Intertextual Traces: Meme Propagation of Baba Vanga and The Simpsons’ Predictions in Online Discourse

Abstract

Discussions surrounding the mystic predictions of Baba Vanga and those portrayed in The Simpsons have become a cultural phenomenon in the digital age. Memes are now one of the most furiously propagated forms of these discussions-and thus the study investigates the intertextual mechanisms and linguistic propagation of predictive narratives across social media sites. The corpus of user-generated texts includes, among other forms, Reddit threads, Twitter, and YouTube comments referencing famous predictions. This way, we can see how these dichotomous sources of prophecies are intertextualized, re-contextualized, and propagated through meme culture. Corpus-based discourse analysis CADS combined with intertextual theory identifies recurrent lexical patterns, hashtags, and multimodal elements that function to intertwine these predictions across digital genres. Outcomes reveal that the intertextuality perpetuated through the memes weakens the barriers between satire and belief while further solidifying certain collective memories and anxieties-gone-viral on a global scale (e.g., war, pandemics, AI takeover). The study demonstrates how prediction narratives are re-contextualized into shared, fun, and culturally relevant artifacts with public import in digital discourse, which adds an insight into digital discourse studies. Research of the future might delve into some corpus-based comparative studies across languages, as well as popular platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, may shed light on how the visual and linguistic intertextuality is being constructed in increasingly influential but text-poor digital environments.