International and Political Uses of the Meme

Garrison explains why the online right are memeing about a penguin who fled its colony to march to its own death, and how this deranged penguin reflects fascism as a suicidal state.

Sources:

Paul Virilio, “The Suicidal State,” in J. DerDerian, ed. The Virilio Reader

https://files.libcom.org/files/A%20Thousand%20Plateaus.pdf 

https://contactos.tome.press/welcome-to-the-suicidal-state/ 

https://jacobin.com/2024/10/death-drive-trump-freud-liberalism 

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trumps-penguin-breaks-internet-sends-left-frenzy

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/penguin-walking-toward-mountain-nihilist-penguin

https://trending.knowyourmeme.com/editorials/guides/what-is-the-nihilist-penguin-meme-why-a-video-of-a-penguin-walking-toward-a-mountain-from-a-werner-herzog-film-is-going-viral-explained 

https://x.com/DOWResponse/status/2014869279850496358 

https://x.com/HHSGov/status/2014772131242877320?s=20 

https://x.com/policylaila/status/2015359679279337808 

https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2015068422980182214 

https://x.com/RepMikeCollins/status/1954555969515450790 

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