Hideo Kojima (小島 秀夫 Kojima Hideo) is a Japanese video game developer who is best known for developing games in the Metal Gear and Castlevania franchises. Online, he is often regarded as a troll for trying to mislead fans and shrouding his works in mystery.
History
Work at Konami
Kojima first joined the gaming industry by joining Konami in 1986 with his first game he worked on being Penguin Adventure[1] adding many elements that had not been considered originally by the team working on it. Kojima was first tasked with helping create Metal Gear in 1987 when limitations in the hardware were slowing down production time. Kojima rose the ranks of the company eventually becoming vice president of Konami in 2011 from his works.
A Hideo Kojima Game
On March 19th, 2015, several gaming news sites reported about a rumor that Kojima might be leaving Konami. On July 14th, a NeoGAF thread was submitted by user Love Deterrence that featured the final version of the official box art for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain which reveals Kojima’s brand being completely removed. The removal spurred Twitter users to launch the hashtag #AHideoKojimaGame in protest of the decision.
Departure from Konami
On October 19th, 2015, The New Yorker publish an article about an anonymous source who claimed that Hideo Kojima has left Konami since October 9th.[18] Konami denied the claim and stated that Kojima is still an employee in the company and is currently on vacation after the completion of Metal Gear Soild V.[19] On October 20th, Simon Parker who wrote the article on The New Yorker posted an image on Twitter of Kojima’s farewell party that Konami has denied to have occurred.[20]
On December 15th, 2015, Hideo Kojima announcesd via his Twitter account that his employment contract with Konami has been terminated.[21]
On the same day, Sony Computer Entertainment announced their official partnership with Hideo Kojima and his new independent studio, Kojima Productions, in developing a new game exclusively to the Playstation 4.
Online Presence
I’m Alright
I’m Alright refers to a tweet made on March 11th, 2011 (shown below), by Kojima during the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, confirming his safety because many fans began to worry if Hideo had died in the disaster[7].
Because of the simplicity of the tweet, many parodies and photoshops were spawned. Many gaming related news sites and forums reported on tweet[8][9][10].
Ruse Cruises
Ruse Cruises refer to the way fans of Kojima interpret actions that may or may not be intentional often delving into a conspiracy involving Kojima. Circa mid-2015, a thread[11] titled “/v/’s Ruse Cruise by Kojima” was created on the subreddit r/MetalGearSolid featuring a screencap of a /v/ thread discussing a possible ruse set up by Kojima about the upcoming Metal Gear game (shown below, left). Many gaming centric sites have reported on Kojima’s possible trolling and ruses[12][13][14][15]. Kojima has also stated[16] multiple times that he will be leaving Metal Gear alone before releasing or revealing the next game in the series (shown below, right).
Personal Life
Hideo Kojima was born on August 24th, 1963, in Tokyo Japan. Much of his early life was influenced by video games and movies which both got him to chase the career he currently has. Kojima cites[17]Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto as being major roles in what got him into gaming.
The Walking Dead is a horror drama franchise, originally it a was comic book chronicling the travels of Rick Grimes, his family and other survivors of a zombie apocalypse.
History
The comic, created by writer Robert Kirkman, artists Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard, was first issued by publisher Image Comics in of October 2003. The series has been positively received by critics and comic book fans alike, eventually winning the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series and landing a TV series adaptation deal with AMC in 2010.
Scenes from a pilot episode for the TV adaptation were unveiled for the first time at the San Diego Comic-Con International on July 23rd, 2010, followed by an online leak via Bittorrent on October 20th, nearly two weeks before the official premiere on October 31st. Due to the reception of the first season, AMC renewed the show for a second season with 13 episodes. Season Two premiered on the 16th of October, 2011 and finished on the March 18th, 2012. Two episodes into the second season, it was confirmed for a third season to contain 16 episodes. The third season was released on October 14th and finished March 31st. Season 4 is set to return to AMC October 13.
In April 2012, TellTale Games released a point-and-click adventure role-playing game based on Kirkman’s original comic series. Taking place shortly after the zombie apocalypse in Georgia, the story follows the main protagonist Lee Everett, a former college professor convicted for murdering a state senator in a crime of passion, and other survivors he meets along his adventures. The Walking Dead: 400 Days was released in July 2013 bridging a gap in the series. Season 2 of The Walking Dead game was announced in late October 2013. Episode 1 of the season was released in December . Activision would try to build of the fame of The Walking Dead by releasing their own game, “The Walking Dead : Survival Instinct”, developed by Terminal Reality, released in March 2013. The game is a first person and third person cover shooter, based on the AMC show rather than the graphic novels. It focuses on the Dixon Brothers as they make their way to Atlanta during the early days of the outbreak.
