DefinePK

Abstract

This Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis and Verbal Humour Analysis of Pakistani Memes examines how Pakistani Generation Z employs Instagram memes as a participatory medium to express their perspectives on national identity and geopolitical dynamics during the 2025 Pakistan–India War. Following a qualitative research design, the study employs a triangulated framework, comprising MCDA, Framing Theory, and the General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH) to analyse the lexical, syntactic and visual choices in the selected memes; the way these memes frame war, its actors and the national identity; and the functions of humour in the times of national crisis. The data for this research were collected from a purposive sample of 10 war-related Instagram memes, posted between April 28 and May 10, 2025. The results of the study show that these meme, characterised by non-standard syntax, code-mixing and meshing, colloquial jargon, personalised, trivialised, domesticated, gamified frames, irony, exaggeration, discursive resistance strategies, and dark humour, provide a light-hearted lens through which serious subjects such as war, education, and national pride are critically explored. The contribution of this research to discourse studies lies in its application of a hybrid theoretical framework to analyse digital humour within a geopolitical crisis. The findings affirm how Instagram memes have emerged not only as entertainment but also as an accessible mode of resistance, self-expression, and civic engagement for Pakistan’s youth.