In East Asian martial arts , the black belt is associated with expertise, but may indicate only competence, depending on the martial art. The use of colored belts is a relatively recent invention dating from the 1880s.
103-580: Carlos Ray " Chuck " Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do , Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo . After serving in the United States Air Force , Norris won many martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Shortly after, in Hollywood , Norris trained celebrities in martial arts. Norris went on to appear in
206-524: A kimono , only white and black obi were used. This kind of ranking is less common in arts that do not claim a far Eastern origin, though it is used in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program . Rank and belts are not equivalent between arts, styles, or even within some organisations. In some arts, a black belt may be awarded in three years or even less, while in others it takes dedicated training of ten years or more. Testing for black belt
309-527: A "tough face" for its commercial vehicles. Flaregames produced Non Stop Chuck Norris , an isometric action-RPG game for mobile device and is the second game to be based on his popularity developed by the Chuck Norris facts. The game was well reviewed In 2019, Norris hosted the documentary Chuck Norris’ Epic Guide to Military Vehicles on the History Channel . In it, Norris explores vehicular creations by
412-641: A $ 1 million budget, it made over $ 18 million at the box office. Following years of kung fu film imports from Hong Kong action cinema during the 1970s, most notably Bruce Lee films followed by Bruceploitation flicks, Good Guys Wear Black launched Norris as the first successful homegrown American martial-arts star, having previously been best known as a villain in Lee's Way of the Dragon . Good Guys Wear Black distinguished itself from earlier martial-arts films by its distinctly American setting, characters, themes, and politics,
515-465: A black belt the student also begins to instruct, and may be referred to as a senpai (senior student) or sensei (teacher). In others, a black belt student should not be called sensei until they are Sandan (third-degree black belt), or the titles kyosa or sabom in Korean martial arts as a second degree or higher, as this denotes a greater degree of experience and a sensei must have this and grasp of what
618-584: A footprint in the media through which they propagate (for example, social networks) that renders them traceable and analyzable. However, before internet memes were considered truly academic, they were initially a colloquial reference to humorous visual communication online in the mid-late 1990s among internet denizens; examples of these early internet memes include the Dancing Baby and Hampster Dance . Memes of this time were primarily spread via messageboards , Usenet groups, and email , and generally lasted for
721-411: A form of lived religion . Aguilar et al. of Texas A&M University identified six common genres of religious memes: non-religious image macros with religious themes, image macros featuring religious figures, memes reacting to religion-related news, memes deifying non-religious figures such as celebrities , spoofs of religious images, and video-based memes. Social media platforms can increase
824-463: A formula that Norris continued to develop with his later films. In 1979, Norris starred in A Force of One , where he played Matt Logan, a world karate champion who assists the police in their investigation. The film was developed while touring for Good Guys Wear Black . Again no studio wanted to pick it up, but it out-grossed the previous film by making $ 20 million at the box office. In 1980, he released The Octagon , where his character must stop
927-479: A group of terrorists trained in the ninja style. Unlike his previous films, this time the studios were interested. American Cinema Releasing distributed it and it made almost $ 19 million at the box office. In 1981, he starred in Steve Carver 's An Eye for an Eye . In 1982, he had the lead in the action horror film Silent Rage . It was his first film released by a major studio, Columbia Pictures . Norris plays
1030-687: A group of terrorists. The Delta Force was a box office success. In October, Ruby-Spears ' cartoon Karate Kommandos first aired. The animated show lasted six episodes. In it, Norris voices a cartoon version of himself who leads a United States government team of operatives known as the Karate Kommandos. Marvel made a comic book adaptation. On November 21, J. Lee Thompson 's action-adventure comedy film Firewalker premiered, where Norris co-lead with Louis Gossett Jr. . Gossett and Norris play two seasoned treasure hunters whose adventures rarely result in any notable success. Norris explained that
1133-495: A hit, and he soon became a popular action film star. Norris went on to star in a streak of bankable independently made action and martial arts films, with A Force of One (1979), The Octagon (1980), and An Eye for an Eye (1981). This made Norris an international celebrity. He went on to make studio films like Silent Rage (1982) with Columbia , Forced Vengeance (1982) with MGM , and Lone Wolf McQuade (1983) with Orion . This led Cannon Films to sign Norris into
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#17328476432081236-592: A hostage. It was later sold as Kung Fu Superkicks when the license for the use of the Chuck Norris name expired. In 1984, Norris starred in Joseph Zito 's Missing in Action . It's the first of a series of POW rescue fantasies, where he plays Colonel James Braddock. Produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and released under their Cannon Films banner, with which he had signed a multiple movie deal. Norris later dedicated these films to his younger brother Wieland, who
