Humor and Resistance in Pakistani Corporate Memes

This study aims at investigating how humor is constructed in corporate memes through cognitive mechanisms and how corporate memes are used as a collective voice by Pakistani employees to express discontent with their work culture and organizational practices. Based on Conceptual blending theory (Fauconnier, & Turner, 2002), this research paper analyzes Pakistani corporate memes selected from widely used platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Pinterest. Drawing upon Bakhtin’s conception of Carnivalesque (Bakhtin, 1984), the significance of workplace humor in challenging dominant narratives, questioning power imbalance and facilitating collective acknowledgement has been highlighted. The findings suggest that the dynamic cognitive processes are responsible for the successful interpretation of humor within corporate memes, depending upon integration of distinct mental spaces evoked by exposure to various ideas present in targeted memes. Further, it is revealed that the workplace memes have the potential to express critique and assert new perspectives by employing techniques such as grotesque exaggeration, visual metaphor, imagery, hyperbole and sarcasm. This article contributes to new debates on internet memes and their potential to galvanize action within digital realm.         Conflict of interest: The authors have declared no potential conflicts of interest and falsification/fabrication of data with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.