Meme Report 8/4
This weeks Meme Report is brought to you by Oxycodone and the USC Keck Orthopedic Oncology Department
[X] Has [Un]followed DaBaby on Instagram After His Homophobic Comment
DaBaby said something stupid and homophobic and is now facing the consequences of his actions. I don’t think of this meme often and while it does make me laugh sometimes, it is not the best joke to come out of this most recent DaBaby controversy. DaBaby is such a rich character for jokes. He is so easy to make fun of because he seems to take himself so seriously while rapping over scooby doo chase music. The unfollowing on instagram meme is better for people who are famous but lack as much personality. Someone who’s persona is “man who raps” or “woman who sings”. As bullies of DaBaby I think we can do a lot better but it is good that we’re firing on all cylinders as covering this from all angles. The more mean DaBaby memes, DaBetter.
Demon Twink
All day Saturday, from coast to coast Gay Twitter and Associates were making references to a so-called “demon twink” who was at Ty Sunderlands Britney Spears boat party. The search had begun to identify this person. Those who knew were not giving up any info so the mystery continues. It’s not much of a mystery when there’s a video of said demon twink. Now after memes comes discourse. Many people thought it was unfair to identify this individual and call him a demon. Others thought it was especially in poor taste to have a public witch hunt for someone they thought to be unwell at a Britney Spears party. My personal take is that while the video is maybe a bridge too far both privacy wise and mystery wise, it is perfectly fine to judge someone’s rude behavior on drugs and alcohol when everyone around them is also drinking and on drugs. If you can’t behave yourself on molly while everyone else is also on molly (or coke, or ket) they are allowed to call you out for your unchill vibes. Also let’s not compare Britney Spears’ being taken advantage of by her family to be their cash cow after being paraded around under constant scrutiny since she was 16 to everyone making jokes about a party twink misbehaving around other party twinks. Being criticized by gays does not make you Britney.
Drake Sweatshirt
Our king of memes has given us another blessing. Drake is another famous musician who is very easy to make fun of. Walking around the world so self serious, with your heart on your sleeve while also being the goofiest idiot around makes you a target. Wearing a big sweatshirt Ariana Grande style and posting yourself in it is asking for people to make fun of you. While I don’t love this meme, it’s more of a “where there’s smoke there’s fire” situation. A new Drake meme usually means a new album or project which means more Drake memes. As someone who loves making fun of the man who was once wheelchair Jimmy, I can’t wait.
Emma Roberts Video AGAIN
Emma Roberts pumped life into a just ok meme by acknowledging the meme on her Instagram story. “Thank you gays and whoever else” is really funny, I have to give her that. Usually when a celebrity references their own meme they are trying too hard but Emma Roberts gave this meme what it deserved. A tossed off thank you that acknowledges who’s doing it and is maybe even a little dismissive and rude (but in a fun way. I don’t believe in “rude” as a concept.) Gays responded in kind a gave this meme another week of fun. Mostly out of obligation to Emma. Last week, I talked about Emma as not really having a nailed down star persona and this week I’m wondering why that is. Or more aptly, why isn’t she a bigger star? I love Emma Roberts and I think she should work more outside of the Ryan Murphy-verse. Maybe it’s because our society is in an anti-mean girl era and we can no longer understand media that's not a parable about being a good person. I for one am ready for Emma Roberts to get her Oscar playing a ruthless business woman or a spoiled socialite with a mean streak. Of course my getting a celebrity an oscar campaign efforts are still mostly focused on Jennifer Garner but after that’s taken care of, I’m ready to turn my attention to Emma.
Tiktok
I feel like we all know about the cult of air fryers on Tiktok (side note: should I get an air fryer?) but no one is talking about the Blackstone people. The Blackstone people make sense as a cult. It’s a high price item that seems like it only has a couple uses. Of course if one thinks the Blackstone is only for pancakes and burgers, they are being small minded. The goal of the Blackstone people is to convince you that you can cook anything on the Blackstone and it will taste better. The Blackstone people have a reason to spread the good news, a brand name sponsorship and to actually convince people to buy this thing. The people stumping for air fryers baffle me. They’re not trying to convince you to buy from any brand specifically but to just get an airfryer. Also, it’s just a toaster oven that’s shaped funny.