1339-522: A longer time than modern memes. As the Internet protocols evolved, so did memes. Lolcats originated from imageboard website 4chan , becoming the prototype of the " image macro " format (an image overlaid by large text). Other early forms of image-based memes included demotivators (parodized motivational posters), photoshopped images, comics (such as rage comics ), and anime fan art , sometimes made by doujin circles in various countries. After
1442-469: A major film release was in The Expendables 2 (2012). Throughout his film and TV career, Norris diversified from his regular endeavors. He is a noted writer, having penned books on martial arts , exercise , philosophy , politics , Christianity , Western fiction , and biography . He was twice a New York Times bestselling author, first with his book on his personal philosophy of positive force and
1545-587: A martial arts studio. Norris started to participate in martial arts competitions. He was defeated in his first two tournaments, dropping decisions to Joe Lewis and Allen Steen . He lost three matches at the International Karate Championships to Tony Tulleners. By 1967, Norris had improved enough that he scored victories over the likes of Vic Moore . On June 3, Norris won the 1967 tournament of karate, Norris defeated seven opponents, until his final fight with Skipper Mullins . On June 24, Norris
1648-558: A member of the Texas Rangers , a state-level bureau of investigation, and is about his adventures fighting criminals with his partner James Trivette. It lasted eight seasons on CBS and continued in syndication on other channels, notably the Hallmark Channel . The show was very successful in the ratings throughout its run, ranking among the Top 30 programs from 1995 until 1999, and ranking in
1751-619: A meme, which involved mutation by random change and spreading through accurate replication as in Darwinian selection. Dawkins explained that Internet memes are thus a "hijacking of the original idea", evolving the very concept of a meme in this new direction. Nevertheless, by 2013, Limor Shifman solidified the relationship of memes to internet culture and reworked Dawkins' concept for online contexts. Such an association has been shown to be empirically valuable as internet memes carry an additional property that Dawkins' "memes" do not: internet memes leave
1854-535: A minor role in The Wrecking Crew (1968). Friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon (1972). While Norris continued acting, friend and student Steve McQueen suggested he take it seriously. Norris took the starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977), which turned a profit. His second lead, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), became
1957-413: A modern form of the political cartoon , offering a way to democratize political commentary. Among the earliest political memes were those arising from the viral Dean scream , an excerpt from a speech delivered by Vermont governor Howard Dean . Over time, Internet memes have become an increasingly important element in political campaigns, as online communities contribute to broader discourse through
2060-498: A multiple film deal, starting with Missing in Action (1984), which proved to be very successful and launched a trilogy. Norris started to work almost exclusively on high-profile action films with Cannon, becoming its leading star during the 1980s. Films with Cannon include Invasion U.S.A (1985), The Delta Force (1986), and Firewalker (1986), among others. Apart from the Cannon films, Norris made Code of Silence (1985), which
2163-437: A new meaning by merging political and cultural references from distinct contexts. Internet memes can also function as in-jokes within specific online communities, where they convey insider knowledge that may be incomprehensible to outsiders. This fosters a sense of collective identity within the group. Conversely, some memes achieve widespread cultural relevance, being understood and appreciated by broader audiences outside of
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#17328476432082266-517: A new meme from scratch. Fashion house Gucci employed the former strategy, launching a series of Instagram ads that reimagined popular memes featuring its watch collection. The image macro "The Most Interesting Man in the World" is an example of the latter, a meme generated from an advertising campaign for the Dos Equis beer brand. Products may also gain popularity through internet memes without intention by
2369-547: A powerful drug king in San Francisco, where he dominates the criminal world including the police department. He is eventually challenged by a young police officer who stands up to corruption. The film played theatrically in the United States in 1981 as Slaughter in San Francisco . It was noticed that it was an older, low-budget film announcing Norris as the lead. The film played as a double-bill to other action and genre film. It
2472-463: A sheriff who must stop a psychopath on a rampage. Shortly afterward MGM gave him a three-movie deal and that same year, they released Forced Vengeance (1982). Norris was unhappy with the direction they wanted to take with him, hence the contract was canceled. In 1983, Norris made Lone Wolf McQuade with Orion Pictures and Carver directing. He plays a reckless but brave Texas Ranger who defeats an arms dealer played by David Carradine . The film
2575-428: A significant aspect of Internet culture and are the subject of academic research. They appear across a broad spectrum of contexts, including marketing, economics, finance, politics, social movements, religion, and healthcare. While memes are often viewed as falling under fair use protection, their incorporation of material from pre-existing works can sometimes result in copyright disputes. Internet memes derive from
