The case is all the more interesting as Chuck Norris is a “pre-Internet” celebrity. Unlike today’s influencers or stars, his appearances and statements were not designed to go viral. Yet he becomes a digital icon. Little by little, the character created by the same people surpasses the real person. He becomes an abstract figure, almost independent of the “real” Chuck Norris, like a double who no longer has much to do with his life and his roles.
But this detachment between the memetic character and the real person also produces a screen effect. By circulating in the form of absurd jokes, Chuck Norris seems almost harmless. However, this playful image tends to make people forget their conservative political positionsnotably his opposition to same-sex marriage. The paradox is there: even when they make fun of him, the same people contribute to maintaining his visibility and making his image sympathetic.
Chuck Norris also benefited greatly from this second celebrity. In 2009, he published The Official Chuck Norris Fact Bookwhich brings together his favorite “facts”; in 2010, he published Black Belt Patriotism: How to Reawaken America (Black belt of patriotism. How to wake up Americanot translated into French), conservative political essay which became a bestseller.
Memetic celebrity therefore not only replaces old celebrity: it can also reactivate it, make it profitable and serve an ideological purpose.