Online Presence
On January 5th, 2004, TheWalkingDead.com[1] website was created, which features news and information regarding the comic book series. On February 4th, 2009, The Walking Dead Wiki[4] was launched, which accumulated upwards of 2,800 pages in the first five years. As of October 2013, The Walking Dead Facebook[2] page has gained over 19 million likes and the @WalkingDead_AMC Twitter[3] feed has received more than 1.76 million followers.
Related Memes
Stuff and Things
“Stuff and Things” is a memorable quote from the Season 3 episodes “Seed”, “Home” and “I Ain’t a Judas.” In these episodes, the protagonist Rick would encounter a question and often respond by saying, “Stuff…Things.” The eventual spread of Stuff and Things would lead to image macros, and panel series.
Full Shane
“Full Shane” is a reference to the meme full retard which was inspired by the actions the character Shane performs in the Season 3 finale episode.
Carl!
"*"Carl!* is often shouted by the character Rick Grimes when addressing his son Carl in the horror drama television series The Walking Dead, which is often mocked online for the frequency with which it occurs on the show and for Grimes’ variable pronunciation of his son’s name.
“Luke, I am Your Father” is a misquotation of a line uttered by the villain Darth Vader in the 1980 science fiction film Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.
Origin
On May 21st, 1980, the second film in the epic space opera series Star Wars was released, featuring a scene in which the antagonist Darth Vader reveals himself as Luke Skywalker’s father in an attempt to manipulate him into betraying his comrades (shown below).
Vader: “Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father.”
Luke: “He told me enough! He told me you killed him!”
Vader: “No, I am your father.”
Throughout the 1990s, the line subsequently became a widely used trope[1] in television and film, including parodies in the 1999 comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (shown below, left) and the animated children’s movie Toy Story 2 released the same year (shown below, right).
Spread
On January 12th, 2006, Urban Dictionary[2] user Luke D. Lorenz submitted an entry for “I am your father,” citing the Star Wars film as the origin of the phrase. On February 14th, 2007, YouTuber Jimmania07 uploaded a video titled “Vader Makes Fun of Luke,” featuring the audio from Vader’s infamous “No!” clip in the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (shown below, left). In the next seven years, the video gained more than 2.39 million views and 3,900 comments. On May 2nd, YouTuber REALchexy94 uploaded an edited clip of the Star Wars scene with the word “mother” substituted for “father” (shown below, right), which was poorly received by the YouTube community earning over 9,000 down votes within the first six years.
On May 9th, 2008, the single-serving site No I Am Your Father[4] was launched, featuring various translations of the Vader quote, including 1337 Speak, morse code and binary ASCII. On May 11th, 2009, The Guardian[5] published an article identifying the line “Luke, I am your father” as a pervasive misquotation. On October 2nd, 2011, YouTuber bashthemonkey uploaded a recording of a 4-year-old reacting to the pivotal Star Wars scene (shown below), accumulating upwards of 3.97 million views and 4,800 comments in the following two years. On January 2nd, 2012, “Luke, I am your father” was added to Wikipedia’s “List of misquotations” page.[3]
Notable Examples
Luke, Je Suis Ton Père
Luke, Je Suis Ton Père Parodies are a series of exploitable French comics featuring an illustrated depiction of Darth Vader (“Dark Vador” in French) and Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars“I am your father” scene. The comics were initially made with puns and rhyming captions before expanding to include versions in which Vader is substituted with celebrities and fictional characters.
Vader: “Luke, I slept with your mother.” Luke: “No!”
Crossguard Lightsaber is a fictional weapon which projects three beams of bright energy from a metal hilt, resembling a sword with a crossguard. After the lightsaber was revealed in a promotional trailer for the 2015 science fiction film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the design became a subject of parody for its perceived impracticality.
Origin
On November 28th, 2014, a teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released on the Movieclips Trailers YouTube channel (shown below). In the trailer, a hooded Sith Lord is shown activating a large lightsaber with two more miniature blades emerging from the hilt at a 90 degree angle, resembling the crossguard[9] built on to European swords.
Spread
On November 28th, Redditor Couchsurfing_Rapist posted an Imgur gallery featuring parody lightsaber designs illustrated by users on 4chan’s /tv/ (television & film) board (shown below). In 72 hours, the post received more than 4,400 votes (94% upvoted) on the /r/4chan subreddit.[10]
On November 29th, Redditor i_start_fires posted an animated GIF featuring clips from Star Wars films edited with humorous lightsaber parodies to the /r/StarWars[11] subreddit (shown below). In 48 hours, the post gathered upwards of 5,100 votes (96% upvoted).
On November 30th, YouTuber Skallagrim uploaded a video in which he discusses the criticisms and defenses of the lightsaber crossguard (shown below).
On December 1st, Redditor gothicmaster submitted an Imgur gallery containing parody versions of the lightsaber to the /r/4chan[12] subreddit, where it gained over 3,800 votes (93% upvoted) in the first 12 hours (shown below).