2678-448: A sixth dan will wear a red-and-white belt. The red-and-white belt is often reserved only for ceremonial occasions, and a regular black belt is still worn during training. At 9th or 10th dan some schools award red . In some schools of jujutsu , the shihan rank and higher wear purple belts. These other colors are often still referred to collectively as "black belts". Internet meme An Internet meme , or meme (/miːm/, "MEEM"),
2781-445: A social media-based approach to marketing that was initially met with success (resulting in an almost 50% profit growth that year), but received criticism after sharing a controversial Pepe meme that was negatively perceived by consumers. Meme stocks are a phenomenon where stock values for a company rise significantly in a short period due to a surge in interest online and subsequent buying by investors. Video game retailer GameStop
2884-466: A story and where the action would take place when it is emotionally right. The low-budget film turned out to be very successful. In 1978, Norris starred in Good Guys Wear Black . He considers it to be his first significant lead role. No studio wanted to release it, so Norris and his producers four-walled it, renting the theaters and taking whatever money came in. The film did very well; shot on
2987-450: A time. Embarrassed by his father's behavior and the family's financial plight, Norris developed a debilitating introversion that lasted for his entire childhood. Norris joined the United States Air Force as an Air Policeman (AP) in 1958 and was sent to Osan Air Base , South Korea. It was there that Norris acquired the nickname "Chuck" and began his training in Tang Soo Do (tangsudo), an interest that led to black belts in that art and
3090-474: Is Pepe the Frog, which has been used as a symbol for the alt-right political movement, as well as for pro-democracy ideologies in the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests. Internet memes can be powerful tools in social movements, constructing collective identity and providing platform for discourse. During the 2010 It Gets Better Project for LGBTQ+ empowerment, memes were used to uplift LGBTQ+ youth while negotiating
3193-518: Is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet , primarily through social media platforms like YouTube , Twitter , and Reddit . Internet memes manifest in a variety of formats, including images , videos , GIFs , and other viral content . Key characteristics of memes include their tendency to be parodied , their use of intertextuality , their viral dissemination, and their continual evolution. The term " meme "
Chuck Norris - Misplaced Pages Continue
3296-498: Is commonly more rigorous and more centralised than for lower grades. In contrast to the "black belt as master" stereotype, a black belt commonly indicates the wearer is competent in a style's basic technique and principles. Another way to describe this links to the terms used in Japanese arts; shodan (for a first degree black belt), means literally the first/beginning step, and the next grades, nidan and sandan are each numbered as ni
3399-513: Is credited with launching him toward stardom. In 1973, Norris played a role in Jonathan Kaplan 's The Student Teachers . In 1974, actor Steve McQueen , who was his martial art student and friend at the time, saw his potential and encouraged him to begin acting classes at MGM . That same year, he played the supporting role of the main antagonist in Lo Wei 's Yellow Faced Tiger . Norris plays
3502-409: Is disputed whether the use of memes constitutes copyright infringement. Fair use is a defence under U.S. copyright law which protects work made using other copyrighted works. Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act outlines four factors for analysis of fair use: The first factor implies the secondary use of a copyrighted work should be "transformative" (that is, giving novel meaning or expression to
3605-524: Is involved in teaching a martial art. In Japanese martial arts the further subdivisions of black belt ranks may be linked to dan grades and indicated by 'stripes' on the belt. Yūdansha (roughly translating from Japanese to "person who holds a dan grade") is often used to describe those who hold a black belt rank. While the belt remains black, stripes or other insignia may be added to denote seniority, in some arts, very senior grades will wear differently colored belts. In judo and some forms of karate ,
3708-556: Is recognised as the first meme stock. r/WallStreetBets , a subreddit where participants discuss stock trading , and Robinhood Markets , a financial services company, became notable in 2021 for their involvement in the popularisation of meme stocks. "YOLO investors" are a phenomenon that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic , who are less risk averse in their investments compared to their traditional counterparts. Additionally, memes have developed an association with cryptocurrency with
3811-532: Is reinterpreted to suit the specific needs and desires of those communities, often diverging from the creator’s original intent. Modifications to memes can lead them to transcend social and cultural boundaries. Memes spread virally, in a manner similar to the SIR (Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered) model used to describe the transmission of diseases. Once a meme has reached a critical number of individuals, its continued spread becomes inevitable. Research by Coscia examined
3914-624: Is the "E" meme, a picture of YouTuber Markiplier photoshopped onto Lord Farquaad from the film Shrek , in turn photoshopped into a scene from businessman Mark Zuckerberg 's hearing in Congress and captioned with a lone 'E'. Elizabeth Bruenig of the Washington Post described this as a "digital update to the surreal and absurd genres of art and literature that characterized the tumultuous early 20th century". Many modern memes make use of humorously absurd and even surrealist themes. Examples of
