The Hidden Meaning of LOLcats

We Have Seen the Lolcats, and They Are Us: Jay Dixit and New Yorker cartoonist Bob Mankoff ruminate on the appeal of animal cartoons in a wonderful article on Salon. "The animals aren't animals at all, they're stand-ins," explains Mankoff. "They're hybrids we use as devices to talk about the feelings we can't name in other ways." Focus of their attention is a hugely popular collaborative website about "lolcats" (funny animal photos with clever captions) called icanhascheezburger. Many of these dwell on feelings of sorrow, grief, fear, stress, anxiety and pathos that we don't dare relate directly. Some of them develop whole series of follow-up cartoons, such as the walrus series depicted above (the initial cartoon, top, and then a follow-up weeks later). Because it's collaborative, and because it allows us to speak to each other about things that are important but too intense to just blurt out, this is a vital form of art, and connection, a universal leveler to convey the things that matter to us all. And anyone can play.

sofawolf