Italy, Italians And Italian Culture Through Popular Memes
Someone says that, in this puzzling era where reality is augmented, people share posts rather than experience, and everything travels on top of an optical cable, memes will be the foundation of the upcoming digital culture.
Although Italy (or at least part of it) seems somehow refractory to widespread technological innovation (see picture), memes about Italianity are actually quite common on the internet. Pages like Original Italian Memes are indeed offering collections of Italy-related memes, and you can even create your own Italian memes, with free tools like Adobe’s online meme creator. A simple Google search can open the doors to a universe of (sometimes idiotic) interpretations of Italian Language and Culture.
Italian Food
Being products of popular culture, memes often aim to mock renowned peculiarities of a specific culture. And I can bet everything I own that the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking of Italy and Italians is food. Although some food originally considered Italian has somehow turned into world heritage (Pizza and Nutella, anyone?), there is still room for originality, as in the Latte Art, an elegant extension of the Cappuccino culture, category or in those memes that parody the irreducible affection that Italian families have for anything related to food and eating.
Gorgeous, but NEVER after midday!
As my grandma used to say: “t’è abbastato?” (“did you have enough?”). Regardless of the answer, I would get more food.
Probably not food at all, if you ask me…
True, there’s also pasta.
Italian Family
Of course, family structure is another peculiarity of Italy. In particular, nonni and nonne are privileged subjects of very funny and sweet memes, preferably realized in the US or in Australia, where the descendants of Italian immigrants are still holding on to some of their traditions.
Not even in AUGUST.
Gosh, this really makes me think of my beloved grandpa (except for the chinotto – he was more into wine).
This is so true I can actually picture the scene in my mind.
Italian Language
Aaaand eventually, we have reached our area of expertise! I am actually surprised by how many memes there are about the Italian language—especially related to Italian gestures. Needless to say, if you need material to create more memes like this, you should sign up **instantly** for one of our Italian Language Courses in Rome!
Mmmm… no (btw you are doing it wrong).
That would be so badass. We strongly encourage you to do it at our school.
Probably both.
No, but they sound really good!
Tourism in Italy
These are really funny, especially for people who are living in Rome or in any other major Italian city. The main target is, as you can imagine, the often innocent stupidity that takes over in each and every human being when he plays the role of the tourist (especially the English-speaking one).
And now I dare you to say that the government in Italy doesn’t work…
Basically puts a vowel at the end-a of-a each-a word-a (learn more about Italian pronunciation by clicking here).
Before seeing this, I used to hate those pics in front of that poor, deformed and abused tower.
Good point mate!
Italian Economy
Let’s admit it: the Italian economy is just a mess. Actually, after the big Brexit earthquake, the whole of Europe is shaking while trying to collect the pieces of the EU economy. Perfect subject for memes, isn’t it?
It is NSFW and we are actually very ashamed of the fact that his guy has been our prime minister, but still people find it funny…
Italian sports
Here, you’ll get exactly what you expect: lots of football-related memes! We play it dirty, but we can also play it funny.
Summer dance!
Dear Zinedine, we will always be thankful for this.
So much Balotelli, so little time…
Italian communication in a nutshell.
Italian Cinema and art
We, as Italians, gave so much to art history and to the movie industry that it would be simply unfair not to receive anything back, at least in the form of a meme.
Italian Spiderman: not even remotely Italian, but still gorgeous.
A collection of Leonardo’s “Last Supper” parodies, some of which are really clever!
If you get this, you deserve an A+ in Italian History.
Stereotypes about Italy
If you think about it, each and every one of those categories contained a fair dose of stereotypes, which is a common strategy human beings use to understand reality. But sometimes stereotypes become either ridiculous or offensive, and yet a good occasion to build up a successful meme, and as you know the internet too is both ridiculous and sometimes deeply offensive.
SUPER-MARIO-IS-ACTUALLY-JAPANESE – like some of your overpaid tattoos.
This is wrong in so many ways…
The accent of this guy sounds more like french or something… Funny anyway!
And that’s all! If you have any suggestion or got angry about something you find in this article, feel free to load the comment section with your own rants! Alla prossima!
