the current century. In
contrast, according to Marwick (2015),
Instagram presents a "convergence of
cultural forces": it means mania to
document something digitally.
Therefore, it can encourage users to
become individuals who like to show off
everything they own or produce. It is
consistent with Thumim's (2012)
statement that self-representation is
always part of our culture, from
museums to reality TV. In this edition,
images play an increasingly increasing
role in our visual communication and
constructing our identities (Rose, 2000).
Running with commercial marketing,
Instagram can lead users to edit and
filter every image they have using
various boomerang or snap grams. After
seven years of manufacture, it has
become good in popular culture (Becker,
2017).
Some previous research studies
have been conducted related to this
study. First, Kariko's (2013) study where
there are five memes as the object he
took randomly; as the specific one, he
made an image that contains humor
character and is based on the caption.
Furthermore, those memes are shared
anywhere on the internet from 4chan.org
or 9gag.com, and the other users are
even posted on social media like
Facebook. Besides, the difference
between this study and Kariko’s study is
that this study has found out the
similarities and differences among ten
memes from two accounts on Instagram.
Those are "best memes (foreign memes)
and Zona Mahasiswa (Indonesian
memes)." These memes about education
experience. While Kariko's (2013) study
limits the sample only to humor memes,
he took the internet sample like
4chan.org, 9gag.com, and Facebook.
The second related study is by Zubaidah
and Ardelia (2018). In their research, the
memes come from google pictures and
five memes only. The purpose of the
study is to expect and give an in-depth
explanation of those memes using
critical discourse analysis. After they
know the deep meaning of the five
memes themselves, they know the aim
of the five kinds of memes. While in this
study, the researchers have found the
similarities and differences among ten
memes from two accounts on Instagram:
best memes (foreign memes) and Zona
Mahasiswa (Indonesian memes). These
memes focus on ten educational
experiences.
METHOD
The researchers have conducted
this research using Critical Discourse
Analysis or CDA. As the first step, the
researchers found the ten memes, five
from the best memes account and five
more from the zona_mahasiswa account.
The ten memes focus on education
experiences among Indonesian students
and foreign students.
After finding the ten memes
randomly through both Instagram
accounts, the researchers answered the
research question by describing the
context of the memes. It was done by
finding out the meaning of the ten
memes by analyzing the picture and its
text. In the next step, the researchers
found the differences and similarities of
each meme. After that, the researchers
found the deep meaning, and in the last
step, the researchers revealed the
purpose behind the memes.
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
Yosi Destira, Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, Alek, Agus Sufyan
51
N
O
BEST MEMES
ACCOUNT(FOREIGN MEMES)
ZONA_MAHASISWA
ACCOUNT(INDONESIAN MEMES)
1
2
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
Yosi Destira, Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, Alek
52
3
4
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
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53
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Based on the analysis, the table
below presents the ten best education
memes from two Instagram accounts:
N
O
BEST
MEMES
ACCOUNT
(FOREIGN
MEMES)
ZONA_MAHASIS
WA ACCOUNT
(INDONESIAN
MEMES)
1
A. 1 In this
meme, there
are two
pictures. The
first picture
shows us how
to sit in a
good position
when we do
the task or
play on a
computer, but
in the second
picture, a cat
sits on a
chair, and the
cat's view is
relaxing. It
means both
B.1 The first and
second pictures are
the same picture.
The image reminds
us of the school
situation. The
researchers ever did
it at a time when
there was no teacher
in class. In that
position, people
should be careful as
if they lose focus,
fall, and be
dangerous for them.
of them to
show us the
expectation
and the
reality of
doing things.
2
A.2 There are
four pictures
on this part
that show us
the
expression of
a detected
cheating
student. In
the first
picture, the
cat holds a
pen and
paper.
Simultaneous
ly, the cat
looks at the
teacher. In
the second
picture, the
cat points to
the teacher
using his
enclosure
B.2 In this part,
there are six cats.
