It may seem surprising that a 4-second, 4-word Vine could be such a spreadable media piece. In 2014, a video was posted on the social media site Vine, which specializes in short video clips. In this video, someone hands her friend an empty can of soda. Upon noticing that the can is empty, the girl says “This b*tch empty!” and proceeds to throw it down the hallway into a throng of students while yelling “YEET” at the top of her lungs. Previously, the word yeet itself had been a slang word for throwing garbage away, often yelled while throwing.
Since this video was posted, it has seen many variations and clearly possesses the qualities of a great “meme”. In Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture (2013), Jenkins et al define “meme” by citing Richard Dawkins (1976): “Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.” (Jenkins et al. 19). In other words, a meme is a media object that changes by jumping from person to person, each who changes the meme slightly before passing it on. This B*tch Empty. YEET” is a perfect example of a “spreadable” meme. Contrary to the idea of “viral media” of the past, this meme does not spread without audience involvement. In fact, this meme, like so many that are circulating social media sites today, relies on audience involvement. The spreadability of the meme relies on each person who views it changing it before passing it on, creating new versions of the meme that in turn, are changed by each person who views it.
As seen in these screen captures of text posts from the blog site Tumblr, users have seen the This B*tch Empty. YEET meme and have recreated it with different contexts. This Vine is so successful as a meme because it is easy to adapt to many contexts, whether sensical or nonsensical, and therefore millions of online users have been able to create their own versions of the meme and spread it.
This is an important quality of a media object that makes it spreadable in today’s day and age. If a media object is funny, it might go somewhat far online and reach many people. However, if a media object is able to be adapted and changed and become even funnier each time a new adaptation is created, it will reach many more people in its intended forum. A meme’s success, therefore, is not measured by how many times you see the original; it is measured by how many variations you see.
From a 4-second Vine to a viral – oh, sorry, I mean spreadble – media sensation, This B*tch Empty. YEET is a perfect example of a successful meme.