Author Archives: davitt@usc.edu

Daddy Nikias

This USC-specific internet meme was described by a friend after class. It refers to USC President C.L. Max Nikias.

“So, uh, there is this whole thing at USC, that like, uh, Nikias is kind of like the father figure, but also in kind of a kinky way? Uh, so people like to say he is, uh, ‘Daddy Nikias,’ um, which is of course a play on a very sexual way of uh, of uh, talking to someone. Um, you know? So, yeah, of course people are going to take this sort of older authoritarian figure and sort of bring him down to our level as college students and say, ‘Yes, let’s make him very kinky.’ So that’s ‘Daddy Nikias.’”

I thought his observation that the students were attempting to “bring him down to our level” was astute, as jokes like this can help to poke fun at authority figures. This joke originated, as far as either of us know, on the Facebook page “USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens.”

Marshall Snakes

This USC-specific internet meme was described by a classmate after class had ended. It refers to students in the Marshall School of Business.

“Um, Marshall students are, like, known for being, like, snakes. And, I guess the snakes are supposed to be like, that they’re sneaky and like mean and bad, and like, um, cross you over. And so they get a lot of shit on the page for being, like, assholes really. And so like, there’s all these memes about, like, snakes, and how Marshall students are like snakes, and how it’s funny, and how everyone should hate them.”

This meme originated on the Facebook page, “USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens.” She described this page to me as well:

“All of this information is…information can be found, basically like on this USC memes page, um, that a lot of USC students are on, um, or have gotten invited to, and add little posts to, and um, things that are basically just funny to the entire student generation. Or, yeah, student…not generation, I don’t even know what we’re called. Um, body, yeah that’s it.”

Garden of Eden Myth

This version of the Garden of Eden myth was told by my friend outside of a performance venue. He was not raised in any religious setting, and he was never taught the story in an official setting. I started by asking him to tell me the story of Adam and Eve:

“Well, they were created by God, and they were put in the Garden of Eden. And from my understanding, which is limited, um, they were told, you know, ‘Free roam, but don’t go to the apple. Don’t touch the apple, don’t do it, there’s a snake, it’s Satan. Don’t mess with the apple.’ So they were like, ‘aight.’ Um, but temptation got the best of one of the two, I don’t remember who it was. And they succumbed. And they mess with the apple. And um, God kicked them out of the Garden of Eden. And um, it just goes to show that we as humans are not perfect, and will succumb to temptation.”