Aldo Giannattasio

Digital Rhetoric

Professor Ristow

4/3/18

Here’s Johnny Meme Analysis

When looking at the fantasy them character “Here’s Johnny” it is seen that the meme is

one that has evolved overtime. Originally “Here’s Johnny” was a quote from the Tonight

Show starring Johnny Carson, where show host Ed McMahon would introduce Carson

with the line, “Here’s Johnny!” The line would go on to be quoted in the famous scene

in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining in (1980) in which actor Jack Nicholson starring as

Jack Torrance breaks through a door and sticks his head through the door sinisterly

saying the line. From then on memes started to become present featuring the image

primarily as a setting theme where the meme was used at particular times like Halloween.

Overtime though the meme has continually evolved and has transformed into

multiple character and action memes. Here’s Johnny always has the same premise where

there is someone saying, “here’s …” with them placing their head through the door.

However with each meme, it is seen that there is a difference in what is being said along

with whom is saying it and the context. By shedding light on a U.S. cultural identity that

focuses heavily on politics, pop culture, religion and violence, allows for one to gain

insight on negative aspects that still loom within our culture. Through this cultural

identity it is noticeable that there exists a major divide between groups all centered

around the idea of a thirst for power and control, whether it be the beliefs of Republicans
and Democrats or the idea of having dominance over another person resulting in violent

acts. Therefore the U.S. to many is not a perfect utopia but instead a work in progress.

The “here’s Johnny” meme uses politics as a way to express citizens feelings of

fear toward candidates. This shows the parties fear of there being a lack of control over

one another and the notion of them being seen as irrelevant. When looking at the

character memes it is seen that each displays candidates that exemplify the two

dominating parties within the U.S. The imagery is of candidates such as Donald Trump,

John Mcain, and Hillary Clinton. Using such integral and key politicians therefore tries to

bring about irrational fear among the parties. This is noticeable through each candidate

sticking their head through the door and ends up shouting their name suggesting that they

will be the president. Doing this takes the original issue of fear being rational to one of

irrationality where we don’t know what to expect and base our fear on an assumption

such as saying: what if he wins? The fear of the unknown of not having control therefore

results in demonstrating how the political atmosphere in the U.S. as one being nerve

wrecking and frightening in times of election.

With a character meme it also is seen that there is only one person being focused

on in the meme. That then provides background on the makeup of our government where

we have one person who makes the decisions instead of having multiple people such as in

parliament. From this it is seen that some people perception of our system is one of

distrust and fear where they believe that candidates are more concerned with pushing

their agenda’s rather than compromising with others so the collective whole can agree.

When looking at the meme, the image of a politician breaking into our room expresses

this fear many have of government control and the power that politicians hold. It is the
fear of politicians infringing upon their common beliefs about rights and specific hot

topics relating to laws that overall leads to hostility among the two parties. This then

reinforces the reality of big government’s power within everyday life and how it is

something that often challenges barriers that we believe are sacred. An example of this is

how the Trump meme breaking through the door creates the image of him embarking on

the deportation of illegal immigrants, which could result in families getting separated. On

the other hand the image of Clinton breaking through the door grabs conservatives by

making them believe that government will take away their second amendment rights.

Therefore this model of “Here’s Johnny” expresses the original idea of the meme being

associated with drawing fear into people and forcing a divide among parties.

Through using pop culture the meme “Here’s Johnny” demonstrates how

American culture is perceived as being unique, and often viewed as being the gold

standard for other countries to follow. This is noticeable with character memes using

celebrities and ordinary people along with American culture being represented in foreign

countries comics. However, this altogether perpetuates the idea of how often times we

abuse this freedom and are self-absorbed where we have a desire for control. When

looking at the image of famous celebrities and ordinary people used in the U.S. it is seen

that they often are breaking through the door and then shouting their own names.

An example of this is seen with the wrestling star John Cena where he breaks

through the door and it starts playing his theme song. Within the meme it is seen the

focus demonstrates ones ability to be able to have a free voice. By using ordinary people

along with celebrities shows this through reinforcing the idea of how in the U.S. people

are able to have their voices heard more than anywhere else in the world. That then gets
introduced through the usage of the meme in foreign countries where it is seen that they

try and replicate things within our culture. This shows how American culture is

something that spreads and molds itself into what others hope to obtain in their cultures.

When looking at the Chinese meme posted by Tio Kokichi it is seen that there are

multiple Asian cartoon characters that each look different busting through the door

smiling with an Asian girl on the other side screaming. From this meme, one can notice

how American culture is something that others feel would allow for them to express

themselves freely and how although to one it may be worrisome, the idea of a democracy

where one can have their own voice is better than systems like communism.

