ABSTRACT
The Internet is more divided than ever. The face of the Other is too often distorted on the Internet, and Internet memes play a large part in that polarization. Memes, however, may also be our way out of this predicament. In this chapter, we discuss Internet memes and how people use them to transmit truth and distortion embedded in cultural ideas, symbols, or practices. We theorize from a Jungian perspective that the Internet is a form of collective consciousness and collective unconsciousness. Internet memes are like dreams in that they seem irrational yet are imbued with meaning; they serve as the dream symbols of the Internet’s collective unconscious. Recognizing this, we can apply Levinas’ dichotomy of the I and the Other, especially his ideas on the face of the Other, within this framework of perceiving memes. Topics addressed in this chapter include (1) how faces in memes can distort and alienate the Other, (2) the Levinasian face of the Other in memes, (3) memes and the intersection of ego state and persona theory, (4) potential meanings of meme faces vis-à-vis archetypal symbols, (5) how memes can give voices to the unheard, and (6) memes as a tool to deepen therapy.