4017-405: Is the source of memes such as the "Renegade" dance. In 2022, the term brain rot became used to reflect a shift in how memes, particularly TikTok videos, were being interacted with. The term describes content lacking in quality and meaning, often associated with slang and trends popular among Generation Alpha , such as " skibidi ", " rizz ", " gyatt ", and " fanum tax ". The name comes from
4120-421: Is two and san is three, meaning second step, third step, etc. As a "black belt" is commonly viewed as conferring some status, achieving one has been used as a marketing gimmick. For example, a school might guarantee that one will be awarded within a certain period, or for a certain amount of money. Such schools are sometimes referred to as McDojos or belt factories. In some Japanese schools, after obtaining
4223-627: The Randy Travis television special Wind in the Wire first aired. Norris was among the guests. At the 1994 edition of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s Survivor Series event, Norris was the special outside enforcer for the Casket Match between The Undertaker and Yokozuna . During the match, Norris delivered a roundhouse kick to an interfering Jeff Jarrett . In 1996, Norris wrote
Chuck Norris - Misplaced Pages Continue
4326-605: The Total Gym infomercials. In 2005, Norris found new fame on the Internet when Chuck Norris facts became an Internet meme documenting humorous, fictional, and often absurd feats of strength and endurance. Although Norris himself did not produce the "facts", he was hired to endorse many products that incorporated Chuck Norris facts in advertising. The phenomenon resulted in six books (two of them New York Times bestsellers ), two video games, and several appearances on talk shows, such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien , in which he read
4429-451: The Chuck Norris facts. The player takes control of Norris in a side-scrolling beat 'em up . The game was well reviewed. Since 2010, Norris has been a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate writing on both personal health issues and broader issues of health care in America. Throughout the 2010s, Norris appeared in advertisements for T-Mobile , World of Warcraft , BZ WBK ,
4532-481: The French TV show "Pieds dans le plat", Hoegaarden , United Healthcare, Hesburger , Cerveza Poker, Toyota , and in the 2020s, QuikTrip . In 2012, Norris played a mercenary in The Expendables 2 . The film was a success and grossed over $ 310 million worldwide. That same year, Norris and his wife Gena founded CForce Bottling Co. after an aquifer was discovered on his ranch. In 2017, Norris became Fiat 's ambassador,
4635-657: The Most Terrifying Man in the Universe , and Chuck Norris Vs. Mr. T: 400 Facts About the Baddest Dudes in the History of Ever (also a New York Times bestseller). That year Norris with the same team published a sequel to The Justice Riders called A Threat to Justice . Tyndale House Publishers also published a book praising Norris, entitled The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book: 101 of Chuck's Favorite Facts and Stories , which
4738-579: The Sunday Night Movie of the Week Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire . The production was a continuation of the series, and not scripted to be a reunion movie. Norris reprised his role as Walker for the movie. He has stated that future Walker, Texas Ranger Movie of the Week projects are expected; however, this was severely impaired by CBS's 2006–2007 season decision to no longer regularly schedule Movies of
4841-558: The Top 20 in both the 1995–1996 and 1998–1999 seasons. In 1999, Norris produced and played Walker in a supporting role in the Walker, Texas Ranger spin-off Sons of Thunder . The same year, also playing the role of Walker, Norris acted in a crossover episode of the Sammo Hung 's TV show Martial Law . For another crossover, Hung also appeared as his character in Walker, Texas Ranger . Separately from Walker, Texas Ranger, on August 25, 1993,
4944-535: The US military. In 2020, Norris acted in the series finale of Hawaii Five-0 . In 2021, Norris was featured as a character in the video game World of Tanks during a holiday event. Norris has founded two major martial arts systems: American Tang Soo Do and Chuck Norris System (formerly known as Chun Kuk Do). American Tang Soo Do was formed in 1966 by Norris, which is combination of Moo Duk Kwan-style Tang Soo Do , Judo and Karate ( Shito-Ryu and Shotokan ). Over
5047-404: The Week on Sunday night. Chuck Norris facts originally started appearing on the Internet in early 2005. Created by Ian Spector , they are satirical factoids about Norris. Since then, they have become widespread in popular culture. The "facts" are normally absurd hyperbolic claims about Norris's toughness, attitude, virility, sophistication, and masculinity. Norris has written his own response to
5150-627: The ability of a meme to spread, is promoted by factors such as humor (such as the comically translated video game line " All your base are belong to us "), intertextuality (as in the various pop culture-referencing renditions of the " Star Wars Kid " viral video), and juxtaposition of seemingly incongruous elements (exemplified in the Bert is Evil meme). Finally, longevity is essential for a meme’s continued circulation and evolution over time. Internet memes can either remain consistent or evolve over time. This evolution may involve changes in meaning while retaining
5253-461: The adaptation and transformation of a meme through imitation or parody, either by reproducing the meme in a new context ("mimicry") or by remixing the original material ("remix"). In mimicry, the meme is recreated in a different setting, as seen when different individuals replicate the viral video " Charlie Bit My Finger ." Remix, on the other hand, involves technological manipulation, such as altering an image with Photoshop , while retaining elements of
