“Mouse Literature”, why is it so popular?

If "puppy literature" is about speaking one's mind and "crazy literature" is about being fearless, then "rat literature" is about being small and ordinary. Why is this series of hot memes with "rat" as the first person so popular? Let's take a look at the heroism of "still loving life after recognizing the truth of life" and the romantic color of "looking up at the stars while in the gutter" in "rat literature".

• "Rat, I suddenly realized that I am not the best."
• "Rat, I seem to have had a particularly bad year."
• "I'm afraid of the dark. The sewers are too dark."

Since when, a series of popular memes using "Shu Shu" as the first person have quietly emerged on the Internet.

(One of the “rat literature” on the Internet)

Endless sadness is wrapped in the soft and cute sentences. This expression, which seems to be a joke on the surface but is actually a self-deprecating way of expressing the out-of-control and disorder in life, is defined by netizens as "Mouse Literature".

"Shushu Literature" opens a window for people to freely express their emotions. People who call themselves "shushu" talk, sigh, and vent, and get a moment of respite and rare healing from it. By putting on the "shushu" vest, people can be confident and bold to be their truest selves.

01 The transformation of rats: Why do they lower their status and become willing to become rats?

(A play on the "Uncle Me" meme on Station B)

"Shu Shu Wo Ah" is actually a homophone of "Uncle Wo Ah", which originated from a line used by netizens to tease the chairman of Bilibili. The reason why "Uncle Wo Ah" became popular is that users are dissatisfied with the platform's operating method affecting the original two-dimensional atmosphere, so they use "Uncle Wo Ah, I like the two-dimensional world the most" to satirize Bilibili's monetization path.

Later, the meaning of "鼠鼠" changed again in Tieba. A certain Tieba netizen who was criticized often compared himself to a mouse living in the dark, thinking that he was like a mouse in the sewer who could not stand the light. It was often used as a self-deprecating term for "low-level workers" who were frustrated and unhappy.

Today's "rat literature" has integrated the original meanings of this series of memes. The birth of many rat emoticons has added a bit of cuteness to this originally helpless self-deprecation. The sentence pattern of "rat me" has also been widely used by people in many situations in life.

Why are more and more people willing to lower their status and become a mouse that is "condemned by everyone" in the inherent concept?

(One of the rat emoticons on the Internet)

With the endless creation of netizens, the image of the hamster in the meme has changed subtly. Compared with the "rat man" in the mouths of some netizens on the forum , in the context of "rat literature", the image that people imagine when they say "rat me" has gradually transformed into a furry little hamster. The image of the cute little hamster has dispelled some of the darkness and negative energy in the original meme.

The image of the lovable little hamster makes the story less heavy and easier to talk about even when describing the hardships of reality. After all, for a hamster with limited power, messing up is not uncommon, and problems always come one after another.

02 Writing as "Mouse Literature" and reading as "Realistic Literature"

There was "small town test-taker" in the past and "Langlang Mountain" that cannot be climbed in the future. "Rat Literature" is a newly coined word that expresses the inner world of contemporary young people. Such newly coined words externalize the psychological gap, worries about the future and powerlessness of young people after entering the society, making the common emotions go from abstract to concrete and appear before the eyes in a more intuitive way.

The Internet self-deprecating memes, which are generated by common emotions, are mostly about inferiority, social phobia, workplace, family and other aspects. From this point of view, similar expressions of calling oneself "shushu" are not uncommon. "Shushu literature" is written as "shushu literature" and read as "realistic literature". It is full of people's delicate and trivial negative emotions and miserable and real life situations.

Maslow proposed in his "hierarchy of needs" that "belonging and love" are important psychological needs of people. People need to gain a sense of security by repeatedly confirming the group they belong to and their connection with the world. However, in social platforms dominated by acquaintances, it is often difficult for people to speak freely without any worries. Under the invisible framework, many real emotions are difficult to share; behind anonymity, there are not many worries.

As the definition of "mouse literature" becomes clearer, people who are no longer unfamiliar with the meaning behind the stalk choose to put on "mouse" vests, take off the disguise of "emotional stability" in real life, and describe the "mess" in life that is not worth telling to outsiders with the sentence structure of "mouse me". In the context of "mouse literature", people can reveal themselves more freely and comfortably.

In the vast cyberspace, people are used to using hot topics such as "rat literature" to relieve their confusion in the face of real difficulties. The sentence pattern of "rat me" allows people to externalize their vague state of mind that they cannot tell others, and opens a window for people to express their emotions freely.