Within the idea of individuals having the ability to express their power and

identity there are also issues relating to abusing this freedom. This can be seen with John

Cena, Gene Simmons, Nichoas Cage and ordinary people where they become the sole

focus. Within all of those memes the focus transitions from the action between the two

people in the frame to just the person breaking through the door. That then symbolizes

the idea of how only the expression made by that individual is being seen as important

and that the other person’s actions are being disregarded. Therefore although the idea of

being able to express oneself is important it demonstrates how there exists the issue of

not listening to others voices and only wanting to hear oneself. Therefore the idea of the

U.S. being the perfect mold to copy is one where flaws exist.

The meme “here’s Johnny” also though perpetuates the idea of establishing power

and control over individual’s beliefs when looking at the overall religious identity of the

country. Through the use of religious memes, one is able to gain knowledge on the

culture of America and how it has evolved over time into its current state. In the meme by
Victor George shows Jesus breaking through the door and shouting, “repent and be

saved, here’s Jesus”. From George’s meme, one is gaining perspective into the makeup of

how the U.S. was colonized by Protestants. It also though suggests the idea of religious

dominance and how some people view others beliefs as being less important than their

own. This is noticeable when looking at how there is the overall suggestion that some

people in our culture expect others to conform to specific beliefs. This is established

when the meme says, “repent and be saved” suggesting that if you hold different values

then you are a sinner. Another meme that demonstrates a intolerance for others religious

values is seen in the meme uploaded by Tsundere Tentacle where there is an image of a

Muslim wearing a hijab screaming while a crusader breaks through the door. This second

meme further builds on the idea of how our culture is one that often is limited in opening

up to others differences and how it expects others conform to our beliefs if they want to

be accepted. The idea therefore overall takes the idea of self-enrichment where the person

demonstrating power is spreading the belief that they know what is best and better than

the other person.

Finally in looking at the character memes it is noticeable that through having the

male be the primary character who breaks through the door with the female on the other

side demonstrates the idea of power associated with violence and the sweeping of topics

like domestic violence under the rug. This is noticeable through multiple memes, which

show males as presenting aggressive behavior toward females. An example of this can be

seen in the image of Charlie from the chocolate factory breaking the door down and

saying, “You get nothing.” It is seen that the image of Charlie takes on a more comical

approach but in doing so is representative of how society often times doesn’t view the
issue seriously enough. When Charlie breaks through the door we see that he shouts

aggressively “You get nothing”, which demonstrates how verbal abuse is based on the

notion of establishing ones power and control over another. By telling the person what

they will do undermines their freedom and places the person as a subordinate to the one

speaking. In looking at the statement it also is noticeable that the sentence is framed in a

way that can’t receive a response without setting up confrontation if replied to and

therefore forces the woman to submit to the statement or risk getting in an altercation.

Another example of power and violence is seen with the meme of a superhero

punching through a bathroom door with a fist on fire while a girl stands behind it in fear.

This shows the side of physical abuse where the man exemplifies blind rage and is unable

to control his emotions. We see him trying to establish power over another where he feels

that he can control someone by physical means, which establishes a dominant

relationship between the two. Building off of this then the meme of Mario and the

Princess builds on the idea of power dominance in controlling someone physically by

introducing the issue of sexual assault. In the image it is seen that Mario writes a letter

that says, “All rescue and no play makes Mario a dull boy”, which is followed by him

breaking through the door with a wrench while the Princess screams.

In these images it is seen that the recipient reacts the same to these acts of

violence. Both girls cower and hold a knife, which suggests that in either circumstance

the recipient of the violence is afraid. That then goes with the notion of how power is

established on the principles of fear and making someone feel they are not equal in some

way, where they are the one in control. This control of power over another therefore

focuses simply on the self where there exists an unwillingness to respect the other person.
 Overall when looking at the meme “Here’s Johnny” it is noticeable that the main

focus is on expressing prevalent issues within American culture and in particular the

notion of power dominance and struggles among individuals. Through doing this, the

meme not only gains traction and is able to preserve itself but also is able to address

needed topics. That then opens the door not only for debate but also gives people a

history of longstanding issues pertaining to control of power within our country. From the

meme series people are able to question certain aspects of our culture and to make

judgments on whether they believe the hidden messages are ones of importance or are

even an existing issue in their mind. By addressing the issues therefore allows for our

culture to be forced to discuss the issues instead of ignoring them and makes it so there

has to be a response.