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#17328476432085356-440: The application Vine , a format of memes emerged in the form of short videos and scripted sketches. An example is the "What's Nine Plus Ten?" meme, a Vine video depicting a child humorously providing an incorrect answer to a math problem. After the shutdown of Vine in 2017, the de facto replacement became Chinese social network TikTok , which similarly utilises the short video format. The platform has become immensely popular, and
5459-402: The blog Get Digital for publishing the "Socially Awkward Penguin" meme without permission. Under United States copyright law, copyright protection subsists in "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device". It
5562-407: The book The Secret Power Within: Zen Solutions to Real Problems . Since 1997, Norris has appeared with Christie Brinkley in a long-running series of cable TV infomercials promoting Total Gym home fitness equipment. On November 1, 1998, CBS premiered Michael Preece 's television film Logan's War: Bound by Honor , starring Norris and Eddie Cibrian . The television film was ranked third among
5665-552: The community's collective identity. In 2014, the viral Ice Bucket Challenge raised money and awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Motor Neurone Disease (ALS/MND). Furthermore, internet memes proved an important medium in the discourse surrounding the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. Internet memes have also been used in the context of religion . They create a participatory culture that enable individuals to collectively make meaning of religious beliefs, reflecting
5768-501: The copyright holders) have made money through sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in auctions . Ben Lashes, a manager of numerous memes, stated their sales as NFTs made over US$ 2 million and established memes as serious forms of art. One example is Disaster Girl , based on a photo of Zoe Roth at age 4 taken in Mebane, North Carolina , in January 2005. After this photo became famous and
5871-428: The development of meme currencies such as Dogecoin , Shiba Inu Coin, and Pepe Coin. Meme cryptocurrencies have suggested comparisons between meme value and monetary markets. Internet memes are a medium for fast communication to large online audiences, which has led to their use by those seeking to express a political opinion or actively campaign for (or against) a political entity. In some ways, they can be seen as
5974-463: The earliest examples of internet memes, specifically the smiley emoticon ":-)", introduced by Scott Fahlman in 1982. The concept of memes in an online context was formally proposed by Mike Godwin in the June 1993 issue of Wired . In 2013, Dawkins characterized an Internet meme as being a meme deliberately altered by human creativity—distinguished from biological genes and his own pre-Internet concept of
6077-513: The factors contributing to a meme’s propagation and longevity, concluding that while memes compete for attention—often resulting in shorter lifespans—they can also collaborate, enhancing their chances of survival. A meme that experiences an exceptionally high peak in popularity is unlikely to endure unless it is uniquely distinct. Conversely, a meme without such a peak, but that coexists with others, tends to have greater longevity. In 2013, Dominic Basulto, writing for The Washington Post , argued that
6180-595: The facts or participated in sketches. Norris was born in Ryan, Oklahoma , on March 10, 1940, to Wilma (née Scarberry) and Ray Dee Norris, who was a World War II Army soldier , mechanic, bus driver, and a truck driver. Norris has stated that he has Irish and Cherokee roots. Norris was named after Carlos Berry, his father's minister . He was the oldest of three brothers, the younger two being Wieland and Aaron . Wieland Norris informed his eldest sibling he would not reach his 27th birthday; this prediction came true in 1970 when he
6283-553: The fifty states as well as half a dozen from abroad who joined for the preliminaries. Norris retained his title and won Karate's triple crown for the most tournament wins of the year, he also got the Fighter of the Year award by Black Belt magazine. Around this time, Norris made his acting debut in the Matt Helm spy spoof The Wrecking Crew . In 1972, Norris acted as Bruce Lee 's nemesis in
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#17328476432086386-629: The film The Cutter in 2006, where he plays a detective on a rescue mission. That year time he published the novel The Justice Riders , co-written with Ken Abraham, Aaron Norris, and Tim Grayem. Gotham Books , the adult division of Penguin USA , released a book penned by Ian Spector entitled The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 facts about the World's Greatest Human . Norris subsequently filed suit in December against Penguin USA claiming "trademark infringement, unjust enrichment and privacy rights". Norris dropped
6489-570: The first movie where Norris would wear his trademark beard. The same year, he also published an exercise called Toughen Up! the Chuck Norris Fitness System . Also in 1983, Xonox produced the video game Chuck Norris Superkicks for the Commodore 64 , VIC-20 , Atari 2600 , and Colecovision . The game combines two types of gameplay: moving through a map, and fighting against enemies. The player takes control of Norris who has to liberate
6592-411: The former include "they did surgery on a grape", a video depicting a Da Vinci Surgical System performing test surgery on a grape, and the "moth meme", a close-up picture of a moth with captions humorously conveying the insect's love of lamps . Surreal memes incorporate layers of irony to make them unique and nonsensical, often as a means of escapism from mainstream meme culture. After the success of
6695-660: The founding of the Chun Kuk Do ("Universal Way") form. When he returned to the United States, he continued to serve as an AP at March Air Force Base in California. Norris was discharged from the Air Force in August 1962 with the rank of Airman first class . Following his military service, Norris applied to be a police officer in Torrance, California . While on the waiting list, Norris opened
