Semiotic Hijackers: Internet Memes as Digital Technē

This thesis argues that internet memes can be considered as a form of digital technē capable of reactivating a subversive potential into artistic expression under hyper-commodified late capitalist conditions. It builds on the premise that art, technology, and politics have always been intertwined, in a relationship conceptually and historically known as technē. This bond was altered by the dynamics of serial copying and increasing commodification, brought forward by the industrial revolution and neoliberal capitalism, and pushed toward promoting a proliferation of empty signs at the service of monetary capitalization, as encapsulated by Baudrillard’s perspective on the “conspiracy of art”. The majority of artistic production consequently becomes another actor of the Debordian spectacle, prioritizing shock and exchange value over stimulation of critical thought. Against this backdrop, the thesis positions internet memes as a potent aesthetic practice operating within the same mediated systems. It traces the theoretical evolution of the meme concept from Richard Dawkins' biological metaphor to Limor Shifman's participatory digital model, defining internet memes as collectively produced, iterative, and context-dependent cultural artifacts. Drawing on Hito Steyerl’s concept of the “poor image” and Julio García Espinosa’s “imperfect cinema”, the thesis argues that memes privilege accessibility, collective creation, and use over elitist institutional refinement. Crucially, the thesis mobilizes Umberto Eco’s concept of semiotic guerrilla warfare to theorize memes as tactical interventions within dominant systems of meaning. The argumentation is further advanced by acknowledging how memes are structurally capable of producing détournement effects in the spectacle of contemporary art. This capacity is critically examined through the case study of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, demonstrating how memetic practices reshaped political communication and challenged traditional media infrastructures, while also revealing their ideological ambivalence. Finally, this thesis claims that internet memes offer a feasible form of grassroots artistic expression with real cultural and political efficacy, and therefore they demand sustained interdisciplinary critical (and academic) engagement.