SMALL BRAIN: posting memes to metafilter

April 12, 2018 11:18 AM

How American Chopper, And Other Preferential Memes, Took Over The Internet

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The complete encyclopedia of Drake memes

YOU VS. MEME
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Why the ‘You vs. the guy she told you not to worry about’ meme will never die


ME, AN INTELLECTUAL: memes are cliche
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This New Meme Making the Rounds on the Internet Will Make Every Know-It-All So Happy

COSMOS BRAIN: making a post on memes on metafilter
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NEW MEMES / ME / OLD MEMES
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The Wonderful Evolution Of The 'Guy Checking Out Another Girl' Meme
Guy Behind the Latest Big Meme You Saw Everywhere: 'I Didn’t Even Know What a Meme Is'

Man discovers more stock photos of 'distracted boyfriend' meme model

HARD LEFT
Distracted Boyfriend Vs. Left Exit 12 Off Ramp

kRuSty KrAb
The Krusty Krab–Chum Bucket Rivalry Meme Is the Perfect Meme for Declaring Winners and Losers
23 "Krusty Krab vs. Chum Bucket" Memes That Are Painfully Accurate

GET TO DA CHOPPAH
The American Chopper meme, explained
The ‘American Chopper’ meme, explained by 6 ‘American Chopper’ memes

this kills the meme.

posted by the man of twists and turns (85 comments total)

Some day I will tire of esoteric academic fights being reduced to American Chopper memes, but until then

"They substitute faux academic logorrhea for wit"

I just wanted to read about memes, and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 11:28 AM on April 12, 2018 [22 favorites]

*hands on hips*

"HoW AmErIcAn ChOpPer, AnD OtHeR PrEfErEnTiAl MeMeS, ToOk OvEr ThE InTeRnEt"
posted by cortex at 11:28 AM on April 12, 2018 [39 favorites]

I was off Facebook for six months and when I came back the American Chopper meme was everywhere, so thanks for the explanations!
posted by elsietheeel at 11:30 AM on April 12, 2018

isn't there enought legitimate disagreement in real life to slake my thirst for conflict?

How ‘American Chopper’ is changing meme culture for the better
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:31 AM on April 12, 2018 [5 favorites]

I'm quite enjoying these American Chopper memes, especially the ones coming from the philosophy FB pages I follow. The juxtaposition of high and low culture, of the ridiculous/temporal and the sublime/eternal -- they're like the heyday of Downfall videos, except more concise and biting. (If they're done right, and they have to be done right.)

Plus, we did get a bit heated in some of our Nietzsche seminars sometimes, and while we never threw chairs, it came close.

Good times, good times...
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:34 AM on April 12, 2018 [5 favorites]

|￣￣￣￣￣ ￣|
| IRONIC |
| MEMES |
| ONLY |
| ＿＿＿＿＿_ |
(\__/) ||
(•ㅅ•) ||
/ 　 づ

┏┓
┃┃╱╲ in
┃╱╱╲╲ this
╱╱╭╮╲╲house
▔▏┗┛▕▔ we
╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲
DISCUSS MEMES UNIRONICALLY
╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲
▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔
posted by the man of twists and turns at 11:35 AM on April 12, 2018 [53 favorites]

O shit waddup?
posted by a halcyon day at 11:35 AM on April 12, 2018 [13 favorites]

Lager is an objectively superior form of beer
posted by exogenous at 11:42 AM on April 12, 2018 [18 favorites]

We're all accidentally discovering that visual metaphors are powerful and that comics are a great medium.
posted by little onion at 11:46 AM on April 12, 2018 [34 favorites]

That'a an unreasonable margin of safety!

I like these in small doses.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:51 AM on April 12, 2018 [7 favorites]

(and all it took was a mix of cheap image sharing technology + shared pop culture to make comics very easy to make while still very expressive)
posted by little onion at 11:54 AM on April 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

Mustache guy: The continuing riffs and meta-riffs on the American Chopper meme are giving me life.
Young guy: But this post wasn’t in the form of an American chopper meme so I don’t know how to or want to engage with it.
Mustache guy: that’s really unfair to the OP and you should try harder
Young guy throwing chair: I’m tired and worn out and have no emotional bandwidth
Mustache guy pointing: You’re doing great sweetie
posted by bleep at 11:56 AM on April 12, 2018 [25 favorites]

> Lager is an objectively superior form of beer

I've had this exact argument.
posted by mrzarquon at 12:03 PM on April 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