6798-495: The increasing influence of memes; as part of the 2020 US presidential campaign , Michael Bloomberg sponsored a number of Instagram accounts (with over 60 million followers collectively) to post memes related to the Bloomberg campaign. The campaign was faulted for treating memes as a commodity that can be bought. Beyond their use in elections, Internet memes can become symbols for various political ideologies. A salient example
6901-502: The lawsuit in 2008. The book is a New York Times bestseller. Since then, Spector has published four more books based on Chuck Norris facts , these are Chuck Norris Cannot Be Stopped: 400 All-New Facts About the Man Who Knows Neither Fear Nor Mercy , Chuck Norris: Longer and Harder: The Complete Chronicle of the World's Deadliest, Sexiest, and Beardiest Man , The Last Stand of Chuck Norris: 400 All New Facts About
7004-427: The medium to disseminate information on the virus and its vaccine . Since many memes are derived from pre-existing works, it has been contended that memes violate the copyright of the original authors. However, some view memes as falling under the ambit of fair use in the United States. This dilemma has caused conflict between meme producers and copyright owners: for example, Getty Images ' demand for payment from
7107-491: The meme’s structure, or vice versa, with such transformations occurring either by chance or through deliberate efforts like parody. A study by Miltner examined the lolcats meme, tracing its development from an in-joke within computer and gaming communities on the website 4chan to a broader source of humor and emotional support. As the meme entered mainstream culture, it lost favor with its original creators. Miltner explained that as content moves through different communities, it
7210-797: The original concept of " memes " as units of cultural transmission, passed from person to person. In the digital realm, this transmission occurs primarily through online platforms, such as social media . Although related, internet memes differ from traditional memes in that they often represent fleeting trends, whereas the success of traditional memes is measured by their endurance over time. Additionally, internet memes tend to be less abstract in nature compared to their traditional counterparts. They are highly versatile in form and purpose, serving as tools for light entertainment, self-expression, social commentary, and even political discourse. Two fundamental characteristics of internet memes are creative reproduction and intertextuality . Creative reproduction refers to
7313-488: The original meme. Intertextuality in memes involves the blending of different cultural references or contexts. An example of this is the combination of U.S. politician Mitt Romney ’s phrase “ binders full of women ” from the 2012 U.S. presidential debate with a scene from the Korean pop song “ Gangnam Style .” In this case, the phrase "my binders full of women exploded" is superimposed on a frame from Psy ’s music video, creating
7416-435: The original work); many memes fulfil this criterion, placing pieces of media in a new context to serve a different purpose to that of the original author. The second factor favours copied works drawing from factual sources, which may be problematic for memes derived from fictional works (such as films). Many of these memes, however, only use small portions of such works (such as still images), favouring an argument of fair use per
7519-478: The originating subculture. A study by Michele Knobel and Colin Lankshear examined how Richard Dawkins' three characteristics of successful traditional memes—fidelity, fecundity, and longevity—apply to internet memes. It was found that fidelity in the context of internet memes is better described as replicability, as memes are frequently modified through remixing while still maintaining their core message. Fecundity, or
7622-584: The parody on his website, stating that he does not feel offended by them and finds some of them funny, claiming that his personal favorite is that they wanted to add his face to Mount Rushmore , but the granite is not hard enough for his beard. At first it was mostly college students exchanging them, but they later became extremely widespread. From that point on, Norris started to tour with the Chuck Norris facts appearing on major talk shows, and even visiting troops in Iraq for morale boosting appearances. Norris starred in
7725-431: The perceived negative psychological and cognitive effects caused by exposure to such content. The practice of using memes to market products or services has been termed "memetic marketing". Internet memes allow brands to circumvent the conception of advertisements as irksome, making them less overt and more tailored to the likes of their target audience. Marketing personnel may choose to utilise an existing meme, or create
7828-432: The phrase reaching mainstream prominence around 2014 and referring to deliberately zany or odd memes with features such as oversaturated colours, compression artifacts , crude humour, and overly loud sounds (termed "ear rape"). The term "dank", which refers to cold, damp places, has been adapted as a way to describe memes as "new" or "cool". The term may also be used to describe memes that have become overused and stale to
7931-527: The point of paradoxically becoming humorous again. The phenomenon of dank memes sprouted a subculture called the "meme market", satirising Wall Street and applying the associated jargon (such as "stocks") to internet memes. Originally started on Reddit as /r/MemeEconomy, users jokingly "buy" or "sell" shares in a meme reflecting opinion on its potential popularity. "Deep-fried" memes refer to those that have been distorted and run through several filters and/or layers of lossy compression . An example of these
