About

Porky is a cartoon character from a 1920 Soviet agitprop poster. In the poster and online, the character has been used to represent the bourgeois or ruling class, a literal capitalist pig. He is used in similar way as the Happy Merchant meme without the anti-semitic overtones.

Origin

The character first appeared in a 1920 agitprop^[2] (a portmanteau of "agitation" and "propaganda") poster by Vladimir Mayakovsky,^[4] a Soviet poet and artist, for the Russian Telegraph Agency or ROSTA.^[1][2][3] ROSTA was the state news agency in Soviet Russia from 1918-1935, for which Mayakovsky contributed satirical window cartoons, featuring panels that espoused pro-Soviet ideology. The one featuring Porky (shown below) sees the character reacting to a worker being absent from work and performing his duty. The poster translates to "Every absence is the joy of enemies, but hero of labour is a blow against bourgeois."

Online Usage

Between 2014 and 2015, members of the 8chan messageboard /leftypol/ began using Porky as a symbol for capitalist actors, i.e. bosses, CEOs, politicians, etc. While these threads are no longer available, anecdotal evidence (the formation of /leftypol/ and mentions on 4chan) put Porky's usage as beginning at this time.

Among the earliest mentions of Porky still available online comes from 4chan's /pol/ board.^[4] On June 4th, 2015, an Anonymous user posted a picture of Porky (shown below, left) and said, "Where did this picture come from? Are there really communists who post here? I thought all the SJWs hated 4chan." In the thread, one member mentions Porky by name (shown below, right). The anonymous user, "Actually Porky was originally drawed that way."

Spread

On September 21st, 2015, Funny Junk user digdogfap posted a two panel meme featuring Porky. The first panel featured Porky and raft of refugees with the caption "We need to worry about our own homeless, we can't take any more people." In the second panel, Porky is seen before homeless people sleeping on the streets with the caption "Get a job you lazy fucks." The post (shown below) received more than 2,800 views as of June 2017 and 33 points.^[7]

A little over a month later, October 31st, a Redditor posted the Porky meme to the /r/FULLCOMMUNISM subreddit. In the thread "Porky on 'helping our own' before helping refugees," they posted a two panel image macro. As of June 2017, the post received more than 1,200 points (99% upvoted).^[6]

On December 30th, 2016, a group of three Facebook users, among them a member of Know Your Meme, launched a communist-themed Facebook meme page titled "Porky the Bourgeois," which has garnered over 120 likes and 125 followers in just half a year.

On January 23rd, 2017, a /leftypol/ user posted four Porky memes and asked users to post "rare Porkies" (examples below).^[8] Some of these examples include Porky guiding a racist with a sign that says "immigrants," Porky dressed as a member of ISIS and Porky as a Police office.

On March 15th, 2017, the Facebook group De-Classcucking Memes for Non-Sectarian Proles^[12] posted posted a picture of President Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone in a top hat and glasses next to a picture of Porky in a top hat with the caption "Trump advisor Roger Stone vs. Soviet depiction of Capitalist." Within three months, the post had more than 650 reactions and 1,000 shares.

The next day, the Facebook account Marxist Memes shared the post, and as of June 2017, the picture (shown below) has received more than 3,000 reactions and 480 shares.^[10] About a month later, Redditor jncdriver posted the image in /r/FULLCOMMUNISM,^[9] garnering more than 1,400 points (99% upvoted).

On June 7th, Twitter user @lil_yenta^[10] posted a meme similar to the window-style of the original Porky poster with the caption "god where has this meme been all my life." In the first panel, a millennial and baby boomer fighter over who ruined the economy, while Porky watches with delight. In the third panel, they've decided "Capitalism ruined the economy," which terrifies Porky. Within 48 hours, the post (shown below) received more than 9,600 retweets and 23,900 likes.

Various Examples

External References