Meme Report 10/16 + 10/23
The Til Dawn Edition
Shaq Photo
The leaves are changing. There’s a chill in the air, and we need to dig up a new promotional photo from the archives. Last year it was Kevin James, this year it’s Shaq. Shaq has more presence even in memes. I believe somewhere between the image and the poster their souls meet, making Shaq an honest stand-in for their emotions. There is so much pathos in Shaq’s face. He could have just been the big guy but his personality matches his size. Everything he touches turns to content. This image, out of context, is still striking all these years later. It makes sense that this image gained traction with the revival of Maps. We can easily see how he would interpret “wait, they don’t love you like I love you”.
Issa Knife
Brat summer ends not with a bang but with a compromise. Everyone who considers themselves an industry insider wanted Taylor Swift on the remix. It would have been so cool for everyone involved but we don’t always get what we want. So we settled for Ariana Grande. Something we’ll be doing a lot this fall. If you weren’t on the internet in 2019, you might not recall this post, which for many was the beginning of the end of Ari’s reign of terror. In anticipation of the remix, we all joked that she would say “Issa Knife.” Then it was part of the official marketing of the song. In any other circumstance, I might say this was genius but this feels more like making do. She had to ask a real pop girlie and everyone else already had a feature or said no. The remix changes the meaning of the song, which would be fine if the meaning didn’t become “It's so hard for me, Ariana Grande because everyone is concerned for me and thinks I’m too pretty.” The whole album is about the perils of fame and artistry and everyone else comes off well. Ari’s is the only remix that elicits eye rolls. All of this is summed up with the phrase “Issa Knife.” I would not let Ariana come on my remix and repeat that nonsense but you have to do what you have to do.
The Great Impersonator
Halsey is doing something I guess. She’s working really hard on it and presenting each new portrait in the weeks leading up to her album rollout. To which everyone has responded: ok? She doesn’t look enough like the people she’s impersonating for it to be impressive nor does she look iconic enough on her own for it to be shocking. The memes are impressive as works of Photoshop and often more striking than the official versions. There’s not much to say about this but it’s something going on in the background that some people are paying attention to. Much like the rest of Halsey’s career.
Apple Dance Interruption (LA Edition)
We’ve all been in a gay bar and suddenly felt we were in the presence of true evil. In a place full of love and community, someone comes out of the shadows to push you out of the way, be mean to your friends, or otherwise cause problems. It’s an archetype many of us have come to be familiar with on a night out. We’ve had many Gay Guy Villains on Twitter, all of them too specific in their bad behavior to achieve longevity. This man’s appearance in the Brittany Broski dancing video replicates the experience of suddenly being in the presence of a man with rancid vibes. He appears as just a face, out of nowhere, and for the next 15 seconds, everything is all about him. I foresee this man’s face will be haunting our timelines for years to come.
Recently Befriended
I’ll say it: Twitter is back. When was the last time someone came onto the website, said something this bizarre and we used it as a creative exercise? We do discourse every day but the phrasing on the original tweet was so good that it allowed us to create. We added to our canon; Something we haven’t done in so long. Every part of this felt like the old days. When we used to create. We would do one of these a month. I thought we were all incapable of it now. I thought our people couldn’t think like this, or write like this anymore. The craft, from all sides, is alive and well. From the initial tweet to the promotional Wicked tie-in version. It’s not as over as we once thought.
TikTok
British Big Brother
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There’s NOTHING going on on TikTok except for Big Brother UK. I don’t watch American Big Brother and I don’t know that I would enjoy the British version if I were given the tools to access it regularly but I love the clips. One of my favorite ways to use TikTok is watching clips of television shows that I can’t get in America without having to learn how to use a VPN. I watched all of Australian Taskmaster that way. All TikTok is for me now is a way to watch clips of my new favorite show minus 90% of the context. It’s the perfect way to enjoy something I’m mildly interested in.
Subtle Foreshadowing
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I hate this trend. I hate it. I hate watching the videos and I hate what everyone is going for. There’s nothing clever or fun going on here. A failed attempt to elevate the medium. What medium? Who knows. Elevate it to what? Again who knows? I’m sure the first one was mildly funny but not enough of the general population has a good grasp on Subtlety and foreshadowing to employ it correctly.
Domingo
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Turning point! Turning Point! Turning point!!! For several years, it has been the opinion du jour that SNL is neither cool nor funny. It’s an easy opinion to have if you’ve never engaged with the show. I’ve been a fan since I was a teenager so I’m not so easily swayed but for years now young people were very anti-SNL in a way that has finally become overblown. One could now hold the belief SNL is good and funny and be seen as cutting edge. The tide turns with Domingo. I don’t personally see what everyone else sees in this sketch but it’s not about me. It’s about finally getting the whole premise of the show. Millions of people just had a switch flip. Welcome aboard.
Ole Moo
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Too stupid to even begin the discussion. It's too late to learn and I can't be the one to teach you.