In the coming days, several news sites published articles about the online reaction to the lightsaber, including The Verge,[6] Tech Crunch,[7] The Daily Dot,[3] Mashable[4] and The Washington Post.[8] On December 2nd, the meme was also the subject of a short segment on The Colbert Report.[13]
“Your Waifu Is Shit!” and “Your Anime Is Shit!” are online expressions used by anime fans to insult or make a snide remark towards each others. The phrase and its variants are often paired with a two-pane exploitable image featuring Saber from the Japanese visual novel series Fate/Stay. As the variety of image macros bearing the caption continue to grow, the phrase went on to inspire the snowclone template “Your X Is Shit” and other methods of insulting someone’s anime or waifu.
Origin
The earliest archived instance of the phrase “your favorite anime is shit” dates back to a 4chan thread on the /a/ (Anime & Manga) board.[3] However, discussions about one’s favorite anime have resulted in snide remarks already before that, making it impossible to date the actual start of the phrase. The original panel comes from the Fate/Zero Doujinshi: Fubin Sugiru Zero Saber ga Ijikeru[1] (Translation: A Very Pitiful Zero Saber Grows Timid) by Hiroyuki,[2] which was first published in October 2012.
Spread
Image edits of the origina doujin page started first appearing on forums and imageboards in October 2012; such as Youchew, SpazioGames, and Foolz’ /foolz/[4][5] board; less than a month after its release, although initial edits weren’t used to insult anime in general yet. Likewise a panel edit from a page of the third volume of the Corpse Party: Blood Covered horror manga[6] began being used in similar ways (shown below, right).
On September 9th, 2013, several posters on 4chan’s /a/ (Anime & Manga) board started a ‘Shitty waifu chart’[11] to describe what made numerous waifus bad. The chart updated several times in that month,[12] but paused until January of the next year, with the last update being from January 17th (shown below, left).[12] In December 2013, a Facebook page titled Your Waifu is Shit was created,[9] which managed to gain more than 20,000 likes as of February 2015. On September 20th, 2014, Youtuber LilyRaichu uploaded a voice-over of an animated GIF of the Strike the Blood anime (shown below, right),[10] which managed to gain nearly 200,000 views and 4,000 likes over the next 5 months.
Various Examples
Related: Don’t Talk Shit About My Waifu
“Don’t Talk Shit About My Waifu” is a catchphrase often used as a reply by the targeted party following a “your waifu is shit” and similar demeaning remarks.
“Salty” is a term meaning “Upset” or “Bitter”, used as a common online insult, being especially popular in PvP and Fighting Game communities, where it’s used to mock players for their frustration. The term is generally used in a similar manner to U MAD?
Origin
According to the Online Ethymology Dictionary,[4] the U.S. slang sense of salty meaning angry or irritated was first attested in 1938. On April 24th, 2007, an entry on the term[3] was submitted to Urban Dictionary. The author describes it as having originated in Philadelphia, where it was defined as “looking stupid… because of something you did”. It is thought to have entered into widespread usage on the internet through Fighting Game and MOBA communities.[1]
Spread
On August 20th, 2002, an anonymous Urban Dictionary user submitted an entry regarding the term which describes a person who is pissed or upset[5]. On April 22nd, 2006, Urban Dictionary user Shawn Maglicic submitted an entry regarding the phrase “Salty Bitch” which is described as One who is depressing, sad and overall dampens the mood of others[14]. The term has become the subject of discussion on a number of gaming communities such as Marvel vs Capcom[6], League of Legends[7][11], Call of Duty[8], Tekken[9], and Street Fighter[10].
On February 21st, 2014, Imgur user (source) uploaded an image titled “It’s a little salty, but it’ll do.” which gained over 574.400 views and 3.340 points in a year[12].
On September 1st, 2014, Youtuber GRsmash began uploading a series of videos titled “Salty moments in smash” which highlights losing Smash Bros players during matches. The first episode (shown below, left) gathered over 340.800 views in 9 months. On October 29th, 2014, Youtuber KOSDFF tK uploaded a video which shows a Call of Duty Player raging over knife users in the game (shown below, right). The video gathered over 522.400 views in 7 months.
On Feburary 15th, 2015, Redditor Mountebank submitted question regarding the term on /r/answers which gained over 70 points (90% upvoted) and 30 comments in 4 months[13]. The hashtag #Salty was adopted by users from Twitter[15], Tumblr[16], and Vine[17] respectively.
Various Examples
All These Flavors and You Chose to Be Salty
“All These Flavors and You Chose to Be Salty” is a catchphrase associated to an image macro featuring a stock image of an old lady licking ice cream. One of the earliest known instances of the image was uploaded by Imgur user metalkid305 on July 18th, 2014[18]. The image originated from a stock photo on ShutterStock titled “senior woman licking a red popsicle” which is owned by Michael C. Gray.[19]
On August 21st, 2014, Imgur user WhoIsThis4chanGuy uploaded an uncaptioned version of the image macro (shown below, left)[20]. On Septermber 20th, 2014, Imgur user DidYouTurnItOffAndOnAgain uploaded the image macro (shown below, right)[21]. both images gained over 60.000 views with 16 points and 168.000 views with 44 points respectively.
