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Part of Meme Assignment - Covid Experience

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ENGL 3570 – 001
Dr. Kitta
Anonymous

Meme Assignment – Covid Experience
“Today I feel like the dad from coraline” – Coralines dad, a
man with brown hair and with glasses hanging halfway
down his nose. He wears a green Michigan State sweater
and sits hunched over at his desk, typing on his computer. He
has dark circles around both of his protruding eyes.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a time of loss of
life and emotional exhaustion. I was in my senior year
of high school, about two months from graduation,
when the pandemic started. School was moved to
online delivery but because I was a senior, if I was
passing my classes at the time of the nationwide
shutdown, then I was not required to attend online classes. Fast forward a couple of months to August, I
found myself at my desk regularly as my freshman semester of college started. A lot of the classes were
general education courses that required several papers and hours of studying. This turned into many
late nights completing assignments. I was not used to long hours of doing schoolwork at the computer,
which led me to feelings of exhaustion. However, the real exhaustion set in once I concluded my fall
semester. In the spring, I was in module art classes that involved a lot of different little projects with
extensive brainstorming for each one. I spent many nights making and looking over thumbnails for class
the next day. Because the classes were online, they were scheduled back-to-back. So, when one three-

hour studio class concluded, ten minutes later, another one started. This cycle led me to feeling a level
of exhaustion I had not experienced in high school and that’s why I chose the above meme.
In the scene in the film, Coraline opens the door to her dad's office. As they have just moved in,
the room is filled with boxes, some stacked to the ceiling. The dad has his back to the door and is
hunched over, actively typing. Coraline tries to engage in conversation with him and he responds but, he
just wants her to leave the room. He tells her to even go out and count all the windows and doors to
“just let [him] work.” It is the feeling of getting so tired to a point where any little distraction becomes
very problematic and all you want to do is complete your work. The scene really shows the lack of
attention to Coraline and the workaholism of the dad that the meme divulges from. It is not a bad thing
that the meme does not pull the meaning from the film but I think it is important to provide context to
the meme.
The hunched posture found in the image is similar to how I pictured myself sitting at my desk
late at night. The darkness of the circles around his eyes are how I felt my eyes looked when they would
start twitching after staring at the screen for so long. His glasses – ironic that I wear them as well. They
hang halfway down his nose which shows that he does not care. His overall demeanor and posture,
screams exhaustion but he is still working. He may be so tired but in the movie scene he kept typing
because he had a deadline. Similarly, I could have gone to bed at normal hours and taken penalties for
late work, but I chose to work late in order to turn in assignments on time. I continued to push and work
although I was tired.
Another observation of Carolines Dad is his expression, it does not scream or communicate
enjoyment. Once it gets to a certain point at night, usually around ten o’clock, the enjoyment and
motivated energy subsides. It becomes a battle of discipline and combating tiredness. When I look at
this meme, I also see a person working hard and hustling to get their work done. The meaning of

determination is very much implied considering how tired he looks. The look of fatigue is why I mainly
chose the meme but again, it's also the work ethic. When I look back at the pandemic, I think of my time
spent working on schoolwork at my desk. It wasn’t always fun and enjoyable, but I got it done. The two
years of the pandemic wore a lot of people down and I think it is fair to say we all felt tired.