The parodist becomes a recognizable image himself
Ufa musician and blogger Alisher Morgenshtern gained notable fame on YouTube thanks to the “IzyRep” project, which began in 2017. In September an episode about Face came out, and the series was then expanded with breakdowns of other popular performers, including Eldzhey and Olga Buzova. The format combined a musical demonstration with a mocking commentary on someone else's style.
The host would break down familiar elements of a sound, assemble a similar beat, and shoot a parody clip. The promise to make a track in five minutes was part of the provocative entertainment format. The viewer got both the recognition of the original performer and the impression that a complex product had been taken apart into a few easily repeatable details. Morgenshtern was at once a musician, a commentator, and the hero of his own joke.
By 2018 the blogger himself had become the object of remakes. His multicolored dreadlocks, gathered into a high bun, made him recognizable even from his silhouette. The hairstyle was compared to a palm tree, a pineapple, and other objects with a protruding top. The meme image preserved a specific period of the artist's appearance: the tall multicolored hairstyle became his short visual shorthand.
A jacket under the multicolored top
In the image, Morgenshtern faces the camera in a dark blue jacket over a white shirt. Dreadlocks of different colors are gathered above his head and spread out to the sides. A small face tattoo is visible near his shaved temple. The gray patterned wallpaper, festive greenery, and objects behind the figure create an ordinary indoor setting, resembling the place where a conversation is recorded.
No palm tree has been added to the photo: the comparison arises from the shape of the real hairstyle itself. The jacket makes the silhouette even more contrasting. The lower part of the figure matches the presenter's restrained image, while the upper part resembles a bright decorative object. The specific episode from which the still is taken and the date it was shot have not been established; the frame itself confidently conveys the early dreadlocks look.
Visual parody returns the device to its author
In “IzyRep,” Morgenshtern singled out several features of someone else's style so that the object of the parody would be instantly recognizable from them. Memes with his hairstyle work in a similar way: attention is focused on one very noticeable detail. Even without a caption, it looks like a thing that can be transferred to another context to produce a comparison immediately.
One way of remaking leaves the photograph unchanged and gives it an object name. Another places the head among real plants or decorations, making the viewer look for the difference. In both cases the match of contours does the work: the long strands become conventional leaves or spikes. Understanding this joke does not require a retelling of a biography, since the original shape is already expressive enough.
There is also a narrative layer: a person who ostentatiously exposes how recognizable someone else's image is becomes himself the owner of an equally easily read image. This is not a conclusion about the quality of his music but a turn of role within an internet parody. The presenter was used to being the commentator, but the photograph lets the audience take his place and single out his own characteristic device.
Palm trees in unexpected places
For example, a made-up caption could announce Morgenshtern as the main decoration of a room where the other plants have been forgotten and not watered. The bright strands replace the foliage, and the jacket gives the “plant” an unexpectedly formal look. Household carelessness turns into a reason to assign the person a new decorative function.
Another variant makes the frame an illustration of the phrase about a school report prepared too brightly. The student meant only to present neatly, but came up with a design so striking that it overshadowed the content. The combination of strict clothing and a conspicuous hairstyle conveys the disproportion between a calm task and an excessively flashy presentation.
In a third sketch, after a long argument about how to decorate a Christmas tree, a person proposes leaving just one ornament that already contains all the colors. The photograph becomes his imaginary solution. The comedy comes from a literal transfer of the hairstyle into a holiday task: the familiar bun is recognized at once, and the presenter's composed expression makes the absurd advice seem convincingly serious.
