Eulogy as a Meme: A Study of the Role of Media Technologies in Eulogy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Student in Communications Science, The University of Tehran

2 Associate Professor, The University of Tehran

Abstract
The connection between Shiite groups and media technologies in Iran has various manifestations, with studio-recorded eulogy videos being one of the most common examples in the recent decade.

One of these works, known as "Che Yali Bah Bah" (what a Champion, Bravo) attracted the attention of social media users in 2024, and its remix led to the creation of mocking and humorous dubsmash on Instagram, leading to critical reactions towards the eulogist of this work. However, no role was considered for ICTs and media communication tools in the critic statements.

The aim of this research is to phenomenologically study the relationship between media technologies and human that has turned this eulogy into a meme.

Using the theoretical literature of the four-dimensional relationship between man, world, and technology, the concept of meme, and the nethnography methodology and thematic analysis technique, 50 Instagram dubsmash videos were analyzed.

The results of the research show that the concept of eulogy as a meme is formed from three areas of technological (contextual), media (mediator), and perceptual (consequence) transformation, in each of which humans play separate roles.

The relationship between technology and human is not deterministic; rather, humans have played various roles in this process, and in addition to making changes in meaning, they have also been affected by these changes in the interaction between humans and the material world.

The transformations that emerged in this process are the factors that changed the communicative structure of eulogy and the body in Iran.

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  • Receive Date 10 May 2025
  • Revise Date 27 July 2025
  • Accept Date 25 August 2025