History of Internet Memes: The Rise and Fall of Boxxy
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The first in a series.
I’ve found there aren’t enough resources on the internet for the cataloguing and explaining of Memes. We’re currently in the Golden Age of the Internet and unless we do something to preserve it, much of this early (irrelevant) history will be forgotten.
The latest (and one of the shortest) memes to spread across the internet is Boxxy.
A year ago, a young sixteen girl who liked to hang around the social friend website, Gaionline, made a few videos for her friends and put them up on youtube. Like most of the thousands of videos uploaded everyday it was lost amongst the crowd and forgotten. That was until sometime in late December when someone stumbled across her videos and started posting them on the big image board sites like 4chan (4chan, if you don’t know is the birthplace of many of the internet’s more endearing fads).
The subsequent reaction to Boxxy seemed to surprise even the internet, (which is used to the unusual). There was an explosion of controversy, splitting the male residents of 4chan into two groups: the lovers of Boxxy and the haters. Some wanted to name her queen of the internet. Some just madly wanted her to go away and stop clogging up their forums. (The female forum residents, the nerd girls, were just perplexed) In a matter of days, Boxxy went from being nowhere to being everywhere. But it doesn’t stop there.
What is Boxxy?
Due to internet detective work, we now know that Boxxy’s real name is Catie and that she lives somewhere in California. Boxxy’s popularity/unpopularity stems from her youtube videos, which are, at times, strange, frantic and above all sweet. She's just a young girl with a lot of energy, eyeliner, a surreal black background and a truckload of interesting facial expressions telling the internet how much she loves her friends.
Boxxy is an inadvertent celebrity. She didn't want to be queen of the internet, but she was made one against her will and then she was removed as one just as quickly by those who disapproved
Reprisal
Many of the most virulent haters, who saw the Boxxy meme spreading across the internet like a plague, the ones who found the situation intolerable, formed a coalition called the Center for Boxxy Control and Restriction (CBRC).
They declared war on the Boxxy meme and vowed to expose her identity and use it as blackmail to get her to leave the internet forever. Through some tough detective work, they managed to find an older youtube account of Boxxy and later to get an email and to hack into her video accounts. With control over her youtube, they sent Boxxy a video telling her never to post again or they’d release her contact info to the world. Boxxy has so far abided by their rules. The Boxxy lovers were defeated.
This is seemingly the end of the Boxxy meme. It lasted roughly twenty days, but in that brief time, Boxxy scored almost a million google searches.
The internet is full of thousands of cases like this, they come and go and diseappear and most people are completely unaware that they ever happened. See below for other prominent and sometimes outrageous examples.
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The Meme Machine
Price: $7.81
List Price: $19.95 |
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Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme
Price: $12.78
List Price: $24.95 |
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The Electric Meme: A New Theory of How We Think
Price: $14.95
List Price: $27.00 |
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The Selfish Meme: A Critical Reassessment
Price: $4.45
List Price: $26.99 |
Learn more about Internet memes here:
- Internet Memes: Get Rickroll’d
Rickrolling is the internet's favourite naughty little prank. It's fun and easy to use, you can do it too - Internet Memes: The lol cat
A bit on the history and pride of the internet's greatest export, the "lol cat" - Internet Memes: Don't let your child become an hero
How a child's suicide was exploited for maximum laughs - Millhouse is not a meme is a meme
A history of the world's first meta-meme - Internet Memes: Shoop Da Woop Imma firin Mah Lazer
How a blackface cell took over the internet
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Comments
That's a good point, but, and this is a terrible analogy, wouldn't you want to know if millions of people in Darfur were dying of plague? Just because it doesn't affect you, personally, doesn't mean it isn't important, I feel.
Also, a million youtube hits isn't something to just brush off.
Thanks for your comment,
I think these things are so transient, they don't necessarily need to be remembered forever.
Perhaps. But they do teach us quite a lot about internet culture and group thinking, and even human nature. By the very speed that this all played out, we see how fast things happen on the internet. How quickly celebrities are made and how quickly "problems" are dealt with. It's very interesting, at least to me.
fair enough - I was interested to read the above example, so I guess I'm playing devil's advocate!
While hacking accounts is a horrible thing to be practicing, I'm so happy some one took care of Boxxy. I rarely go outside of my sxephil subscription for fear of running into another teenager that makes me want to rip my skin off.
I also think a series on the history of internet memes is awesome. It's strange how I can recognize many of them and not know what they are really from.
cheers.
Thanks, Houllebecq. I'm always trying to figure out where references come from but the only real source on the internet for pop culture is encyclopedia dramatica. And that website, at the best of times, has trouble separating the truth from the porn (and lies).
This is an interesting topic.
Im assuming Boxxy's fans were mostly teenagers?
