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Mitchell Babendir (left) and Kevin Brenner (right) contemplate how doge has become such a popular character in social media. Photo by Aaliyah Gibson
There’s a new meme in town, and it’s here to corrupt the years of English classes you’ve taken to learn proper grammar. In fact, thinking of fragmented phrases to go along with an emotion or certain situation will sometimes become more pertinent than actually explaining yourself in complete sentences. It’s hilarious, far from understandable and causes pure enjoyment. Welcome to the world of Doge. Yes, the “e” is necessary.
To some, the image of a Shiba Inu dog staring intensely toward the screen, eyebrows raised and eyes gleaming bright, is exactly that: a dog eyeing the camera. In the world of all things Internet, this breed of dog has become much more. In short, it has become an expression of sarcasm and wit, used in posts and comments on sites such as Reddit and Tumblr to showcase bad English in a comedic manner.
In a way, Doge is becoming the symbolic image of what this generation will leave as a mark. The ’90s had “The Dancing Baby,” a 3-D animation of a dancing baby used for memes that showcased the progressiveness of the Internet. 2013 saw the beginning of a sophisticated Doge, expressing all concerns in fragmented diction.
Written in Comic Sans, usually in every color of the rainbow, Doge quotes have five main leading words: “such,” “so,” “very,” “many” and “much.” But it is the dry, lowercase “wow” that contributes just the right amount of gibberish and comedy to make the Doge meme thrive as a nonfunctional descriptor of all things popular.
The basics of Doge has spread from the simplistic image of the Shiba Inu sitting on a couch, staring quizzically toward onlookers to being morphed onto the faces of hotdoges, celebrities (don’t get me started on Nicholas Cage) and scenic backgrounds that are cheesy enough for laptop screen savers. There’s even an image of Doge painted to resemble the iconic Barack Obama “Change” poster with one necessary word: “wow.”
The world of Doge is a fun place to dwell in on the Internet, considering the fact that it pokes at social issues taking place globally and because it’s a bit of comedic enjoyment in such a strict, formatted world we are taught to abide by. Be careful, though. Once you begin to learn the language of Doge, it’s hard to turn back. Much knowledge. Many comedy. Such addiction. Wow.
