Os processos referenciais, a intertextualidade e a ironia na construção do sentido do gênero meme

Abstract

The theme of this dissertation is the referential processes, intertextuality and irony present in the meaning-making of a meme. The importance of this research is given by the fact that we realize that there still are gaps to be filled and classifications to be explored in the studies of referencing in verbo-pictorial texts, specifically researches about linguistical phenomena occurring in the meme genre. The problematic is centered on the following questions: how do the referential processes, intertextuality and irony contribute to the understanding of the communicative purpose in the meme genre? With that in mind, the main goal is to investigate the relation among the referential processes, intertextuality and irony in the understanding of the meme genre. As general goals, we have set these: i) identify the referential processes used in the making of verbo-pictorial memes; ii) link the referential processes found in the analyzed memes to the intertextual relations present in the texts; iii) verify the irony present in memes and relate it to the communicative goal of the genre. The basic hypothesis defended by this investigation is that the referential processes related to the intertextuality and irony, presents in the meme genre, are essential elements so that the communicative process can be reached. To do that, this research descriptive, of qualitative nature and documentary. As theorical support we chose the following texts: Cavalcante (2012), to explain the classificatory frame of referential processes, Koch, Bentes and Cavalcante (2012), to explore the classificatory proposal of intertextual relations and Wiggins e Bowers (2014), to understand the studies of the meme as a genre. The corpus of this research is built of 104 internet memes, image macro, posted by TerehellCity, an Instagram page. Considering the criteria previously set, 05 memes, posted from July to December, 2021, were chosen. As criteria of inclusion in this corpus we considered only those memes that have verbal and pictorial elements, that are static, therefore characterizing the image macro. As result of this research, we highlight: a) the referential processes found showed a direct relation with the intertextual phenomenon, being shown, many times, in non-linear movements in the (re)construction of the referents. b) dominance of explicit intertextuality in the analyzed memes. In this case, we highlight the presence of a détournement in one of the memes, because there were substitutions and additions to reinforce the communicative purpose of the meme. c) there was irony in all the memes, and, in most of the cases, there was an intention of problematization.