I Pledge Allegiance to Emoji Memes ๐๏ธ๐๐๏ธ
With apologies to Betsy Rossยน
Itโs July 4th. For many Americans it means maybe they get the day off work, hang out with some friends or family, BBQ a bit, and enjoy a fireworks show.
For me, It means making some ASCII-Emoji art.
Iโve turned this into a bit of a Independence Day tradition on Twitter (RIP). Every year, I post a new version of the American Flag. Itโs simple structure serves as a perfect canvas for commentary. A week after the first Presidential debates has me feeling โฆ
๐๐ณ๐๐ตโ๐ซ๐๐ซจ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐ฅด๐๐ซค๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ซฃ๐๐ฎโ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
โน๏ธ๐๐ต๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
Looking back on this seriesยฒ (if you can call it a series), each design is a reaction to the events happening at that point in time. At first, when I scrolled back to 2023 it took me a second to remember what it was referencing but everything came crashing back: the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions:
๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ค๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
I guess 2022 wasnโt so great either:
๐ตโ๐ซ๐ซ๐ค๐ซ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ต๐ซโโโโโโโโ
๐ซ๐ถโ๐ซ๏ธ๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ
๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ๐ท๐ซ๐๐ซ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ
๐ซ๐ฑ๐ซ๐ฎโ๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ซ๐ง๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ๐ช๏ธ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
2021 โฆ what else. COVID.
๐ตโ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฆ โค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉน
๐ฆ ๐ถโ๐ซ๏ธ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ โค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉน
๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ฎโ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉน
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉนโค๏ธโ๐ฉน
The Summer of 2020, our streets filled with protests:
โค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟ
๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝ
โค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ป
๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธ๐คโค๏ธโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟ
โ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝโ๐ฝ
โ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ปโ๐ป
โ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟโ๐ฟ
2019, living in a police state:
๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
โญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ
๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
โญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎโญ๐ฎ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ๐๏ธ
๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ๐จ
Remember in 2018 when I removed the egg from the salad emoji in and Piers Morgan had a tantrum? (This is a very niche current event, lol)
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฅ
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
๐
And, of course 2017 brought us the first year of Trumpโs presidency.
๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โโโโโโโ
๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐ณ๐โโโโโโโ
๐๐ฒ๐๐ฉ๐๐ต๐๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โโโโโโโ โโโโโโโโ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โโโโโโโ โโโโโโโโ
Ok, some are better than others ๐คช
What is Old is new Again
Thereโs a long history of making pictures with punctuation tracing back to 1867โs typewriter art which Iโve borrowed from heavily contemporarily with letterpress drawings and ASCII illustrations. I miss Joe Sondowโs emoji bots on Twitter (RIP) but Joan Starkโs ASCII work from the 90โs continues to thrive:
___
/` ,-\ _ ___
\_(==0> |-| |._
___ )_ _/ | | | |
[___] / `\____ | | |_.'
| ^| / \_____/) |-|___|
| | / / _:::_))_(___
| |/'-._/_ |___________|
'-;_|\_____ `\ ||"""""""""||
| `######|_|_|| ||
\ ._ _,'{~-_}| ||
_) ( {-__}| ||
jgs /______`\ |_,__) ||It starts with someone creative enough to think that a curly bracket and some slashes look like bunny ears {\__/} but it only starts there. One of the reasons why ASCII memes are incredibly powerful is because anyone can tell stories with them. What may start as a cute drawing to ask for more kisses (aka โyou want this bunnyโ)โฆ
{\__/}
( โข . โข)
/ > โค๏ธ u want this?
{\__/}โ
( โข _โข) โ
โค๏ธ< \โ give me kisses first >:(
โฆ RAPIDLY evolves beyond itโs original conception due to the nature of how easy it is to manipulate. Replace the heart emoji with a new one and change the text and it becomes:
{\__/}
( โข . โข)
/ > ๐ u want this?
{\__/}โ
( โข _โข) โ
๐< \โ abolish fossil fuels
I love this one from Jonny Son who added some more punctuation to create new characters and make it less with-holding ;-)
{\__/}
( โข . โข)
/ > ๐ u want this?
{\__/}โ โ โ {\__/}
( โข แดโข) โ โ (โข . โข )
/ > >โ โ โ ๐< \
{\__/} โ โ โ โ {\__/}
( โข แดโข) โ โ โ โ (โขแด โข )
/ > ๐ โ โ โ โ < < \
{\__/} โ โ โ โ โ โ {\__/}
( โข แดโข) โ โ โ โ โ โ (โขแด โข )
/ > > โ โ โ โ โ โ ๐ < \
Make your own!
Just like you donโt have to be a linguist to invent slang you donโt have to know how to be a professional designer to create memes. One of the pleasures of emoji looking like pictures but operating like letters is that we donโt need any fancy editing software or GenAI to be creative and say something new.
{\__/}
( โข . โข)
/ > ๐ u want this?
{\__/}โ
( โข _โข) โ
๐< \โ SMASH SUBSCRIBE
โ jd
ยน DYK That Betsy Ross didnโt design the second American Flag? Itโs true. Donโt hesitate using this fun fact at todayโs BBQ.
ยฒ Some of the flag-art in this newsletter have been modified from their original designs because โฆ I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT :)
WOW, thanks for introducing me to Joan Stark. I just spent a billion hours clicking through her archived website! (https://web.archive.org/web/20091028014945/http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7373/index.htm#home). BTW, not sure if this matters to you but this email ended up in my spam folder!
Wow is emoji kitchen!