Bernie or Hillary Format

2016

Date: February 2016 · Place: Twitter; Tumblr · Figures: Bernie Sanders, candidate · Hillary Clinton, candidate · anonymous Tumblr blank-template creator · Tags: Politics, Template, Election 01. Authentic vs. Pandering In February 2016 an anonymous Tumblr user posts a blank explainer template designed to look like a serious New York Times comparison: a topic, a Bernie Sanders box with an authentic-coded answer, a Hillary Clinton box with a transparently pandering or out-of-touch answer. Twitter weaponizes the template within forty-eight hours. The topics become absurd: tarot decks, Smash Bros tier lists, ska bands. Bernie always knows; Hillary always Googles. 02. The Primary as Image Macro The format is one of the first uses of a serious-news visual grammar for joke labor in mainstream politics. It anticipates the four years of macro-driven political reasoning that follow. The Clinton campaign tries to clap back with their own version; the format does not run in their direction. The template returns intermittently for the 2020 and 2024 cycles, always recognized. Sources • Caitlin Dewey, The Washington Post, 'The Bernie vs. Hillary meme, explained', 8 February 2016 • Tumblr origin post, anon, early February 2016 • KnowYourMeme entry, 'Bernie or Hillary?'