Jokes, Jests, and Jorts
A Look Into Europeian Memes and Their Effect
Written by Bowzin
When I was pondering how to start this article, I didn't even know the background of the famous jorts meme. Which brought to my attention, does it even matter? In Europeia, we have many inside jokes and memes, and while they are enjoyable to bring up and laugh about, do the origin stories even matter? On top of that, what role do these jokes and memes play in our wonderful region, what kind of environment do they contribute to creating, and how much do they affect our culture? Hopefully, throughout this article, we can take a look at all these questions, and try to answer them all.
Jorts have long been an ongoing joke in our Discord, our forums, and our general culture. However, despite being in on the joke, how many of us know much about its origins? I would say not many at all, considering not even HEM could answer the question when asked. It seems to just have stemmed from a discussion on fashion in the EuroChat of days passed, back when Skype was the go-to form of quick communication. Jorts, or jean shorts, are a controversial topic of fashion it seems, and when they were being talked down upon, HEM stepped forward, mentioning he owned a few pairs himself. Such a simple conversation led to one of the most popular inside jokes in Europeia.
So, why is this such an enjoyable joke for all of us? Maybe because it stemmed from poking fun at one of the most influential and active members of our community, the person who started it all. In a region like Europeia that thrives off of political debate and drama, something as simple as making fun of the founder for wearing jorts can bring everyone together.
As people continued to rag on jorts and HEM, they came to form a personality of their own. Jorts were something you could mention to get a chuckle out of anyone, something that would ease tensions and remind us all that we are one community, united under jokes such as jorts, jokes that we can use to distinguish those in our community from those who aren't. They are a symbol of solidarity.
Jorts are not the only inside joke in Europeia. Another popular one, once again targeting an influential member of our region, is the infamous "blame Sopo". Once again, its backstory was something I had never known, and neither do many of our seasoned veterans, yet its purpose was clear. A jest targeted at our resident sloth, which tends to ease tensions during times where someone makes a mistake. Once again, in a region full of high political tension, an easy way out is always desirable. Lose an election? Blame Sopo. Let your nation cease to exist by accident? Blame Sopo. Every mistake you make is quickly turned into a joke and you are no longer embarrassed with your mess-up.
Among both of these memes, or inside jokes, or however you would like to refer to them, the purpose is quite similar. They serve as an escape from the drama, trash-talking, and intense politics of Europeia, and lend themselves to creating a stronger sense of community, a sense of unity among those of us who commit ourselves to the region and its betterment. Of course, they also bring us joy, laughter, and smiles. They serve the purpose that any joke ever serves, which is to brighten up someone's day. They create a more lighthearted environment and spread positive vibes.
However, Europeian memes have recently begun to serve other purposes. Since the last EuroChoice awards, where our Europeian meme thread was created, many citizens have posted a variety of memes. Many of them reference jorts or blaming Sopo, and others make jokes out of recent happenings, such as the closing of the ping pyramid. But the genre of memes I would like to examine a little further are the ones which target specific people, and which, I believe, serve a political purpose. Take, for example, this page of the "Europeian Memes" thread. I had intended to find one specific meme, but this entire page seems to hold the best examples. The memes I am specifically addressing are the ones targeting Punchwood, of which there are many. Without delving into the details, Punchwood had made some decisions and taken some actions which upset the majority of Europeian citizens. Of course, there was backlash in threads all over our forums, but I believe the memes created in response had one of the largest impacts. These memes intended to mock Punchwood for his actions, and convince Europeians that he was not someone to be trusted in any office. They worked. Punchwood is now just a part of our history. "Why were the memes the most effective of all the threads?" you may ask. Well, first of all, memes are our modern day political cartoons. They prove a point in a simple way, a way any average reader could understand in a few moments. Memes are simplistic and easily understood. They don't dive into gritty details, but rather present the issue at face value, painting it in whatever light the artist would like. The Punchwood memes allowed citizens to easily see that Punchwood was in the wrong, which is of course simply an opinion, but one that the artists of the memes effectively displayed and effectively convinced others of.
Of course, these simple, watered-down political statements can serve negative effects as well. Viewers can jump to conclusions much quicker, without allowing for arguments or discussion. A one sided story is given to the viewer, and if they don't dive deeper into the matter, they see only that side, only that simplified argument.
Another aspect of memes which plays an important role in political influence is the goofy aspect. Memes are seen as much less professional than a large wall of text. They are silly and non-serious and when you discuss something political in a silly way, you imply it doesn't even deserve proper explanation or proper debate, whether intentionally, or not. You degrade the argument into such a state of non-importance by turning it into a meme, that no one can take the target seriously. Punchwood had been made into a mockery. He had no way to defend himself, because the memes turned him into someone that no one would take seriously.
There are other memes on this page alone that bring up other political utilities a meme can serve. Memes about the Europeian Broadcasting Corporation Wire never returning attempt to push the executive to working on it and memes about nominations bring attention to current political happenings in Europeia.
Overall, Europeia and memes go together like PB&J. Without our inside jokes or jests at other Europeians, our community would not be as strong as it is today. Without blaming Sopo, people would be afraid to admit the smallest of mistakes. Without memes, tensions would get the best of us and our culture would be no where near as individualized and influential as it is today. There would be no political cartoon equivalent, there would be no humor, no smiles, no enjoyment. Our memes, jokes, and jests are the backbone of our culture, our community, and our region. They influence everything we do, from political debates, to random discussions in Europeia. They differentiate us from other regions, giving us our own identity.
They make us Europeia, and I am proud to say that I am a part of that.
