Memes In Real Life: U Mad Bro? (VIDEO)

While the rest of the United States sent summer off with a grill full of hot dogs, a few of Ohio's brightest high schoolers used the power of cyberculture to express themselves, igniting a battle of common sense. On Friday evening, as Kirtland High students celebrated a victory against their rivals at Painesville Harvey, a few of them hung a handmade banner from the bleachers in euphoria. Scribbled on the blue tarp, 'You Mad Bro," an obvious nod to Internet meme, "You mad?" Now those web savvy teens are in hot water, accused of "racial intimidation" by a group of their peers, including Roderick Coffee, president of the Lake County chapter of the NAACP, and a football fan who was in attendance that night.

"I think the reference to 'bro' in the sign definitely has a racial connection to it," Michael Hanlon, superintendent for Painesville City Schools said to local channel Fox 8. And while the accusers also note that regardless of racial intent, the stunt was just bad sportsmanship, they seem to miss the connection to the popular meme, a Lolspeak phrase used to taunt folks while they're down, which would have changed the context of this particular prank.

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For anyone who's watched the cyberculture world closely for the past few years, this is nothing new. Jokes from the subculture on Reddit are almost commonplace, 4chan is a household word and Antoine Dodson, with the Gregory Brothers, brought autotune to the masses. But when the third wall of the Internet breaks down and memes climb out of the laptop screen and into real life, do they work?

Take Ryan Gosling, for example. On the web he charms ladies of all ages in the 'Hey Girl' meme found most notable on Tumblr blog 'Fuck Yeah! Ryan Gosling." When MTV confronted the star to read a few of the most popular 'Hey Girl' phrases though, it fell short of expectations.

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Another meme that lost it's fizzle in the cold, harsh real world was our old friend Antoine Dodson. The man ruled the Internet throughout 2010 with videos, remixes and apps. However, once Dodson took to real life, meeting fans on the street and singing his trademark Bed Intruder song at the BET Awards, the whole idea of the meme fell flat. Did the mystique melt away into reality?

With the exception of Rick Astley, who lovingly rickrolled his way into Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends in the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, most memes don't translate to the outside world the way they do on Reddit, or Buzzfeed, or Twitter. It could be that they're just so of-the-moment that they only work in the instant gratification online provides us with, or that the same people who gravitate to the Internet also share that specific funny bone, or it could even be that some things just look better under the guidance of a cute Tumblr theme. Memes and real life don't always mix. In this case, a group of high schoolers found that to be embarrassingly true.

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Comments

[I AM BRO]

04:14 PM on 11/03/2011

they just cant handle the way of bro. stupid bro haters.

[mtthwhttm]

10:47 PM on 09/10/2011

they mad?

they so mad

[taoistpunk]

12:22 PM on 09/09/2011

don't tase me, bro!

oh, sorry, that was so insensitive of me...

[Evan Pritchard]

11:56 AM on 09/09/2011

He mad, bro. And has apparently never seen a fraternity.

[Bill Pilgrim]

10:59 AM on 09/09/2011

And one wonders how a person or group looses credibility

[Amy Fleischer]

05:44 AM on 09/09/2011

Cripes, why is everyone here and there so uptight?

[Bigjon87121]

04:25 AM on 09/08/2011

These silly incidents make people take real racism less seriously. They also don't help anyone black white or any other shade for that matter.

[Bigjon87121]

04:22 AM on 09/08/2011

Lol white people say "bro" all the time. There is nothing wrong with it lol.

[ECBA88]

12:23 AM on 09/08/2011

I always assumed the meme utilized 'bro' in the manner that upper middle class white kids use it... given that it's mostly said white kids who spread these things, and that Mr. Trollface there is suspiciously absent of racial connotations in any incarnation I've seen.

[GaryNOVA]

12:20 AM on 09/08/2011

This is a bunch of BS. what, white people can't say 'bro' now? slap yourself in the face right now if you think this is racial. do it!

[Always Conservative]

11:19 PM on 09/07/2011

I feel that a class action lawsuit is necessary to address emotional damages caused by the labeling in hospitals.... Bl ack male newborns are subjected to "It's a Boy" labels. This has caused countless hours of sleepless nights to the newborn's parents.

JEEZ people, grow the EFF UP....

[Fonsini]

04:31 PM on 09/07/2011

As the owner of 2 houses I am now extremely concerned that when I refer to them as "my homes" I am in fact being a racist.

I have also started refering to my male siblings as "male children sharing a common heritage to my own" as using the term brother is obviously hate speech.

[Fonsini]

02:01 PM on 09/07/2011

I recall Whoopi Goldberg saying that black people quote "owned the N word" - something for which I would like to see a receipt.

But now we are being told that they have laid claim to the word "bro" and that anyone else using it is a racist.

Seriously guys, how do you expect to be taken seriously when you're THAT stupid.

[Da-king]

01:59 PM on 09/07/2011

This guy probably is an agent hired to promote this so called racist meme, why doesn't he talk about real racism like the horrible public education system, that phony.

[GQ 336]

01:15 PM on 09/07/2011

NAACP doesn't have more pressing issues than this?! Mr. Coffee needs to get his priorities straight. This is obviously not a race issue.