Presented, is the version of the meme that I created. The intended audience is current Connecticut residents, or students of Trinity, and anyone else who has experienced the local weather recently.
The immediate context of this meme is the more serious impact of global warming and climate change which, as the meme provides, is evident through these unprecedented warm temperatures at this very late point in the fall approaching winter, in a typically cold state in New England nonetheless.
I chose to transform the Elmo Rise meme in this way because it is relatable locally, and has been a notable topic of conversation recently as it really emphasizes the effects of global warming.
I also found the approach of transforming the meme interesting, because talk of the weather usually constitutes 'small talk' in most conversations, but this context highlights the detrimental potential of global warming and relates it to the noticeable weather change that we are experiencing warm up in increments daily. I noted this element of rhetorical contrast in creating this version of the meme.
Following suit, another aspect of creating this meme that I appreciated the rhetorical contrast of was using this element of comedy that is the Elmo Rise meme, pairing it with this somewhat unique and local experience and context, to give rise to a dialogue about this rather serious and pertinent environmental issue that is global warming.