No one had ever thought that an amusing, childish question
presented 50 years ago would now be the origin of a series of viral
social media memes.
The popular children’s book character Mr. Men and Little Miss has
been reborn in social media. According to its book series website,
the author’s eight-year-old son asked, “What does a tickle look
like?” Amused by the question first, Roger Hargreaves became
inspired by the question and published his first book in the series of
“Mr. Men,” “Mr. Tickle.”
After this book became well-selling, he continued to publish a series
of Mr. Men and eventually sold a million copies within the first 3
years. Hargreaves continued to come up with new characters such as
“Little Miss” and “Little Miss Twins” based on his twin daughters
Amelia and Sophie. The growing number of characters “identified
with a multigenerational audience through self-expression, colour,
simplicity and humor,” said the website.
The creation of new characters did not stop after Hargeaves’s sudden
death. At the age of 25, his son Adam Hargreaves took over the
family business. He continued to create characters like “Mr. Cool,”
“Mr. Rude,” “Little Miss Bad” and “Little Miss Whoops.”
And now, many other artists in social media platforms have also
created many types of characters with the “Mr. Men” and “Little
Miss” style. Because the memes can be fitted under a wide variety of
captions, it becomes popular to use as a depiction for a specific type
of person. For instance, the “Little Miss Weed Psychosis” published
by Instagram user “juulpuppy” is entertaining to the audience but
also has a darker side.
“A lot of the memes I was making were pretty dark and I wanted to
make a relatable meme that didn’t take itself too seriously,” says
“Juulpuppy” via email because of her concern with her personal
privacy.
“Visual comedy takes advantage of unexpected pairings and I love
to lean into that with all the memes I make,” continues “Juulpuppy,”
“This trend is so infectious because the pairings are so ridiculous
and relate to so many people. Any caption can be applied to a Little
Miss image, so no one has to feel like the odd one out from this
trend.”
“We get to see cute imaginary versions of ourselves and laugh
together at the messy nature of our flawed personalities, which I
think is very genuine and sweet.”
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1659267252858x65691277
3115314600/%E2%80%98Little%20Miss%20%5BBlank%5D%E2
%80%99_%20How%20a%20kidbook%20meme%20became%20viral%20comedy%20-%20The%20
Washington%20Post.pdf
https://mrmen.com/pages/about-us
presented 50 years ago would now be the origin of a series of viral
social media memes.
The popular children’s book character Mr. Men and Little Miss has
been reborn in social media. According to its book series website,
the author’s eight-year-old son asked, “What does a tickle look
like?” Amused by the question first, Roger Hargreaves became
inspired by the question and published his first book in the series of
“Mr. Men,” “Mr. Tickle.”
After this book became well-selling, he continued to publish a series
of Mr. Men and eventually sold a million copies within the first 3
years. Hargreaves continued to come up with new characters such as
“Little Miss” and “Little Miss Twins” based on his twin daughters
Amelia and Sophie. The growing number of characters “identified
with a multigenerational audience through self-expression, colour,
simplicity and humor,” said the website.
The creation of new characters did not stop after Hargeaves’s sudden
death. At the age of 25, his son Adam Hargreaves took over the
family business. He continued to create characters like “Mr. Cool,”
“Mr. Rude,” “Little Miss Bad” and “Little Miss Whoops.”
And now, many other artists in social media platforms have also
created many types of characters with the “Mr. Men” and “Little
Miss” style. Because the memes can be fitted under a wide variety of
captions, it becomes popular to use as a depiction for a specific type
of person. For instance, the “Little Miss Weed Psychosis” published
by Instagram user “juulpuppy” is entertaining to the audience but
also has a darker side.
“A lot of the memes I was making were pretty dark and I wanted to
make a relatable meme that didn’t take itself too seriously,” says
“Juulpuppy” via email because of her concern with her personal
privacy.
“Visual comedy takes advantage of unexpected pairings and I love
to lean into that with all the memes I make,” continues “Juulpuppy,”
“This trend is so infectious because the pairings are so ridiculous
and relate to so many people. Any caption can be applied to a Little
Miss image, so no one has to feel like the odd one out from this
trend.”
“We get to see cute imaginary versions of ourselves and laugh
together at the messy nature of our flawed personalities, which I
think is very genuine and sweet.”
Sources:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1659267252858x65691277
3115314600/%E2%80%98Little%20Miss%20%5BBlank%5D%E2
%80%99_%20How%20a%20kidbook%20meme%20became%20viral%20comedy%20-%20The%20
Washington%20Post.pdf
https://mrmen.com/pages/about-us
