Abby Klar: Blog Assignment #4

    Martin Luther's 95 Theses exemplify articulation assemblage through their content critiquing the Catholic Church's practices, their dissemination via the printing press, and the roles of Luther and other agents in their distribution. Luther's propositions, challenging indulgences and questioning papal authority, formed the core message that ignited debates across Europe. The printing press served as a pivotal technological medium, enabling the mass production and widespread circulation of the theses beyond Luther's local sphere. Luther himself acted as the primary agent, initiating the production of the theses, while printers, publishers, and supporters of the Reformation movement played crucial roles in amplifying their reach. Together, these elements formed an intricate assemblage that catalyzed the Protestant Reformation, reshaping the religious landscape of Europe and illustrating the interconnectedness of media content, technology, and human agency in historical movements. 

    The example of the viral “OH LAWD HE COMIN” meme accurately represents the third articulation as this example illustrates the creation and dissemination of media artifacts and messages within a culture or society. As Chang (2020) explains, “Internet cats defined the social internet, its strangeness, hostility, and memetic processes, and provided a traditional language for discussing and negotiating its boundaries across different online cultures” (68). Specifically, this meme provided an aid in the identification and encapsulation of distinct aspects of online interactions. Examples of people putting their own twist on the meme showed that participatory culture was shifting where something was referring to something else, which then led to more connections, and it challenged the idea that there's only one right way to see things. This process demonstrates the relations of creativity and production, as individuals creatively engage with the meme and produce new content based on it. The meme's distribution and circulation across social media platforms showcase how media messages propagate through online communities. Overall, this example exemplifies how media artifacts and messages are brought into being, spread, and consumed within contemporary digital cultures.