Straight Outta Somewhere is a series of parody images based on the original theatrical poster for the upcoming 2015 biographical hip hop drama film Straight Outta Compton. Since the launch of the image generator site for the promotion of the film in July 2015, the images have been circulating on social media.
Origin
The Red Band trailer of Straight Outta Compton was released on February 8th, 2015, and will be released on theaters on August 14, 2015. The film shows the rise to popularity and disbandment of the 1990s rap group N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). The title of the biopic film was borrowed from their debut album of the same name.[1]
On July 23th, 2015, a promotional site for the film named Straight Outta Somewhere was created as an image generator based on the film’s logo. The images made from it can be saved and shared via Facebook and Twitter.[2]
Spread
Most of the images are posted on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag “#StraightOutta” or “#StraightOuttaSomewhere.” As of August 9, 2015, both hashtags have a total of approximately 206,000 tweets.[3] On August 7, 2015, Vine comedian LeJuan James posted on a picture from the site on Twitter with the caption “HISPANICPARENTS #StraightOutta #TeamLeJuan” (shown below, left), and has acquired 140 retweets and 195 favorites. On August 9th, 2015, rapper Lil’ Kim posted a picture also made from the generator on Instagram, with the caption “#StraightOutta BROOKLYN!! @beatsbydre” (below, right). The image has gained over 16,100 likes and 360 comments.
Also on August 7th, the 120 Sports Facebook page[6] posted a video about the pictures from the site, specifically the sports-related ones. The video currently has over 1,700 views and 62 likes.
Comin' straight outta Compton!In honor of Ice Cube's new movie Straight Outta Compton, the internet had a FIELDDAY creating #StraightOutta memes that did not disappoint!
On the same day, Dime Magazine[4] published an article about the NBA-related images from the generator, featuring pictures poking fun of DeAndre Jordan, Chris Broussard and other NBA star athletes. On August 8th, USA Today’s sports news site For The Win ran an article on mixed martial artist Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino’s post on Instagram to “troll” Ronda Rousey (below, right). The article currently has more than 8,000 shares.[5]
On August 13th, The Obama administration chimed in on the #StriaghtOutta sensation by sharing its own parody with the caption “Straight Outta Uranium” via the White House’s newly launched @TheIranDeal account, which garnered roughly 900 retweets within the first 24 hours. However, the official White House tweet was quickly struck down by many followers on Twitter as a self-congratulatory remark with less-than-accurate implications, since the agreement doesn’t actually call for complete removal of Iran’s uranium stockpile, as BuzzFeed subsequently pointed out in the article titled “The White House just completely ruined the ‘Straight Outta Compton’ meme.”
Unpopular Opinion Puffin is an advice animal image macro series featuring a photograph of a baby puffin[1] and various captions conveying opinions that are thought to be unpopular, in similar vein to other non-conformist advice animal characters like Confession Bear and Angry Walter.
Origin
According to an email sent to our site by the imgur user Daemoos, the photographer of the original stock photo (shown below, left) is Andreas Mulder[16], a student in Netherlands. The image has been included in a photography book, early titled as “Silly Walk”.
The image appeared online as early as July 2010 on That Cute Site.[2] On July 24th, 2013, it was used as an image macro for the first time in a submission to the /r/AdviceAnimals[3] subreddit. In the post, the OP suggested using it as an alternative to Confession Bear, which had been frequently used on the subreddit as a way to express an unpopular opinion disguised as a confession.
Spread
Before the image had become an image macro, the uncaptioned image was submitted to a number of subreddits in 2012 including /r/aww[4], /r/pics[5] and /r/PhotoshopBattles.[6] In February 2013, the photo was submitted to /r/aww[7] a second time. On August 23rd, an Unpopular Opinion Puffin supporting the announcement of Ben Affleck’s role in the latest Batman film[8] (shown below) hit the front page of Reddit, gaining more than 22,000 upvotes, 1,600 points overall and 900 comments within two months. In late September 2013, the subreddit/r/UOPuffin[9] was created. Over the course of the following month, Unpopular Opinion Puffin instances appeared on 9gag[10], Meme Dad[11], Memebase[12] and FunnyJunk.[13]
Notable Examples
As of October 2013, there are more than 250 search results for “Unpopular Opinion Puffin” on Reddit.[14] Additionally, more than 450 instances have been submitted to MemeGen.[15]
“Swiggity Swag” is catchphrase expression originally quoted in the cartoon television series Ed, Edd n Eddy, which is often used to create rhyming captions in image macros.
Origin
The phrase originates from Season 1 Episode 2b from the animated television series Ed, Edd n Eddy, originally aired on January 11th, 1999, Ed says the phrase “swiggity swag, what’s in the bag?” while trying to sound “cool” (shown below). However, the phrase didn’t enter widespread usage until sometime in late 2012, shortly after the slang term swag began to rise in popularity.