Mustache guy: The continuing riffs and meta-riffs on the American Chopper meme are giving me life.
Young guy: But this post wasn’t in the form of an American chopper meme so I don’t know how to or want to engage with it.
Mustache guy: that’s really unfair to the OP and you should try harder
Young guy throwing chair: I’m tired and worn out and have no emotional bandwidth
Mustache guy pointing: You’re doing great sweetie

They're both named Paul... I think that makes this better.
posted by Jacob G at 12:03 PM on April 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

I enjoyed this take on the American Chopper meme.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 12:04 PM on April 12, 2018 [25 favorites]

How to Pronounce Meme
posted by Fizz at 12:04 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

I was hoping this was going to help me out, but even after reading the explanations I don't really get the American Chopper memes. I mean, I understand the obvious, but I don't understand the appeal or the humor.
posted by bongo_x at 12:05 PM on April 12, 2018

To be honest, the first American Chopper meme suggested a way of looking at brutalism that I genuinely had not considered.

I thought it was a lot less fun, though, when I learned that their fight was not just the usual Yelling Channel bullshit, but the breakup of their business and family, and that the two of them still aren't speaking.
posted by Countess Elena at 12:07 PM on April 12, 2018 [15 favorites]

I was saving them for breakfast!
posted by ckape at 12:07 PM on April 12, 2018 [27 favorites]

My wife and I largely have similar senses of humor. However, she's very conflict-averse. I laugh my ass off at American Chopper memes, she straight-up ignores them. Even the Ryan North one, and she loves Dinosaur Comics.

Some things just aren't for some people, and that's okay. :)

But oh god, I hadn't yet seen the plums one, and that slayed me.
posted by explosion at 12:07 PM on April 12, 2018

How ‘American Chopper’ is changing meme culture for the better

This was a great analysis of what makes this meme special.
posted by Atom Eyes at 12:08 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

I love all these memes but I have no idea why.

It's like this totally new form of communication just sort of appeared one day and some of us get it, and some don't. My wife looked over my shoulder one day at an American Chopper meme and asked "what's that?" and I honestly had no idea where to start.

I said "I can't even begin to explain."
She replied "just try."
So I tried. After about three minutes she went "ok." and walked away, even more confused.

I love these memes.
posted by bondcliff at 12:10 PM on April 12, 2018 [10 favorites]

dank
posted by entropicamericana at 12:11 PM on April 12, 2018

How to Pronounce Meme

PREVENT THREAD ROT WITH OUR 100% SHADE GROWN MEME OIL
posted by snuffleupagus at 12:15 PM on April 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

"BULLSHIT! American Chopper and Neon Genesis Evangelion have NOTHING in common and you know it! Show me ONE similarity!"
posted by murphy slaw at 12:16 PM on April 12, 2018 [7 favorites]

This is timely as I was just thinking about how big the American Chopper meme had become, as I see it everywhere now.

I'm not big into all of these things, but there's just something inherently funny about this one. I've probably never seen the show on purpose, but somehow I can hear their voices and love the absurdity of these characters having whatever non-motorcycle-related argument the meme adds.
posted by Fleeno at 12:20 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

I really liked the one with the side-by-side panels.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:23 PM on April 12, 2018 [17 favorites]

WHO WOULD WIN:

In-depth academic discussion of image-mediated discourse

OR

Two memey bois
posted by infinitewindow at 12:32 PM on April 12, 2018 [18 favorites]

I really liked the one with the side-by-side panels.

Yay! I wanted to post this one but got distracted when I was looking for the original source. Darn you, ADHD!
posted by elsietheeel at 12:40 PM on April 12, 2018

I like the way MetaFilter periodically reminds me that, apparently, digg still exists.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:54 PM on April 12, 2018 [6 favorites]

Also Jesucristo so many people I follow on Twitter are in this Digg article
posted by infinitewindow at 12:55 PM on April 12, 2018

╔══════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════╗
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Repost this if ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ you a well-established preferential meme ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ who don’t need no graphics ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
╚══════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════╝
posted by phong3d at 1:00 PM on April 12, 2018 [11 favorites]

I made this, and I won't apologize for it.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:08 PM on April 12, 2018 [15 favorites]

Oh hey, the ME, AN INTELLECTUAL link actually goes to a "guy she told you not to worry about" page.
posted by fedward at 1:13 PM on April 12, 2018

The American Chopper meme is a lot less fun when you realize it's just doing what Dinosaur Comics has been doing for 15 years.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 1:16 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

No, it's exactly as much fun when you realize that.
posted by explosion at 1:27 PM on April 12, 2018 [38 favorites]

It's a little more fun when you realize that the guys yelling are more expressive and easier to immediately connect with than three dinosaurs in a willfully opaque narrative that requires 3+ lines of monologue before a counterargument. (Not that Dinosaur Comics isn't great.)
posted by little onion at 1:28 PM on April 12, 2018 [5 favorites]

Spoken like a true Dromiceiomimus.
posted by fedward at 1:31 PM on April 12, 2018 [10 favorites]

> snuffleupagus:
"How to Pronounce Meme

PREVENT THREAD ROT WITH OUR 100% SHADE GROWN MEME OIL"

Is it artisanal, small batch, AND fair trade?
posted by Samizdata at 1:36 PM on April 12, 2018

Spoken like a true Dromiceiomimus.

