Forums / Discussion / Meme Research

I'm looking to make an entry on Figwit (aka Frodo Is Great… Who Is That?), but I'm still borderline about its credibility as a meme. It has started on the Internet, and I have evidence of its spread and popularity, but as far as variations or mutations, it doesn't go very far past fan art, fandom and shipping.

Opinions?

Update:

I lurked and found the origin on his fansite.

It was Hadad who christened this ostensibly anonymous and non-speaking elf Figwit, an acronym for ‘Frodo is Grea…who is THAT?!” She shared the sentiment with a British friend she met on a LOTR message board, Sherry de Andres. Who was this mysterious elf? What did he do? “Other people found it amusing and joined in the fun,” Hadad tells the Big Issue via email. “In March 2002 we started the website – a place to put all the pictures we found, the parody songs people wrote, the FAQ we wrote and everything else,” she says of the legendary figwitlives.net. “We really didn’t expect it to go beyond that; it was a little inside joke for a small group of people really”.

Figwit is now arguably the most famous film extra in the history of cinema. (Star Wars’ Boba Fett, who has a similarly insane following, at least had some lines…)A google search for Figwit will bring back over fourteen hundred results, other fansites have proliferated and devotees now create their own Figwit mythology in the great slabs of fan fiction they write about this elf that was never actually a character in any of Tolkien’s books. “It still amazes me when I think about it,” admits Hadad of what she has created.

Well, do you think it does have enough variations or mutations, whatever they may be, for you (who has done research into it) to consider it a meme?

Well after researching more, I feel like it has enough derivatives to be considered one, but I feel like a lot of people will argue that it's just a fandom.

Make a thread on 4chan about it, if they don't get the joke its not a joke.

An Internet fandom to an extra from a movie which led the director to make fun of it by making that extra reappear in a sequel ?
Seems like a meme to me.

Still seems like a thing that started on the internet and got popular, but its not like every one you know would get the joke you know what I am trying to say?

I think you should go for it, worst that can happen is that the article is deadpooled, which shouldn't happen if you've done enough research for the article to not suck. :)

I believe it to be a meme, I've certainly heard enough about it.