Spread
On October 24th, 2012, YouTuber Aussie Jordan uploaded a video titled “Swiggity Swag” featuring a 3D animated character walking with a song titled “N*gg* N*gg*” playing in the background (shown below). In the first 13 months, the video gained more than 560,000 views and 3,000 comments.
On May 29th, 2013, Tumblr user donechesters[3] posted an image macro featuring pop star Katy Perry captioned with a swiggity swag parody of the lyric “do you ever feel like a plastic bag” from her 2010 single “Firework” (shown below, left). On the same day, Tumblr user theinfernaldevices[4] posted a swiggity swag image macro of the villain Darth Vader from the Star Wars science fiction franchise (shown below, right). In the following five months, the posts received upwards of 96,000 and 66,000 notes respectively.
On June 8th, the Internet humor blog Smosh[2] published a compilation of notable swiggity swag image macros. On June 21st, Urban Dictionary[1] user kimjongamazing submitted an entry for “swiggity swag,” defining it as a term used to mock the slang term “swag”.
Notable Examples
Swiggity Swooty, I’m Coming for That Booty
“Swiggity Swooty, I’m Coming for That Booty”, the most commonly used derivative form of “Swiggity Swag”, has become a popular online expression in its own right. It is most often used as a tongue-in-cheek way of expressing sexual interest, and is typically paired with images of characters creeping or crawling.
The phrase has an entry on Urban Dictionary,[5] where it is defined as “the act of going after a piece of ass”. The subreddit /r/SwiggitySwootyGifs,[6] launched on July 23rd, 2014, hosts user-submitted GIFs relating to the expression.
Nintendo is a japanese video game company originally founded in 1889 as a hanafuda card manufacturer. They are most famous for their video game franchises and consoles such as NES, Wii U, and DS as well as their company mascot Super Mario.
History
Pre Video Game Era (1889- 1974)
In late 1889, Nintendo was founded as a playing card company by Japanese entrepreneur Fusjiro Yamauchi in Kyoto, Japan. In 1956, Yamauchi’s grandson Hiroshi acquired licenses to use Disney character likenesses on Nintendo playing cards. In 1963, Nintendo launched the taxi company Daiya, a love hotel chain, a TV network and an instant rice food company. In 1973, Nintendo abandoned many of its ventures to focus on their family entertainment Laser Clay Shooting System devices.
Retro Era (1974 – 2001)
In 1974, Nintendo obtained the rights to distribute the Magnavox Odyssey game console in Japan. In 1977, Nintendo began producing and distributing the Color TV-Game video game consoles. In 1983, Nintendo released the Family Computer (Famicom) video game console in Japan. In 1985, a variation of the console named the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was launched in North America. In 1988, the Game Boy handheld system was released. In 1990, the Super Famicom was released in Japan, followed by the Super Nintendo (SNES) in North American the next year. In 1996, the Nintendo 64 console, named for its 64-bit central processing unit, was released in North America and Japan. In 1998, the Game Boy Color was launched.
Modern Era (2001 – Present)
In 2001, Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance handheld system and the GameCube console. In 2004, the Nintendo DS handheld device was launched. In 2006, the company released the Wii home video game console. In 2011, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS handheld device. In 2012, the Wii U video game console was launched.
Reception
E3 2013
In April 2013, Nintendo announced[1] that they would not be holding a keynote press conference at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). As the event drew closer, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed[2] via the Nintendo Facebook page[3] the company would be holding a Nintendo Direct conference online, relying on the company’s official Facebook, YouTube and Twitter accounts to announce their new releases.
At 7 AM PST on June 11th, the Nintendo Direct live stream began, during which they announced new games including Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Super Mario 3D World (shown below, left), a new Fairy type for October’s Pokemon X and Y and a Wii U edition of the Super Smash Brothers series (shown below, right). While the main event introduced two new characters for Super Smash Brothers, Mega Man and Animal Crossing’s default Villager, an event later in the day revealed the Wii Fit trainer avatar would be joining the game as well.
That day, Nintendo was mentioned more than 390,000 times on Twitter according to Topsy Analytics[4], peaking at 130,737 mentions during the hour of 7 a.m. EST. A discussion thread of Nintendo’s events was started in the /r/Games subreddit[5], gaining more than 2,900 upvotes, 1,600 points overall and more than 1,800 comments within 13 hours. Additionally, many of the announcements yielded a number of screen captures, GIFs and fan art on Tumblr under the tags Pokemon X and Y[6], The Villager[7], Wii Fit Trainer[8], Mega Man[9] and Nintendo.[10]
Online Relevance
Fandom
Leaked Document Generator
On June 6th, 2015, artist Brian Lee tweeted[12] a link to his website[11] which generates a fake announcement list for the Nintendo Digital Event at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The following day, the tech news blogs Destructoid[13] and Kotaku[14] published articles about the generator. Meanwhile, threads about the generator were submitted to the NeoGAF,[15] /r/wiiu[16] and /r/nintendo.[17]
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Highlights
Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata is the Executive CEO of Nintendo who gained a significant online following since becoming an executive in 2002, similar to fellow Nintendo employees Shigeru Miyamoto and Reggie Fils-Aime.