Yes, but not as many as you'd think. There's a special place in the internet's heart for young, pretty, vibrant girls. Boxxy is everything the neckbearded, basement-dweller, programmer nerd is not, no matter how old they are.
She is cute :)
i was a fan of her and im proud <3 haha, idk whats there to hate about her, wheres the tolerance in people today jeez, just learn to laugh and smile, shes adoribly cute, who knows, what she could have done! and now shes gone :/ boxxxy! our fallen queen
I am saddened by the backlash against Boxxy. She illicits strong reactions by those that like and dislike her. The ones that hate her are malcontents anyway. She's adorable and vibrant. (a la Perry Gripps She's a Young Girl Talking About Herself
If you want to explore memes, the people at www.rocketboom.com run a site www.knowyourmeme.com that explains many of the more prevalent memes. You may also find the Weezer song Pork and Beans to be of interest. Make sure you watch the newly updated one. It has more memes than original
HI freezepop, congratulations! Well Boxxy has made her way into this weeks hubnuggets list. To know more about this, do click this link: http://hubpages.com/hub/hubnuggets-jan30-2009
I have never heard of memes before. :) Do vote and ask your friends to come and vote for your hub too.
uh, thanks, ripplemaker. Boxxy spreads.
And Marky, thanks for the tip. That's a good site. It's still not as comprehensive as I'd like, but good for what it explains. I always wondered where the leek spin came from.
This is great, and I thought Boxxy was cute. I had no idea, but you're right it's an interesting insight into the internet and to how people respond and 'take care' of things which annoy them, although harmless in the bigger scheme of things - simply because they can. It reminds me of the 'tall poppy syndrome'. Thanks - great hub!
This whole topic fascinated me from start to finish -- first, I didn't even know what a meme was until I read your Hub; next, I thought Boxxy was cute; and then -- wouldn't ya just know snotty human behavior spoils whatever it can. . . Thanks for writing this.
Hey - knew nothing of Boxxy. Thanks for the information.
A lot of people don't know about memes, it seems, but they are so much a part of the underlying culture of the internet. It's almost like the internet is its own country these days. With its own language (leetspeak), its own culture, its own kings and queens, its own citizens, its own rules (or lack there of).
I hadn't thought of it like that - certainly not for the internet. I thought the societal memes naturally spilled over to internet. But they seem altogether a little different - or perhaps just 'accentuated' online?
Damn. These bastards are mean. I think she's cute (a little heavy on the eyeliner though). It's an interesting social phenomena that people would go to such lengths to put something so trivial out of commission. The an hero story is a heartbreaker. Really. It's not funny, cute, or clever, and I'm sure these backwards, warped people think they are all that and more, when in fact they are sick in the head and soul--an I ain't no preacher!
I am really liking your stuff and plan on reading it all. I still haven't checked all the links to sites hidden in the text and comment of this hub. You know, I don't think I have come across an actual definition of a meme, but if I understand correctly, it is a person or saying or thing or whatever that shoots to internet superstardom seemingly overnight and then just as quickly disappears. Is that right? Or is it just the rise in popularity that is the meme, and how long it stays at the top is irrelevant to it's meme status? Why is it called a meme?
Anyway, thanks for getting me to spend far too much time here. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'll be back.
If I may answer this a little FPM: Chris, my understanding of memes is that they are a broader cultural phenomena related to ideas that are spread and transmitted. Internet memes as I understand are narrower - pretty close to what you've described. Hope this helps.
Thank you, Lifebydesign, that does help. It's a facinating subject to me though I have just learned of it.
Sorry guys, busy weekend. Now, I’m by no means an expert on this sort of thing, just someone who’s been around it a lot. The way I see it, internet memes are not too different from societal memes. Memes, by the way, are just pieces of culture that are propagated from one human to another. Useful culture (ie. parenting practices and religion) gets repeated and spread from human to human. Culture deemed not useful is selected out and forgotten.
Internet memes are different in that they spread infinitely faster than memes previously did and, as well, internet memes generally don’t teach us better ways of teaching children or improving our lives. They’re mostly about entertainment. Funny things are repeated, unfunny are not. Boxxy, for a short while, was incredibly interesting to a large number of people. But as some decided that her novelty had worn off, she was gotten rid of. Other internet memes, on the other hand, such as lolcats, seem to be around to stay. A meme stays a part of our cultural conscious so long as it is still considered relevant to us (Lolcats still make us laugh).
Im not sure if the concept of a meme is really delineated by this hub..although I love box-who doesnt it! -xy
My conception stemmed from Dawkins and a meme being an ideavirus.
After seeing a viral video,explained as a meme I decided to look up the current def. and it seems like it fits...maybe because its 3am and im still loaded from the superbowl and currently in a hot tub, i liked boxxy-this once
thanks for sharing
hmmm...