One is a smart
student, and the
other five cats a
cheater. The
sentences and
pictures on this part
are related to one
another. Without the
sentences, we
cannot suggest the
purpose of the
photograph. In
reality, sometimes
the smart student
wants to share
her/his answer, and
sometimes an
intelligent student
does not want to
share it.
5
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
Yosi Destira, Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, Alek
54
while at the
same time
holding his
paper. In the
third picture,
the cat looks
at the teacher
while holding
his pen and
paper. The
fourth
picture, the
cat, seems to
be a teacher
while
positioning
his pen on his
lip, and he
holds an
article.
3
A.3 This
meme shows
us about the
German
student's
activities in
the
classroom. A
student is
enthusiastic
to answer a
question from
his teacher,
but at the
same time,
two students
drink ice
chocolate,
and they do
not care for
class
activities.
B.3 This meme
describes
Indonesian student
habits who sit in the
backside and eat
some foods when
teaching and
learning. When a
teacher threatens,
the student is eating
food. So, we can see
a student's
expression through
the picture. It means
that the student
would be stopped in
eat the meals and
feel shy.
4
A.4 In this
meme, there
are four
pictures. It
consists of
B.4 This meme tells
us about the school
level of student
discipline to bring
school stuff. There
two men and
two women.
The photo
shows some
expressions
when they
know each
other about
their time to
sleep.
are four-level such
kindergarten,
elementary school,
junior school, and
senior high school.
From kindergarten
up to primary
school, the students
(boy and girl) have
complete stuffs. In
junior school, a girl
student is more
disciplined than a
boy because a girl
brings full things. In
senior high school,
girl students still
bring complete stuff
while the boy
student does not
bring anything.
5
A.5 This
meme uses a
picture of a
penguin. The
sentences
relate to
picture
expression.
The meaning
of that is that
the teacher
asks a student
to read
carefully.
Maybe the
student
commits a
mistake when
he/she
answers the
questions.
B.5 This meme
shows the reality in
the process of
examination.
Sometimes an
examiner will go
outside to answer a
call on their mobile
phone while the
students are happy
to cheat together.
In memes number one, a) it brings
people into the education domain. It
means those memes have four pictures,
and all of them are in different positions
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55
in sitting. b) the chair is a thing to make
people relax to do the task or type
something on the computer. Imagine if, in
this world, there is no chair, how people
can do their assignments in a standing
position. People will feel tired and will
find difficulties, and also it will take a
long time to finish. However, based on
meme B.1, the chair is not appropriately
used. It means that it shows reality.
Sometimes the chair becomes a bed for
sleeping and becomes a toy, such as in
memes in number one above. c) it is to
entertain and remind people of reality in a
class where the chair is not appropriately
used.
In memes number two, a) the
memes encourage us to a flashback of the
examination process and use a similar
picture. Then both memes use different
languages. Meme A.2 use English while
meme B.2 use the Indonesian language. b)
the teachers have realized so many
strategies done by the students in a test.
The students will use a plan to get the best
answer. There are honest students but also
dishonest students. For the honest one, the
student does the test by their own effort.
However, they do not care to answer the
key (it is correct or not). They do not
think it much; they think, "I can do the
test." c) tell us how the students do the
test. On the other hand, they will give
many expressions when the teacher
knows what they have done. They will
become awkward, and not all smart
students are stingy.
In memes, number three, a) those
memes talk about two cultures in different
countries, such as Germany and
Indonesia. b) according to meme A.3 and
meme B.3, in Germany, the students do
not care about their friend and their
teacher; they feel relax with their
drinking, and maybe the teacher is not
worried about that. Nonetheless, the
culture in Indonesia is different. The
students will stop eating their food and
beverage if there is a teacher in the class.
It means that they will feel unhappy and
worry if the teacher does not allow them
to eat and drink. c) to persuade the reader
to believe that every country has a
different culture.