(Comment section for social media updates related to "Shu Shu Literature")

In addition, such Internet memes can also provide people with a shelter called "group identity". With no place to vent the long-accumulated pressure and helplessness, people are eager to confirm their connection with the world. So instead of being a lonely person drifting in the sea of ​​mediocrity, it is better to play the role of Mouse for a short time to get a moment of respite and rare healing.

"When confused people look at confused people, they will find direction." People get a sense of solidity from "rat literature" that they belong to the same camp as others. Ordinary and small but sincere and kind rats are never stingy in giving hugs. Although the current predicament is still difficult to shake, hugging many rats tightly seems to be able to gain some comfort and strength to face reality.

03 See the truest individual from the common emotional vortex

Compared to "puppy literature" that loudly shouts out the puppy's passionate and firm love, "rat literature" is more like whispering the mouse's low mood into your ear.

Shushu knew that few people would take his insignificant words to heart, so he plucked up the courage, opened his heart, and carefully told him the true feelings buried deep in his heart.

(Screenshot from the dynamics of the topic related to "Shushu Literature")

The sensitive and tiny rats always seem to touch the softest part of our hearts. Some netizens said that they feel sad every time they see the "Rat Me" meme, "as if a heavy sadness is sweeping over the brain." What makes "Rat Literature" always accompanied by inexplicable sadness?

A short essay that was once popular on social media platforms seems to be able to answer the sad atmosphere associated with the word "rat".

(Screenshot from netizens’ comments under the relevant video)

This short essay, which netizens jokingly call "Licking Mouse Diary", is actually a confession of love from a fan of a virtual anchor to his idol. It presents the expectations, powerlessness and unwillingness of "Mouse" in a concrete way. He believes that there is an unreachable and insurmountable gap between his ideal lover and his real self. Looking up at the distant object of admiration is like a tiny mouse looking up at the sky from a hole in a sewer.

"Mouse Literature" is mostly used by netizens to share their experiences of working in vain and not getting the love they want in life.

In the stories of people who call themselves "rat", they often see themselves as ordinary and insignificant, with unfulfilled wishes of their own, but because they are too dazzling, they are difficult to reach at present, so they have to temporarily store them in their hearts. They follow the teachings and the rules of this society with trepidation, and constantly remind themselves to work hard, but life is always not as good as expected.

Just like a hamster trapped in a small treadmill by humans, it is carried forward involuntarily by the huge wheel, but has no idea where it will end up.

Feeling powerless in the face of expectations and confused in the face of reality, "Rat Literature" came into being in this common emotional vortex.

(The second of the rat emoticons on the Internet)

With the continuous renewal of the series of emoticons, more and more real-life individuals choose to use cute mice as their Internet avatars. Putting aside the inherent cuteness of the word "mouse", why do people love and are keen to play the role of mice?

People’s love for “rat literature” may not simply come from the cuteness of rats themselves, but “rat literature” also allows us to glimpse the most real individuals in the unsatisfactory real life.

Faced with the same problem that cannot be solved, compared with the "crazy literature" that resolutely chooses to "blow up the earth with one punch", the reaction of "Rat Rat" seems more realistic, just like us in real life who "have tried but not completely tried".

"I, Mouse, suddenly realized that I am not the best one, but I live a happy life."

"As for me, Shu Shu, I feel like my life has been particularly miserable this year, but Shu Shu doesn't want it to be so miserable."

"Rat, I'm afraid of the dark. The sewer is too dark, so Rat has to work hard to climb out."

Looking through the "Rat Literature" on social media, it seems that we can find that rats do not intend to let themselves enter the "sewer". They stop for a short while, let out a long sigh that begins with "Rat Me", and after telling the story, life still has to go on, and the beautiful hope of climbing out of the "sewer" still exists.

Behind the seemingly extremely negative expression, there is resistance and acceptance, frustration and active pursuit. In the repetitive "Mouse, I am a rat", a kind of "correct inferiority" is expressed, and a delicate balance is achieved between the various polarized emotions.

"Rat Literature" was then invisibly endowed with the heroism of "still loving life after recognizing the truth of life" and the romantic color of "looking up at the stars while being in the gutter".

"Rat literature" may not be as outspoken as "puppy literature" or as fearless as "crazy literature". It seems to be no different from other Internet self-deprecating memes, small and ordinary. But hiding behind the furry first person, we can be bold and unconcealed.

Author: Soft Candy King, WeChat public account: Zhizhu.com (ID: covricuc), opinions on media topics, current affairs commentary from an academic perspective.

Original title: "Rat Literature": Finding a Window into the Common Emotional Whirlpool"

Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/JxAzmwrTk0y8jKPVvkOYrA