Never heard about this, but I think that was ok. I'd seen the word "meme" used a lot, but didn't know what it meant. Now I think I do... sort of. Anyway, I watched about 45 seconds of the video and Boxxy seems like a typical teenager to me. I don't love her or hate her, just not interested. However, I'm sure many companies would love to know "why" she became popular so that they could copy it. Nice hub.
They already are interested. You're exactly right. Remember a movie that came out called 'snakes on a plane?' Don't worry if you don't, it was a terrible movie. But what was notable about it, was its use of memes and viral advertising to spread the word about it. They made youtube videos. Spammed forums with catchphrases. People spread the word of the snakes on planes from one end of the internet to the other.
The movie was intensely, hotly anticipated. But then, of course, when it came out, and word got around on how bad it was, interest instantly evaporated just as quickly as it rose due to the same mechanisms that made it popular. Just goes to show, advertising is one thing, but if your product doesn't live up the hype, its going to disappear just as fast as it was made popular.
Hi FreezepopMorality,
Yes, I remember that movie, but didn't know they used this type of advertising. Cool. I never saw it and heard it was bad, so I think you're right, even with all the "coolness" and "hype" in the world, it's hard to put lipstick on a pig. :)
Ha! I haven't heard that one in a while.
OK, let"s drop all this "meme" nonsense. The word is "fad". It is a fine word that covers the problem. We don't need this silly "meme" garbage.
Hmm, I kind of agree with you. The word did start out as a 'buzz' word to describe the new stuff that was happening on the internet. But these days, its getting pretty widespread acceptance. I tend to think it's gone beyond fad and into general acceptance these days.
Boxxy rules. Lets hope she returns making videos
Wow. She is hyper. I actually never heard of her before.
I think it's a shame what these people did to her. She's just a kid trying to have some fun. Maybe I feel so strongly because I secretly love her (she's everything I could want in a girl), but whatever.
That being said, I hope she one day comes back to YouTube.
I <3 u, Bawksyy!
I hate the Bawksy thing; one of the reasons I left my trolling 4chan behind. She is cute, awkward, and odd; all endearing traits. But she is nothing special. Memes are rife in sarcasm and counter-sarcasm. I guess she makes for a good one.
your all just jelouse because shes hoter and more popular than you and you cant stand to have somone like that around
^
This is the best comment ever. Not just because the comment is pointless and borderline chris-crocker (LEEEEEAVE BRITTANYYY ALLLLLOOOOONE!!!!!) but because of it's hilarious grammar and spelling.
Kudos, internet random, you made me smile.
His grammar and spelling may be hilarous but it seems he's got a point baby :)
Seeing this tempts me to start a counter-meme, "BBB (Bring Boxxy Back)". After all, the anti-Boxxy lot broke the law in trying to find her, unless I'm mistaken (which, regrettably, is entirely possible), so I say... BRING BOXXY BACK!
Seriously? She didn't even want to be that famous. Sure, every teenage girl has a secret desire to be famous, but I'm pretty sure her's was stopped right away after several threatening comments were made.
Is it any of the CBRC's business what 'Boxxy' does? She herself is NOT bothering you, it's people who promote her. Why would you go so far as to blackmail her (Which is, by the way, ILLEGAL)???
Seriously. it's not her anyone should worry about, it's the CBRC and their lunatic compulsive whack job members. Seriously, guys, get a life and stop bothering and blackmailing some girl who pisses you off. It's not like she cut your toes off or something.
I'd Only Just Heard Of Boxxy From Youtube .. Watched One Video And Loved Her. Then I Heard All The Horrible Things People Were Saying About Her. Then Came The Story That She Was Dead. I'd Only Just Heard Of Her, But I Was Strck With Sadness.. Then I Hear Its Not True .. So .. Im REALLY Confused. Is It True?
I'd love to see a study of internet Memes. Or at least, a comprehensive objective history of them. They are very illuminating, showing us how bizarre phrases in language, or just unusual pictures, can create a chain social reaction that spread globally.
I know adults now who never use the internet that are familiar with lolcats and some other mainstream memes. I used to stay up on 4chan way back when, seeing these memes appear right before my eyes, and now they're everywhere. It's quite amazing.
I just don't see why people had to attack her and stuff, when it wasn't even a serious video. She just made it for a friend of hers. It seems pretty idiotic on why they had to attack her for it. And Roxie no she's not dead. CBRC hacked her within a few days, and made a video for her telling her to never make another video. Or they would release all her information. If they where so bothered then they could have simply stopped viewing the video.
^ Agreed... man, some people...just gots no love and souls
why those stupid CBRC nerds gotta be all hatin on a 16 year old girl fo! They spineless foos, don't see them making no funny random videos on youtube! I spit in thy face CBRC HRRRRRRR PEW! Fags... >: (
LondonGirl says:
10 months ago
does it matter if people are unaware?