In meme number four, a) meme
A.4, there are four people pictures, meme
B.4, there are six pictures, and also both
memes have a different topic, and even on
those memes using a sequence of time. b)
Where in the first meme, tell about time
for sleep start from nine hours of sleep
until no sleep at all while in the other
meme, tell about the sequence of time to
bring school stuff to school. Of course, it
can occur because the man is simple,
while the girl is complicated. c) to
explain to the reader if everything has a
sequence of time.
In meme number five, in these
memes, there are significantly similar and
different memes. a) the memes tell us
about a testing process in a class. Then,
meme A.5 using a penguin picture while
meme B.5 using a children's image. b) to
know how the student can answer
questions on a sheet because sometimes
they make mistakes without them
knowing. It like they give a false answer
because they do not read the instruction
carefully on the question. On the other
side, the teacher cares for the students,
while in the second meme, the teachers in
Indonesia often receive calls.
Automatically, it can allow students to
find the correct answer from their friends
or another resource. c) the memes can
persuade readers to imagine the cause and
effect of teacher's concern in the teaching
and learning process.
According to Diago (2012),
people can do many things, whether
socializing, working, collaborating,
communicating, learning, or spreading
information. The statement was related to
the memes above, where the memes
describe student's behavior in class. When
A Discourse Analysis of Education Memes on Instagram
Yosi Destira, Didin Nuruddin Hidayat, Alek
56
the learning and teaching were stopped or
not, so many actions were done by the
students. All of them were shown on the
ten memes, starting from the chair is not
appropriately used until the testing
process at the class. On the other hand,
the memes can make the readers guess
and imagine what was happening at
school. It was related to Leigh (2010) that
memes utilize communication as one of
the methods to reproduce themselves. It
means that the memes could communicate
to the reader about the student's activities
at school. As we realize in the modern
era, so many people can unleash their
creativity through memes. They can pour
their ideas into the memes, and the memes
could convey the intent of the meme
creators.
Furthermore, the memes could be
a compliment in communication. It means
that not all memes communicate about
satire, but the meme could complement it.
A compliment is a speech act that
expresses an award implicitly or explicitly
to a person considered positive by both
the speaker and the hearer (Holmes,
1988). The compliment on meme B.2,
where the memes were able to make the
readers appreciate smart students who are
not stingy to share answers with their
friends. It means that the memes were not
just given a satire, but the memes
provided a compliment.
Moreover, the memes created on
sites can symbolize a net culture for all its
assets and faults; they exemplify the
cultural logos of participation (Shifman,
2011, 2014). As we know, memes have
become a culture net because of social
media. One of them was Instagram. The
memes can be shared by the creators and
the readers from their social media
accounts. This is intended for purposes
such as jokes, humor, satire, even praises.
For another function, the memes
serve as a media to support internet
literacy. It means that the internet users
would be a reader of the memes. Media
literacy involves understanding how
media represent and construct what they
depict, what media techniques are used,
what effects are produced, and how media
products are created (Livingstone, 2007).
Hence, the ten best memes in this research
support internet literacy.
CONCLUSION
The present study has revealed that the
memes from best memes and
Zona_mahasiswa on Instagram are
intended not only for humor purposes but
also for other purposes. The researchers
found out other meanings besides humor-
based memes. There is a persuasive meme
to see the reality in a class where the chair
is not appropriately used. Then, the
memes encourage the readers to a
flashback of the examination process.
Those memes show us there is no
significant difference in education culture
between Indonesia and other foreign
countries. The memes explain to the
readers that if everything has a sequence
of time, the memes can convince readers
to imagine the cause and effect of
teacher's concern in the teaching and
learning process. In other words, memes
can give a unique sense of the education
domain because meme has a function to
internet literacy. Every user of social
media would read and interpret the
meaning of the memes. Moreover, to
understand the purpose of the meme, the
readers should focus and read the text
carefully, and of course, know what was
booming at the time.
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