In today’s age of the internet, memes are a language. Knowing the most current memes and being able to use them appropriately counts as eloquence. The appropriateness of a meme obviously depends on the juncture of a conversation in which it is used, usually eliciting laughter from the callback or reference to a memorable instance of pop culture. From movies and celebrity interviews to song lyrics and comic book panels, any audiovisual piece of work can become the source of a meme if a moment from them is consistently referred to across various contexts.
The popularity of a meme can often even have a profound impact on its source material, from generating buzz about a movie by becoming viral to keeping a show relevant, like Friends memes that prove it is still relatable. The best memes of the movie Ma, for example, have undercut the movie’s suspense and horror for viewers, making it easier to watch, even funny at times. Yet some iconic memes work without their context too, like the famous “math lady,” whose source is largely unknown to many of its users. Memes occasionaly beat out their sources in terms of popularity and relevance.
10 First Time?
Source: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
The Coen brothers have made many iconic films over the years, from Fargo to No Country for Old Men. However, of all the memes made out of their films, the one that’s become arguably the most famous is from the last movie they made together. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs has six endings, telling six different stories, and the meme is made from the titular story, which is a Western that balances tragedy and comedy, just like the meme.
The hilarious sight of James Franco nonchalantly asking “First time?” with a noose around his neck makes for a perfect meme for occasions when a person is complaining about or has been bothered by something the sender of the meme has become familiar with. The meme was made from a screengrab of the trailer of the film, where four characters are taken to the gallows and Franco’s character asks that with a casual demeanor. In the movie, he had survived hanging once before and was convinced he would do so again, but the meme works without knowing that context.
9 He’s Got A Point
Source: The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
The Emperor’s New Groove, despite featuring some of the funniest scenes from animated Disney movies, remains criminally underappreciated. It received a lukewarm response on its release and doesn’t often come up in discussions about the Disney animation canon. However, in recent years, the film has found a following entirely due to memes which made people watch the film to understand the original context. Every unconventional take or unpopular opinion can become a reason to use the “He’s got a point” meme, but it’s ideal for when someone makes another person reconsider their perspective.
Because of his consistent comical behavior, Kronk’s scenes make for great memes, but most of them get used in contexts that are in contrast with the context of the scenes they’re taken from.
In the scene from where it’s taken, Kronk is listening to a debate between the devil and the angel on his shoulders, as each tries to prove it’s better to be them. The devil shows he can do a handstand, and the angel seemingly agrees, but his robes prevent him from doing the same, not physical weakness. Kronk makes questionable decisions throughout the film, and this debate establishes why. Neither the angel nor the devil is intelligent. Even though the point made in the scene is invalid, the meme outside context funnily becomes about unexpectedly good points.
8 My Name Is Jeff
Source: 22 Jump Street (2014)
Unfortunately, the unique Jump Street show has lost its popularity in recent years, but the spinoff movie duology that attempted to reboot it as a franchise remains popular. Yet the film’s popularity is most buoyed by the repeated references to a particularly funny line that wasn’t expected to become nearly as iconic as it is. Channing Tatum’s memorable meme from 22 Jump Street is still used a decade later, which proves how much more widespread the meme is than the movie.
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The context of this meme isn’t as self-explanatory as its rampant use might suggest. Tatum’s character doesn’t always speak like that, and he isn’t intentional about the awkward delivery and the strange accent. He’s instead put on the spot because he hasn’t done his homework before going undercover. Yet the meme gets used in any context of awkwardness and exhaustion, because Tatum looks bored and tired, and sounds like he was forced to be there against his will.
7 The Rock Driving
Source: Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
The Rock has helmed so many forgettable movies that it becomes impossible to remember where someone has seen him. Almost all the meme-worthy scenes in his movies get referred to out of context because most of them aren’t from great movies and often, the person referring to one of them hasn’t even seen the film. However, his presence as a pop culture icon never diminishes as he keeps starring in big-budget action comedies every year, irrespective of his box office performance. But, much like The Rock’s funniest WWE moments, his most popular meme comes from before he became a movie star.
This is the perfect example of how memes can become more popular than their sources, because the film itself has faded into obscurity, which isn’t uncommon for projects by this actor. Not only is the meme a hilarious way to express shock, but its context is entirely immaterial to its usage. While the memes themselves usually have unpredictable and scandalizing lines preceding The Rock’s face, in the scene from which it’s taken, there’s actually no dialogue exchanged until after he has made the face.
6 DiCaprio Cheers
Source: The Great Gatsby (2013)
Leonardo DiCaprio’s impeccable acting talents make him one of the most memed actors of all time. He gets lost in character and delivers performances with passionate expressions that leave an unforgettable impression on the viewer. However, the screengrabs from moments he’s most expressive in, often with funny expressions, become immortal memes, often reaching heights of popularity the performance that inspired them never did.