Reggie Fils-Aime
Reggie Fils-Aime is the president of Nintendo[1] of America, and a regular speaker at the E3 Entertainment Expo[2]. Most of his popularity has spawned from notable lines he has said during his E3 conferences, as well as unpopularity from fans of the video game series Mother.
Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game producer, and manager of Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development. He is well-known for producing the Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Donkey Kong, F-Zero and Pikmin franchises, some of the most popular, influential, and critically acclaimed in the industry.
Nintendium
Nintendium is an Internet myth which refers to a chemical element supposedly discovered by Nintendo and used in all of Nintendo’s console systems. The fictional substance can be seen as a tongue-in-cheek observation about the reputed durability of Nintendo video game consoles, similar to customer reviews of the Indestructible Nokia 3310 and Huge Like XBox.
It Prints Money
“It prints money!” is a catchphrase referring to the Nintendo DS portable gaming system often used in GIFs and image macros with the CEOs of Nintendo.
Notable Subcultures
Super Mario
Super Mario (also known as “Super Mario Brothers” or just Mario) [1] is a critically acclaimed video game franchise developed by Nintendo. The games typically feature Nintendo’s mascot Mario and his brother Luigi as playable characters that venture through different areas in the fictional land known as the “Mushroom Kingdom.”
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda is a fantasy adventure video game series published by Nintendo. The games revolve around the playable hero, Link. In many of the games, Link is tasked with rescuing Princess Zelda from the main antagonist, Ganon.
Pokémon
Pokémon is a media franchise spawned from a role-playing video game series developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo beginning in 1996. The title is a portmanteau formed by combining the Japanese words “Poketto Monsutā” (ポケットモンスター), “Pocket Monsters” in English. The games and other media surrounding it revolve around the capturing different types of these creatures, the titular Pokémon, and using them in battle.
Metroid
Metroid is a series of science fiction adventure video games created by Nintendo. Since the series’ creation, it has received a large online following with many of fan-created websites.
Kirby
Kirby (Japanese: 星のカービィ, Hoshi no Kābī; lit. “Kirby of the Stars”) is a fantasy video game franchise starring a pink-skinned spherical creature as the eponymous protagonist created by Masahiro Sakurai, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. Since the release of the original title in 1992, Kirby has grown into one of Nintendo’s most widely recognized video game characters with nearly 20 sequel titles and cross-media adaptations into comics, manga and anime series.
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem is a strategy RPG video game series developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. Fire Emblem has a large online following, spawning fan art and fiction, among other things.
Metal Gear Solid V is a 2-part stealth action video game developed by Kojima Production, published by Konami and directed by famed designer Hideo Kojima. It is the sixth installment in the Metal Gear Solid series and centers around the adventures of the protagonist Snake as he seeks revenge against the organization Cipher.
History
On September 1st, 2012, Metal Gear Solid V was first announced during the PAX 2012 conference under the title Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes (shown below, left). On December 10th, Kojima Productions, under the fake name of Moby Dick Studios, unveiled a trailer to a game titled The Phantom Pain during VGA 2012 (shown below, right).
During GDC 2013 on March 27th, 2013, Kojima announced that Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain were part of the upcoming game Metal Gear Solid V: the Phantom Pain (shown below, left). On March 18th, 2014, Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes was released as a standalone prologue to The Phantom Pain for the Sony PlayStation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One (launch trailer shown below, right). A PC port of Ground Zeroes was released on December 18th, 2015, via Steam.
On September 1st, 2015, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released worldwide for the Playstation 4, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. The game’s online multiplayer component titled Metal Gear Online or Metal Gear Online 3, was released on October 6th, 2015 (shown below, right).
Reception
Ground Zeroes was met with mixed reponses while The Phantom Pain was met with critical acclaim upon launch. Both games have been praised for their open ended and emergent gameplay.The Phantom Pain was met with further praise due to its scope, replayability, and themes that delves into subjects such as the cold war, nuclear weapons, child soldiers, language, and disease. Ground Zeroes was criticized for its short length and steep price tag. The Phantom Pain was met with criticism due to its more lighter approach in storytelling in favor of gameplay which differs from previous installments in the series that were more story focused.