8034-416: The producer themselves; for instance, the film Snakes on a Plane became a cult classic after creation of the website SnakesOnABlog.com by law student Brian Finkelstein. Use of memes by brands, while often advantageous, has been subject to criticism for seemingly forced, unoriginal, or unfunny usage of memes, which can negatively impact a brand's image. For example, the fast food company Wendy's began
8137-421: The project came about when he wanted to show a lighter side of himself. Gossett appreciated Norris efforts and said "I have great respect for what actors call stretch. Chuck had to open up first to allow this atmosphere. It has to do with his desire to stretch. Someone else could have been quite insecure. He chose to open up. He's studying hard and he's serious." The review were mostly negative, while some thought it
8240-404: The psychology of self-improvement based on personal anecdotes called The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story (1988). His second New York Times bestseller, Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America (2008), is about his critique of current issues in the United States. Norris also appeared in several commercials endorsing several products, most notably being one of the main spokespersons for
8343-472: The release of YouTube in 2005, video-based memes such as Rickrolling and viral videos such as " Gangnam Style " and the Harlem shake emerged. The appearance of social media websites such as Twitter , Facebook , and Instagram provided additional mediums for the spread of memes, and the creation of meme-generating websites made their production more accessible. "Dank memes" are a more recent phenomenon,
8446-679: The second time the All-American Karate Championship. It was the last time Norris participated and retired undefeated. While competing, Norris met Bruce Lee , who at the time was known for the TV series The Green Hornet . They developed a friendship, as well as a training and working relationship. In 1969, during the first weekend of August, Norris defended his title as world champion at the International Karate Championship. The competition included champions from most of
8549-475: The speed of dissemination of evidence-based health practices. A study by Reynolds and Boyd found the majority of participants (who were healthcare staff) felt that memes could be an appropriate means of improving healthcare worker's knowledge of and compliance with infection prevention practices. Internet memes were also used in Nigeria to raise awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic , with healthcare professionals using
8652-582: The tenth and final loss of his career, losing an upset decision to Louis Delgado. On November 24, 1968, he avenged his defeat to Delgado and by doing so won the Professional Middleweight Karate champion title, which he then held for six consecutive years. On April 1, Norris successfully defended his All-American Karate Championship title, in a round-robin tournament, at the Karate tournament of champions of North America. Again that year, Norris won for
8755-410: The third factor. With regards to the fourth factor, most memes are non-commercial in nature and thus would not have adverse effects on the potential market for the copyright work. Given these factors, and the overall reliance of memes on appropriation of other sources, it has been argued that they deserve protection from copyright infringement suits. Some individuals who are subjects of memes (and thus
8858-559: The thirteen most viewed shows of that week. In the early 2000s, Norris starred as a secret agent in the CBS television films The President's Man (2000) and The President's Man: A Line in the Sand .(2002). In 2003, Norris played a role in the supernatural Christian film Bells of Innocence . That same year, he acted in one episode of the TV show Yes, Dear . In 2004, Rawson Marshall Thurber 's comedy film DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story
8961-545: The title role and his brother Aaron Norris directed. On August 28, Norris starred in Hero and the Terror directed by William Tannen. In it Norris stars as a cop investigating a serial killer. By 1990, his films had collectively grossed over $ 500 million worldwide . By this time, he had drawn comparisons to both Bruce Lee and Clint Eastwood , sometimes called the "blonde Bruce Lee" for his martial arts film roles while his "loner" persona
9064-694: The use of memes. For example, Ted Cruz 's 2016 Republican presidential bid was damaged by Internet memes that jokingly speculated he was the Zodiac Killer . Research has shown the use of memes during elections has a role to play in informing the public on political themes. A study explored this in relation to the 2017 UK general election , and concluded that memes acted as a widely shared conduit for basic political information to audiences who would usually not seek it out. They also found that memes may play some role in increasing voter turnout . Some political campaigns have begun to explicitly taken advantage of
9167-474: The widely acclaimed martial arts movie Way of the Dragon (titled Return of the Dragon in its U.S. distribution). The film grossed over HK$ 5.3 million at the Hong Kong box office, beating previous records set by Lee's own films, The Big Boss and Fist of Fury , making it the highest-grossing film of 1972 in Hong Kong. The Way of the Dragon went on to gross an estimated US$ 130 million worldwide. The film
9270-465: The widespread use of memes, particularly by the marketing and advertising industries, has led to a decline in their original cultural value. Once considered valuable cultural artifacts meant to endure, memes now often convey trivial rather than meaningful ideas. The word meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene as an attempt to explain how aspects of culture replicate, mutate, and evolve ( memetics ). Emoticons are among