Her name is Emily and I will not be swayed.
posted by ckape at 1:36 PM on April 12, 2018 [6 favorites]

American Chopper and Galaxy Brain are extremely close together.
posted by kenko at 2:01 PM on April 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

I forget which American Chopper meme I saw first, but I knew nothing about the show or the superimposed debate topic. The amusing part to me was that I used the debate text to figure out what was going on in the images, rather than the other way around.
posted by mantecol at 2:13 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

I love how two guys at Digg are going back to a Drake meme from 2015 as the earliest memory of this kind of thing.
posted by iamkimiam at 2:23 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

You, a redditor: these beans r tasty
Me, a MeFite: LET US NOW CONSIDER THIS PLATE OF BEANS.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 2:47 PM on April 12, 2018 [8 favorites]

This is one of the best posts in a while.
posted by grouse at 2:51 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

all your beans are belong to plate.
posted by Dr. Grue at 2:54 PM on April 12, 2018 [5 favorites]

bondcliff, am I right in thinking this is how you discussed it with your wife?
posted by ambrosen at 3:12 PM on April 12, 2018 [7 favorites]

TINY BRAIN: Ethernet connection

NORMAL BRAIN: 5 GHz wifi

GIANT BRAIN: 2.4 GHz wifi and a note on the microwave saying “this knocks out wifi while you use it”

GALAXY BRAIN: Ethernet cable by the microwave
posted by DoctorFedora at 3:38 PM on April 12, 2018

could Twitter possibly be worse at displaying these?
posted by thelonius at 3:54 PM on April 12, 2018 [8 favorites]

╔══════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════╗
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Repost this if ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ you a well-established preferential meme ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ who don’t need no graphics ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
╚══════════ ೋღ☃ღೋ ═══════════╝ <-Perth
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:54 PM on April 12, 2018 [3 favorites]

It's interesting to me to compare this to the Downfall meme. I'm not sure if it's just me, but the parallels between these two are obvious--in both, the creators of the memes are expressing earnest opinions at length, set against the backdrop of screaming men.
posted by TypographicalError at 4:20 PM on April 12, 2018 [6 favorites]

How American Chopper, And Other Preferential Memes, Took Over the Ass End of The Internet

FTF...Digg? (Digg still exists?)
posted by Sys Rq at 4:29 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Ok. Ryan North’s American Chopper vs Qwantz just about killed me
posted by rp at 4:31 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

the Downfall meme

*Exactly* the same thing. Also, Dinosaur Comics.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:32 PM on April 12, 2018 [2 favorites]

I have yet to see one of these that I didn’t love: they’re reminding me to laugh when some grim stuff makes me want to wallow.
posted by wenestvedt at 4:42 PM on April 12, 2018 [6 favorites]

Someone needs to clue-phone the "girlfriend" in the stock photo. Honey, he's not worth it.
posted by maxwelton at 5:17 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

let it be known that if it is 1:30 AM and you are drunk, this is the best post
posted by GuyZero at 5:32 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

A recent one I like is a gif where Peppa Pig, who's been trying and trying to whistle with no success, calls her friend Suzie Sheep who's never whistled before but gets it on the first go. Peppa hangs up on her without a word.
posted by droplet at 5:35 PM on April 12, 2018 [6 favorites]

I dunno, Downfall worked, I thought, by the incongruity of Hitler ranting about trivial stuff, like his Party Poker account being blocked, and, while they are similar in that they feature ranting, the American Chopper meme seems to me to be in a different space,
posted by thelonius at 5:49 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

"With memes, as in perhaps no other art since Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin, the juxtaposition of “opposing social forces” to make something that is distinctly larger than the sum of its parts is absolutely vital to success."
posted by drlith at 7:38 PM on April 12, 2018 [1 favorite]

Monterey Bay Aquarium just posted an American chopper meme which itself interrogates large organizations posting memes to twitter in order to increase engagement. They said it was one of their most popular tweets.
posted by muddgirl at 8:09 PM on April 12, 2018 [4 favorites]

horse magic
posted by Going To Maine at 12:28 AM on April 13, 2018

Mustache guy: Mr. T ate my balls!
Young guy: Of course he did, balls are tasty!
Mustache guy: But mine are not for eating!
Young guy throwing chair: He's gotta eat somebody's balls!
Mustache guy pointing: Mr. T got religion and dropped the macho caricature a decade ago!
posted by straight at 1:05 AM on April 13, 2018 [7 favorites]