One of the many F. Scott Fitzgerald movie adaptations, The Great Gatsby is far from forgettable. However, it has always faced criticism for celebrating the titular character’s problematic aspects isn’t a hugely important piece of the zeitgeist. The scene where Gatsby is introduced, though, has become a meme that gets shared countless times every year. The context is simply that there’s a huge show of fireworks in the background when Gatsby turns to the narrator with a drink in his hands, which reflects his larger-than-life persona. However, it gets referred to as a way of saying cheers, often sarcastically.
5 Condescending Willy Wonka
Source: Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory (1971)
Willy Wonka, by nature, is an uncanny character who, despite his disarming charms, is uncomfortable to be around. Since he aims to punish children after alluring them with chocolate, that is an intentional balance in his persona. The perfect balance struck by Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory makes his performance as the character the most popular one. However, over 50 years after Gene Wilder played the character, his stint as Wonka remains unforgotten because of a meme that keeps making the rounds.
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Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is decidedly scarier than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The tunnel scene with its horrifying images terrorized an entire generation of children and remains unforgettable to anyone who has seen it. This is why the simple sight of Willy Wonka sitting with that disturbing smile became memorable enough to warrant use as a meme. However, it’s been reinterpreted for the sake of the meme, where he’s considered condescending, and most users simply use it as a means to sarcastically nod along to someone.
4 The Real Raven
Source: X-Men: First Class (2011)
Fox’s X-Men franchise came to a disappointing end after Dark Phoenix and New Mutants, as both were letdowns, critically and commercially. With Disney acquiring Fox, there won’t be another standalone X-Men movie that isn’t tied into the MCU now. While Deadpool & Wolverine has interesting references to Fox’s franchise, it’s nonetheless the end of an era. The last couple of films might have flopped, but over the years, the series has offered many entertaining films — spurring on the internet to create memes out of the best and worst moments.
X-Men: First Class is perhaps the most underrated film in Fox’s X-Men franchise, but was still overshadowed by a meme it inspired. For fans who have seen the movie, X-Men: First Class will never lose relevance because of the popular meme of Magneto pushing Raven’s boundaries to make her feel confident in her own skin. The meme is so self-explanatory that people who haven’t watched the movie use it too, as it is shockingly widely applicable.
3 DiCaprio Points At TV
Source: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
It’s no surprise that almost every film featuring Leonardo DiCaprio offers up a fantastic meme. The actor is so expressive all the time, that every action is done with a vigor deserving of a meme for it. However, his meme from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is particularly interesting because a completely regular action has become a highly popular meme that is used at an alarming rate, much more today than when it came out, which is common for many popular movie memes.
In the original scene that gave birth to the meme, DiCaprio’s character is excitedly pointing at the TV to announce his arrival on screen. His stunt double is sitting beside him, mixing substances on a table, and DiCaprio simply wants to ensure he doesn’t miss the scene. The widespread popularity makes no sense given the mundanity of the moment. However, almost every time someone wants to say “Gotcha!” or express excitement about noticing something relatively unknown, DiCaprio shows up, pointing at the unseen TV.
2 Crying Boy on a Bench
Source: Finding Neverland (2004)
Johnny Depp’s eccentricity in his most popular roles makes his characters the perfect subject for memes. Captain Jack Sparrow has especially delivered iconic lines in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise that have hence become popular memes. However, the most widely used meme featuring Depp is from one of his least-known films and isn’t even focused on his character. Finding Neverland, one of the nine Alan Moore movies and TV shows, tells the story of how J. M. Barrie found the inspiration for his masterpiece Peter Pan.
Barrie befriends a widow and her sons, who help him through his creative slump. At the end of the film, after his mother has died, one son sits on a bench with Barrie, and looks at him with a teary face, asking about his mother’s fate. Barrie comforts him, saying that his mother has only gone to Neverland, and he will meet her someday. Despite the film remaining relatively largely unknown, the meme has become the perfect way to express sympathy, even without knowing the original context.
1 DiCaprio Laughing
Source: Django Unchained (2012)
When Quentin Tarantino and Leonardo DiCaprio work together, a good meme is guaranteed. Tarantino’s films are often over-the-top, and that provides actors like DiCaprio the opportunity to tap into the loudest parts of their roles and deliver expressive performances. While Django Unchained is quite popular among movie buffs, the meme in question is iconic for all netizens and has gained much more popularity than the movie.
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The most well-known meme from Django Unchained is once again based on a moment of relative mundanity. DiCaprio’s character simply has a witty comment before making a wisecracking face and laughing. His comment receives explosive laughter from Samuel L. Jackson’s character, but it still doesn’t logically explain the incredible popularity of the meme. DiCaprio’s expression itself, however, does justify it, because it’s the perfect way to express the sense of triumph one feels from successfully pulling off a prank.
