Semantična interpretacija kombinacije vizualnih in tekstualnih sporočil v memih na temo Gospodarja prstanov

This thesis aims to demonstrate that a viewer can only find LOTR memes amusing if they are at least vaguely familiar with LOTR, as prior knowledge is crucial for interpreting and deriving humorous effects from them. This objective is carefully considered in the theoretical section through the cognitive-linguistic and relevance-theoretic approach to memes. The cognitive- linguistic framework posits that memes both reflect and adhere to conceptualizations available to members of the same cultural community, which are represented in memes through the combination of visual and textual elements, drawing on Farzad Sharifan’s (2011, 2017) and Limor Shifman’s (2014) works, and the relevance-theoretic framework determines that memes communicate meaning through implicit assumptions, shared cultural context, and optimized cognitive processing, based on the work of Dan Sperber & Deirdre Wilson (1986, 2004). This theoretical foundation is tested with an analysis of selected LOTR memes using Francisco Yus’ (2018, 2016) frameworks. His (2018) framework is used to categorize the selected memes into different types based on the most salient element in each meme and determine the order of inference strategies used to decipher the implicit and explicit messages they present. His (2016) framework is used to identify which overlapping strategies are often utilized in humor in the selected memes. The analysis also identifies and elaborates on the incongruity present in each LOTR meme. The survey results showed that most respondents who successfully interpreted the memes were familiar with LOTR from the films, but they also disproved the hypothesis since some respondents had no prior knowledge of the trilogy and were able to successfully interpret some memes and be amused by them. This thesis provides a general overview of interpreting memes and of deriving humor from them, but more in-depth research into any of its aspects would yield more conclusive answers to the research questions.