Meme Report 2/23

Oakland City Represent Address Me as Your Majesty

Alysa Liu

@andycohenlover42069Oakland is the capital of culture #alyssaliu #kreayshawn #olympics2026 #oakland #figureskating

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The thing with Alysa Liu is not about millennial burnout or even the importance of fun. Its the importance of “my terms” but only after you have earned it. It’s a good Olympics story that only works because of her previous Olympics appearances. By now, we are very familiar with the image of a too skinny child crying on the podium, scared of their parents and coaches because even though they medeled it won’t be enough. When we first met Alyssa, she was one of those girls, a phenom at 13 but obviously scared to death. For her, the return was enough, and the win was extra. I was happy with the story when it was about returning with fun. Of course the rest of you need the win too. The fun of a sports story is that you need the outside force of winning or losing to complete the narrative. The Olympics awarded her routine, which in turn awards her attitude, which gives us the happy ending we long for. She doesn’t need the win, but we do to tell our story. Just like Iliia needed the loss to make it all a better story in the long run. Also, it just feels like somebody should say that it feels like there might be an outsized reaction to seeing a happy 22-year-old who used to be an abused child when it seems the only two things people are talking about are the Olympics and the Epstein files.

Twitter

Punch the Monkey

I do not give a fuck about this monkey. I do not care about animals. I will not be roped into another melodrama in a zoos that we will forget by next week. Go read a book or something. Don’t waste my clearly otherwise valuable time. America’s Next Top Model Doc

Every year around this time, Netflix puts out a “documentary” that is both stupid and bad. The legacy of America’s Next Top Model is complicated, and were not going to reach an answer as long as Tyra Banks is involved. I would be interested in a real dissection of the show, knowing what we know now, but the documentary feels like a good primary source for an essay or book I’d like to read about 2000s fashion media and reality television. As for Tyra Banks, the most damning thing about her was said quickly and easily by the Entertainment Weekly Bullseye when she announced the end of Tyra in 2009. You can quit your talkshow but it won’t make you Oprah.

White people be like

I don’t know what sparked this return to form, but maybe the 2016 nostalgia got to everyone. It could also be the war on dog ownership that’s starting to take hold.

TikTok

The Destiny of Marge

@mikemccabesad#thedestinyofmarge #madmen #thesimpsons #tiktokgame

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Winter madness has set in. Culture has gotten boring and stale. That’s what the internet is for. This is one of those trends where you go looking for the original to better understand the video on the For You page that is clearly referencing something, but once you see the original, it makes less sense. I like this meme because it has so many layers of abstraction from coherence that it’s not going to get too popular, and it can’t be used to sell something. Not to bring up everyone’s favorite incel for the 3rd week in a row, but our culture has become so steeped in the internet that someone like Clavicular can go mainstream. But Clav has a level of legibility that this doesn’t. We think Clav is as esoteric as we can get, but he’s as esoteric as we can sell. They feel similar because there are new nonsense phrases to say involved with both of them, but no one involved in this meme will be asked to walk in a fashion show. It’s nice to know that memes can still feel like outsider art and not just the first step in a marketing campaign/news cycle. There’s still fun to be had.

Rest in Peace My Granny

@marcellehbk_rip granny 😓 #kaboom #emo #poppunk #acoustic #cover

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I kind of think that if you are going to post videos of yourself singing on the internet, it should also be funny. Too many people are just earnestly singing. They believe that talent alone is enough. It’s not. We don’t need another breathy cover of a Geese song. If you want to be someone in this industry, we need to see your take on “rest in peace my granny she got hit with a bazooka” and “gucci flip flops.”

Wuthering Heights Not Hitting

@ireallywanttakisCame out of editing retirement for this one #wutheringheights #jacobelordi #margotrobbie #charlixcx #cardigan

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If this movie were going to get me, this is how it would do it. It did not get me, and I find these edits lacking because all I see is that Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi have no chemistry. There is nothing there. Even the One Tree Hill edits have more passion and excitement. All Jacob and Margot do is look at each other, which is what most of these edits are anyway. In these edits, I see that they’re trying to emotionally manipulate me, and it’s not working. I also see them trying to manipulate me into thinking Margot and Jacob have chemistry in real life and might be sleeping together off-screen. If you say so.