Game
Platform
Metascore
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes
PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC
During Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’s demo at GDC 2013 on March 27th, 2013, fans noticed that Snake was not voiced by David Hayter. On the same day, David Hayter tweeted his disapproval, noting that he wasn’t even approached to reprise his role.[8] Kotaku subsequently submitted an article regarding the replacement.[9]
Also on the same day, a NeoGAF thread was submitted where users discuss their disappointment regarding Hayter’s replacement.[10] A petition was submitted to Change.org demanding David Hayter’s reprisal as Snake. The petition gathered over 22.000 supporters prior to being closed which is short of the 25.000 goal.[11] On March 29th, 2013, Kojima stated during an interview that the change was made because he and his team are trying to “recreate” the Metal Gear series.[12]
On June 6th, 2013, Konami announced during a pre-E3 conference that actor Kiefer Sutherland will replace David Hayter as the voice of Snake.
Quiet’s Design
After her official debut during E3 2013, the character Quiet was met with criticism due to her revealing attire being considered over sexualized. In the following months, Kojima posted several tweets in defense to her design choice, most notably stating that once the player know about her secret, they will be “ashamed of their words and deeds.”
A Hideo Kojima Game
A Hideo Kojima Game is a brand used on the Metal Gear games to signify director Hideo Kojima’s involvement. Following a fracture between Kojima and Metal Gear publisher Konami, the brand was removed from Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’s box art and advertising campaign. Fans reactied to this removal through various means, most notably the hashtag #AHideoKojimaGame.
Konami Review Event
On August 20th, 2015, Konami held a review event for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain by inviting various game journalists and personalities to play the game for three days and make a review prior to the game’s launch. On August 24th, 2015, Forbes submitted an article that criticizes the event.[20] On the same day, a NeoGAF thread was submitted where users discuss whether or not the reviews for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain has been compromised.[21] The thread gathered 337 posts as of September, 2015. On August 31st, 2015, Video Game personality Jim Sterling posted an episode of The Jimquistion that criticizes Konami’s review event which gathered over 218.200 views in 3 weeks.
Cut Content
Upon The Phantom Pain’s release, players began noticing that certain aspects of the game’s story felt either incomplete or were rushed. On September 2nd, 2015, Youtuber Inzaa uploaded a video about the 51st episode of the game that was cut from the finished product. The video was taken from the blu ray bonus content disc that came with The Collector’s Edition of The Phantom Pain. Within 3 weeks, the video gathered over 487.000 views.
On September 11th, 2015, data miners at the Facepunch forums discovered unused files inside Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, among them are unused textures and an image which reveals that the game was originally going to have a third chapter titled “Peace” (shown below).[22]
2015 Game Awards Ceremony
On December 3rd, 2015, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain won the awards for Best Score/Soundtrack and Best Action/Adventure Game at the Game Awards ceremony. After the award was accepted by actor Kiefer Sutherland, who voiced the character Big Boss in the game, host Geoff Keighley announced that Hideo Kojima could not attend the ceremony due to his contract with Konami (shown below).
Following the announcement, many fans of the series expressed outrage with Konami barring Kojima from the event, posting tweets including the hashtag “#FuckKonami.”[23] Meanwhile, several posts about the incident reached the front page of Reddit.[24][25][26]
Online Presence
On March 23rd, 2013, a subreddit dedicated to the game discussion was created, gaining over 250 subscribers withn three years.[16] On January 27th, 2015, Game Theory uploaded a video discussing the possibility of Punished “Venom” Snake being a stoner due his use of the Phantom Cigar, gaining over 3 million views in the following months. On July 18th, 2015, Youtuber Kikenzo uploaded an animation titled “ROCKETOPUUUNCH!!!!!”, showing Snake throwing his prosthetic arm against Konami’s offices, gaining over 250,000 views in the following months. At game’s release, various Let’s Play channels uploaded gameplays of it, like Game Grumps or Angry Joe.
After its announcement, the game quickly gained a fandom, spawning fan art and discussions on the released trailers. As September 26th, 2015 the japanese artist community pixiv leads to over 470 results under the tag “MGSV”.[2] The artist community DeviantART leads to over 2,200 results under the keyword “metal gear solid v",[17] and over 8,200 results under the keywords “the phantom pain”, being most of them related to the game.[18] Fandom presence can also be found on other communities like 4chan[13][14] or Tumblr.[15]
Related Memes
Punished Snake
Punished Snake is an alias used by the character Big Boss in The Phantom Pain. He is noted by his mechanical arm, multiple scars, and the shrapnel sticking out from the side of his head which resembles a horn. Following his reveal in 2013, fans began to make parodies of the character by giving other, unrelated characters from various media Snake’s physical features.
A Weapon To Surpass Metal Gear
A Weapon To Surpass Metal Gear is a memorable quote from Metal Gear Solid V’s E3 2013 trailer which is often used in response to abnormal weaponry. It is often associated with the songs “Sins of the Father” and “nuclear” due to their use in said trailer.
They Played Us Like A Damn Fiddle!
“They played us like a damn fiddle!” is a line from the first part of Metal Gear Solid V, Ground Zeroes. The line, spoken by the character Kazuhira “Kaz” Miller during a rendezvous with Snake, was seen as out of place for the scene, and thus became notorious among fans.