Why is there a Fish Hooks revival on tiktok? This is the third sound this summer that is from the Disney show. I didn’t know that anybody watched that show let alone remembered it. The meme itself is fun. It’s very quickly becoming about all the things we like surrounding some activity or cultural object despite not actually liking the activity or cultural object. Now this is most likely a product of fandom culture and people devoting hours of their lives to talking about and dissecting media. One becomes so ensconced in a community, they get so far from the thing that brought the community together and no longer like the thing itself. Hopefully we will get more memes like this one, people will realize the error of their ways and we will no longer live in a culture ruled by nerds. A girl can dream can’t she?
So rarely when people reference a cat in music are they talking about the animal. In this song they are saying “I’ll scratch you like a kitty cat.” Which..... fun. This is reminiscent of an old old internet video which my cousin showed me and we still sing in my childhood home from time to time. This meme is certainly not original or ground breaking but sometimes you just have to play the hits. Many people don’t nail this one and don’t repeat the picture of the cat when they say cat kitty cat. They just cut together a little video of their cat. If you want to just post videos of your cat, you can do that. If you want to follow the meme, match the form.
A tiktok filter that gets the blood flowing and doesn’t require learning a dance. What’s not to love? People are having fun with it and there is such obvious joy on their faces as they do it. Even the alt girls who’s whole thing is being dour are having fun with this filter. The subgenre where people do it with their cats is a bonus. It’s fun if you do it right and it’s even funnier if you mess up in some way. One of the great things about being alive right now that we don’t discuss is filters. It would be corny to acknowledge this every time a new one came out but everyone has fun with a filter. Sure the consequences of the industrial revolution may have ruined our lives in ways we can’t comprehend but my ancestors who suffered through the potato famine never got to see what they would look like as Marie Antoinette running through Versailles or what Sailor Moon character they are. Net Good.
If You Like Smoking Weed Say Hell Yeah
Ok, I know I already gave my big treatise on Bo Burnham and said I was done talking about him but it is UNENDING. Every week there’s a new one. This is the only one worthy of a mention in the Meme Report though. This one utilizes every part of the sound to make a meme and is not just people posting songs for the sake of it. It’s also kind of funny. Getting gross people in a gotcha is fun. Finding out new ways people are gross is also fun. If this were the only Bo Burnham meme this summer I’d be a happy camper. Of course it wasn’t and isn’t so I’m less sweet on this one. To quote the great Wendy Williams, “Death to all of them”.
Most Marvel memes are just viral marketing. I don’t trust them and I won’t review them. I’ll make an exception for this one for two reasons. 1) I didn’t realize it was from Black Widow, I thought it was from Shameless or something. So the viral marketing failed on that level. 2) Now that I do know it’s from Black Widow I’ll allow it because I love Florence Pugh. The meme is just ok and I have yet to be wowed by it but I do think it has potential. I love learning and this meme teaches me and others about things that are not real. It is good to revisit past viral sensations and find out they’re fake. We’re getting better at faking it and we need to review every so often what was real and what was a hoax. It’s sad that we have to do it through a Marvel sound but it’s good that we are doing it all.
Maybe I’m Just Not As Interesting
This one toes the line of a trauma dump and just revealing something embarrassing about yourself. Many of them I find myself saying “That’s it? That’s why you’re interesting?” Doing one fun/crazy thing once does not an interesting person make. Being interesting is about cultivating a constant flow of interest. That sounds more difficult than it is but the interesting people do it with ease. That’s why this meme really has a range to it. The wannabe interestings are trying so hard to come up with one CrAzY fact about themselves and the true interestings are giving us the tips of their ice bergs. I can’t explain how to identify the difference but a good one will leave you with more questions than answers. If we could weed out the wannabe’s it would be a good meme but I’m so tired of seeing bad ones. Also another meme for Olivia Rodrigo though this one seems to be a dig at her. Good or Bad we’re talking about her and using her music. All press is good press. The Queen still reigns.
NO LOOSE ENDS!!! Great round-up.