Every day, countless memes flood the internet, often in the form of images or short video clips. Some disappear from the scene shortly afterwards, others enjoy cult status and still inspire fans all over the world years later. These iconic memes celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2022.
And do you feel old already?
For example, the question “Feel old yet?” or a corresponding variation of it keeps popping up on social media platforms. Combined with pictures of former child stars, this quickly creates a certain nostalgia. For example, Macaulay Culkin (41), the once small leading actor from the cult film “Home Alone” from 1990, teased his fans on his 40th birthday with the following tweet: “Hey guys, do you want to feel old? I’m 40.” A compilation of the portal “BuzzFeed” with nostalgic pictures from May 2012, which translated as “48 things that will make you feel old” is considered a kind of initial spark for the widespread meme.
The music video for “Gangnam Style” by South Korean rapper Psy (44) is one of the most successful of the past decade. The clip, which was published in the summer of 2012, now has more than 4.3 billion views on YouTube alone. The song with catchy tune potential and the funny and colorful music video including cult dance not only made Psy an international star, but was also the trigger for the publication of countless parodies in the months and years that followed.
Here’s my number, maybe you want to call me?
Carly Rae Jepsen (36), once a candidate for the Canadian version of “Deutschland sucht den Superstar”, became really well known internationally in 2012 – with her single “Call Me Maybe”, which was released at the end of 2011. Shortly before the turn of the year, pop superstar Justin Bieber (27) declared on Twitter that the song was possibly more catchy than any other song he had ever heard. Especially after the release of the music video in March 2012, numerous parodies followed – including the US military and the American swimming team for the Summer Olympics in London.
Ironically, Justin Bieber should also introduce Laina Morris and her fictional character Overly Attached Girlfriend (OAG), with whom she embodies an overly attached friend. In June 2012, she published a parody of the song “Boyfriend” on YouTube under the title “JB Fanvideo”, which fascinated many users. “If I was your girlfriend, I’d never let you leave without a small recording device taped under your sleeve,” OAG sings among other things. So if she were his girlfriend, she would never let Bieber out of the house without first attaching at least a small recording device to him. A few days later, Morris also published a Jepsen parody.
And a particularly popular meme was also created during the Olympic Games in 2012: “McKayla is Not Impressed”. A photo of former gymnast McKayla Maroney (26), who had won a silver medal at the time, went around the world. In the picture, the athlete could be seen with a disappointed expression on her face and her mouth pursed. A little later she even recreated the recording together with the then US President Barack Obama (60).
Outrageously photogenic
The American Zeddie Little was downright insanely photogenic in another photo, which also conquered the world and accordingly made him the “Ridiculously Photogenic Guy”. Little, who comes from the city of Charleston in South Carolina, was photographed running a ten-kilometer run in early 2012 and, in contrast to the other participants, appears unusually happy in the photo. In an interview, he explained that he saw an old employer just before the picture was taken. He was just happy at that point.
The meme “Bad Luck Brian” is not intended to represent such moments of happiness – quite the opposite. First circulating in early 2012, the photo of a boy with braces is used to highlight particularly tragic, embarrassing or unfortunate situations. Last year, near Cleveland, Kyle Craven, who became “Bad Luck Brian,” explained that the picture was taken around 2006 for a school yearbook. Craven had allowed himself a joke, was summoned to the headmistress at the time and had to be photographed again the following day.
The Tardar Sauce cat first became famous in April 2012 thanks to a post on the Reddit portal, where she looks like a perpetual curmudgeon because of her facial expression. To date, Tardar Sauce is probably one of the most famous animals in the world under the name “Grumpy Cat”. Unfortunately, her owner Tabatha Bundesen had to announce in May 2019 that the cat had died as a result of a urinary tract infection.
Mario Balotelli (31) is not only known to football fans, the internet also celebrated the professional athlete’s goal celebration in 2012. Balotelli led the Italian national team to a 2-1 win over Germany in the semifinals of the European Championship. A photo showing him with a bare torso and tense muscles has been alienated umpteen times. So Balotelli suddenly became a wrestler, played table football or stood in a film scene instead of Kate Winslet (45) next to Leonardo DiCaprio (47) on board the Titanic.