9373-448: The years it has been further developed by former black belts of his and their students. Black belt (martial arts) The systematic use of belt colour to denote rank was first used in Japan by Jigoro Kano , the founder of judo in the 1880s. Previously, Japanese Koryu instructors tended to provide rank certificates only. Initially the wide obi was used. As practitioners trained in
9476-690: Was a fine for a light action film. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times , enjoyed it of the cast he said they "really get into the light-hearted spirit of the occasion." The film made $ 11,834,302 at the box-office. In 1987, he published the New York Times Best Seller The Secret of Inner Strength: My Story . It is about his self-improvement philosophy. On January 2, 1988, Braddock: Missing in Action III premiered, Norris returned to
9579-543: Was a private in the 101st Airborne Division , and had been killed in June 1970 in Vietnam while on patrol in the defense of Firebase Ripcord . The film was a huge success, and Norris became Cannon's most prominent star of the 1980s. Missing in Action 2: The Beginning premiered on March 1, 1985. It is a prequel to the first installment, about Braddock being held in a North Vietnamese POW camp. Orion Pictures released Code of Silence on May 3. It received positive reviews and
9682-422: Was a worldwide hit and had a positive reception from movie critics, often being compared to Sergio Leone 's stylish Spaghetti Westerns . The film became the inspiration for Norris's future hit TV show Walker, Texas Ranger . Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5 star rating, calling the character of J.J. McQuade worthy of a film series and predicting the character would be a future classic, and it would be
9785-402: Was also a box-office success. Code of Silence is a crime drama, and features Norris as a streetwise plainclothes officer who takes down a crime czar. Invasion U.S.A. premiered on September 27, with Zito directing. On February 14, 1986, Menahem Golan 's The Delta Force premiered. Norris co-stars with Lee Marvin . They play leaders of an elite squad of Special Forces troops who face
9888-509: Was co-written and officially endorsed by him. In 2008, he published the political non-fiction book Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America , which reached number 14 on The New York Times best seller list in September 2008. That same year, Gameloft produced the video game Chuck Norris: Bring On the Pain for mobile devices, based on the popularity Norris had developed on the internet with
9991-603: Was compared to the Eastwood character Dirty Harry . That same year, MGM acquired the Cannon Films library. Norris continued making films with Aaron, who directed him in Delta Force 2 , The Hitman , Sidekicks (1993), Hellbound (1994), Top Dog (1995), and Forest Warrior (1996). In 1993, he began shooting the action series Walker, Texas Ranger . The television show is centered on Sergeant Cordell Walker (Norris),
10094-617: Was declared champion at the S. Henry Cho 's All-American Karate Championship at the Madison Square Garden , taking the title from Julio LaSalle and defeating Joe Lewis. During this time, Norris also worked for the Northrop Corporation and opened a chain of karate schools. Norris's official website lists celebrity clients at the schools; among them Steve McQueen , Chad McQueen , Bob Barker , Priscilla Presley , Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond . In early 1968, Norris suffered
10197-521: Was described as a low-budget martial arts actioner taking advantage of Norris's fame. In 1975, Norris wrote his first book Winning Tournament Karate on the practical study of competition training for any rank. It covers all phases of executing speedy attacks, conditioning, fighting form drills, and one-step sparring techniques. Norris's first starring role was 1977's Breaker! Breaker! He chose it after turning down offers to do several martial-arts films. Norris decided that he wanted to do films that had
10300-477: Was killed in the Vietnam War. When Norris was 16 years old, his parents divorced, and he later relocated to Prairie Village, Kansas and then to Torrance, California with his mother and brothers. Norris has described his childhood as downbeat. He was nonathletic, shy, and scholastically mediocre. His father, Ray, worked intermittently as an automobile mechanic, and went on drinking binges that lasted for months at
10403-615: Was originally introduced by Richard Dawkins in 1972 to describe the concept of cultural transmission. The term "Internet meme" was coined by Mike Godwin in 1993 in reference to the way memes proliferated through early online communities, including message boards, Usenet groups, and email. The emergence of social media platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook , and Instagram further diversified memes and accelerated their spread. Newer meme genres include "dank" and surrealist memes, as well as short-form videos popularized by platforms like Vine and TikTok . Memes are now recognized as
10506-424: Was received as one of his best films. In the 1990s, he played the title role in the long-running CBS television series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 until 2001. Until 2006, Norris continued taking lead roles in action movies, including Delta Force 2 (1990), The Hitman (1991), Sidekicks (1992), Forest Warrior (1996), and The President's Man (2000) and its sequel (2002). His last appearance in
10609-526: Was released. Norris plays himself as a judge during a dodgeball game. Described by critics as "a raunchy comedy that delivers for many", it grossed $ 167.7 million. That same year, he published his autobiography Against All Odds: My Story . In 2005, Norris founded the World Combat League (WCL), a full-contact, team-based martial arts competition, of which part of the proceeds are given to his Kickstart Kids program. On October 17, 2005, CBS premiered
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