Ecosystem Map

For my ecosystem map, I choose to examine a classic meme, one that can be traced across a few different forms of media. I know it as the "One does not simply meme." This pop culture throwback originated from the 2001 film Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, which is based on Tolkien's book of the same name. This is already an illustration of an exosystem jump. Here we have a story moving from the written word format into the format of a movie. In the movie several memorable lines have stood against the test of time, one spoken by the character Boromir which is as follows: "One does not simply walk into Mordor."

In 2005 roughly, this quote went on to spur countless memes, some of which are pictured below in my ecosystem map. I think this is a perfect example of something adapting and changing to fit its new environment. Now I am unsure of if the actual origins of this line lie within the pages of the original Fellowship of the Ring novel, but its fascinating to see this evolution. The character first penned in the original novel way back in the 1950 went on to be a prominent part of pop culture in the early 2000s with the release of the movie in 2001. Following this, the character went on to get further life in the form of said meme.

Today I would argue that Boromir as a meme is more recognizable than as a character, allow me to explain. In the digital age, we are exposed to content, culture, and memes unwillingly every time we check our social feeds on our phones. Something like the Lord of the Rings generally requires someone to seek it out intentionally. A 3-hour long movie is harder to be exposed to than a static image that takes a second to look at and comprehend. To put my theory through a not super-scientific test, I sent a text to my younger cousin who is a hip 13-year-old. My text contained the phrase "Where is this from?" accompanied by the blank still of the movie from which the meme I've been discussing comes. She responded with "Its that one does not simply meme that old people use." Ahh, so this is how I find out that I'm out of touch.