Mustache guy: Don't go breakin' my heart!
Young guy: I couldn't if I tried!
Mustache guy: Honey, if I get restless!
Young guy throwing chair: Baby, you're not that kind!
Mustache guy pointing: Don't go breakin' my heart!
posted by Thella at 5:28 AM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

The Only Dinosaur Comics American Chopper Meme You Ever Need

Yes that was me afterwards with the Phoenix Wright meme I've never even played those things sorry.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 6:45 AM on April 13, 2018

This thread is progressing in much the same way as "Too Many Cooks."
posted by DrAstroZoom at 7:17 AM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Someone needs to clue-phone the "girlfriend" in the stock photo. Honey, he's not worth it.

Wait til you see the rest of the stock photo relationship story. Drama ahoy!
posted by nubs at 7:35 AM on April 13, 2018 [6 favorites]

I just love memes, you guys, I love them all and I never get tired of seeing them. I don't really care what they mean about culture, they just make me happy.
posted by emjaybee at 7:45 AM on April 13, 2018 [4 favorites]

Mustache guy: I worry that this meme has jumped the shark.
Young guy: What does that even mean?
Mustache guy: It's a reference to the fact that popular things eventually start becoming more outlandish in an attempt to retain that popularity.
Young guy: We would never disrespect our audience that way!
Mustache guy: Of course not! Now, where's Poochy?
posted by nubs at 7:53 AM on April 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

Mustache guy: I worry that this meme has jumped the shark.

Me: Hissssssssssss.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:46 AM on April 13, 2018

Wait til you see the rest of the stock photo relationship story. Drama ahoy!

He spends more time sculpting his facial hair than thinking about her needs!
The two issues are separate and don't have anything to do with one another!
Time is limited, the way you choose to spend it is part of your personality and how you prioritize others.
Time may be limited but a MAN has time to care about his mustache and be there for his spouse!
THE EVIDENCE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU! HE'S NOT THERE FOR HER!
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:49 AM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

I dunno, this all seems kinda pretentious
posted by eustatic at 9:50 AM on April 13, 2018

I dunno, this all seems kinda pretentious

the practice of meme-making, or the thinkpiece rush to explain What It Says About Us and What It Reminds Me Of From Grad School?
posted by thelonius at 11:11 AM on April 13, 2018

Aren't most memes actually just image macros?
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 4:59 PM on April 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

thelonius: "I dunno, Downfall worked, I thought, by the incongruity of Hitler ranting about trivial stuff, like his Party Poker account being blocked, and, while they are similar in that they feature ranting, the American Chopper meme seems to me to be in a different space,"

Also, that the Downfall is one-sided - it's all Hitler ranting. The American Chopper is a debate (of sorts) with two view points.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:40 PM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

it's all Hitler ranting.

No, there’s also the underlings tasked with delicately breaking the bad news to him, the crying woman, and the other woman consoling her. And, while it is indeed largely presented as one-sided, that’s only because the other side has already won; the counter-argument is fully present in the form of cold, hard reality.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:16 PM on April 13, 2018 [3 favorites]

Fair enough about Eva Braun and whomever in the hallway, but I still see the Chopper meme as a *debate*, and Downfall not so much.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:20 PM on April 13, 2018

The one guy does protest Hitler calling the generals cowards and traitors, I guess, in the original scene.
posted by thelonius at 11:20 PM on April 13, 2018

I think the similarity is more along the lines of the absurdity of the characters saying things that they don’t look like they’re actually saying.
posted by bleep at 11:36 PM on April 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

Should the United States bomb Syria?
posted by eustatic at 1:49 PM on April 14, 2018 [4 favorites]

*Exactly* the same thing. Also, Dinosaur Comics.

American Chopper, sweetie, I am so sorry
posted by en forme de poire at 9:04 PM on April 14, 2018

my recent fave dank meme is still miss... vanjie
posted by en forme de poire at 9:08 PM on April 14, 2018

Memeception.
posted by elsietheeel at 11:30 AM on April 15, 2018 [2 favorites]

Memeception.

[insert image of DiCaprio squinting at Murphy]
posted by infinitewindow at 1:44 PM on April 15, 2018

My favorite downfall meme is all about in jokes for front range skiers.
posted by craven_morhead at 10:38 AM on April 18, 2018 [1 favorite]