More Than Just a Laugh: The Multilevel Viewpoint Structures of Reaction Memes

Abstract

In an era where memes dominate digital communication, their significance extends far beyond humor—they serve as complex, multimodal expressions of culture, discourse, and collective identity. Yet, despite their ubiquity, the ways in which they communicate meaning are not well understood. One of the reasons is that memes require interpretation and can be understood differently by different viewers, making their meaning inherently fluid and participatory. Departing from traditional semiotic perspectives, this paper applies a construction grammar approach to in which memes are understood as emerging multimodal constructions and meaning is structured within a multi – level discourse viewpoint space. This study explores the multimodality of memes through an analysis of the multilevel viewpoint structure of reaction memes, with a specific focus on the integration of frame metonymy, meme characters, and intersubjectivity. This study confirms that memes function as multimodal constructions in which meaning is created through the interaction of text, images, and shared cultural knowledge within a discourse point of view space (Dancygier & Vandelanotte, 2017). Analyzing reaction memes like 'This Is Fine' and 'Press X to Doubt' reveals varying degrees of intersubjectivity, with some memes relying on universally understood concepts (e.g., fire as danger) and others requiring niche framing knowledge (e.g., video game mechanics) to be fully interpreted.