Such A Lust For Revenge
“Such A Lust For Revenge” or “Who?!” is a memorable quote uttered by the character Skull Face in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The quote gained notoriety online due to its cheesy delivery by voice actor James Horan.
Nuclear
“Nuclear” is a song composed by British musician Mike Oldfield, and released on his album Man on the Rocks in 2014. Due its use as backgroun music for the E3 2014 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain trailer, the song was adopted by the Metal Gear fandom and some of his lyrics started being posted on online forums, most prominently the starting lyric “Standing on the edge”.
Kaz, I’m Already A Demon
“Kaz, I’m Already A Demon” is a quote uttered by Big Boss at the end of the E3 2013 trailer of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. The quote has since gathered popularity among fans of the series, appearing in discussions and video titles related to the game.
The Phantom Pain
Prior to the announcement at GDC 2013 that The Phantom Pain is the official sub title for Metal Gear Solid V, fans began speculating if The Phantom Pain that was shown during VGA 2012 is part of another ruse orchestrated by Hideo Kojima for the upcoming installment in the series. Evidence in support of this speculation include Moby Dick Studio’s CEO Joakin Mogren being an anagram for Hideo Kojima, the similar game engine used in Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain, and reports of Konami officials wearing Moby Dick Studio and The Phantom Pain t-shirts.
Fan Theories
Prior to the release Metal Gear Solid V, fans of the series began speculating and creating theories regarding the events surrounding the game based on the analysis from various trailers released by Konami. Among those popular theories include Quiet is Chico, Eli is a younger Liquid Snake, and that Punished Snake is a body double of Big Boss.
Flaming Buffalo
Flaming Buffalo is the name of a female soldier that players can obtain by completing episode 31 of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Due to her high combat stats and awkward wheezing that she makes after doing a running animation, the character gain a fan following online, primarily on Tumblr.[27]
“Fake and Gay” is an expression that is commonly used as a stock comment in response to various online media or stories of highly dubious nature or questionable authenticity, in a similar vein to the use of other expressions of skepticism like “this looks shopped”, “seems legit” and “that happened.”
Origin
While it is difficult to pinpoint the precise origin of the phrase due to the common nature of the words, its usage in the context of online media most likely dates back to sometime in the early 2000s when the term “gay” was commonly used as a synonym for “lame,” a once-popular colloquialism that has since become stigmatized due to its homophobic connotation. On June 14th, 2008, Urban Dictionary user MonkSEALPup submitted the earliest known entry[1] for the phrase, which attributes its coinage to commenters on the Internet humor site Break.
Something that is both fake and gay. Popularized by Break.com.
In late February 2010, Break uploaded a comedy skit as a tribute to the community’s long-running comment joke.
Spread
However, the popularity of the phrase skyrocketed in early 2010 shortly after YouTube celebrity vlogger Ray William Johnson began using the expression in his web series =3 on a regular basis to describe various viral videos and stories of questionable authenticity. Throughout 2010, the phrase became widely adopted as a catchphrase by the fans of Ray William Johnson, which soon rise to a noticeable influx of “fake and gay” spam comments on YouTube videos.
On November 22nd, 2011, SoundCloud artist d74g0n uploaded a track titled “Fake and Gay Song,”[3] garnering nearly 30,000 plays over the course of the next four years.
Australian Intelligence Report Leak
In 2012, Michael Scerba, a former Australian intelligence officer at Department of Defence, anonymously leaked a highly sensitive document that he had obtained from the spy agency in a 4chan thread. According to the court documents[5][6] released in August that year, Scerba’s thread was largely met with skeptical responses from the imageboard community, with many users dismissing the files as “fake and gay,” and subsequently buried after failing to gain any substantial attention.
“To my dismay, I just got a bunch of ‘fake and gay’ remarks and the secret documents went 404 [website not found] about 4 comments and 1 hour later.”
Derivatives
Since being adopted as a popular practice of comment spamming and trolling on YouTube, a number of derivative expressions have emerged from “fake and gay” comments, including the spoonerist phrase “Gake and Fay,” the antonym “Real and Heterosexual” and the backronym “F.A.G.”
Vertical Posting refers to the practice of writing a message vertically, and sometimes vertically and horizontally, which is typically considered a form of spamming or shitposting in imageboards and comment sections.
Origin
The exact origin of vertical posting is unknown. The practice is rumored to have originated with “Bravo Nolan”, a sarcastic expression coined on 4chan’s /tv/ in July 2010.
Spread
On July 17th, 2012, a 4chan user vertically posted the phrase “Bravo Joss” on 4chan’s /co/ (comics & cartoons) board, mocking American director Joss Whedon (shown below).
On April 30th, 2014, a 4chan user submitted a vertical post of the word “London” to the /fit/ (fitness) board,[8] in reference to the /fit/ meme “please be in London”.
According to the Desustorage archive,[9] there were upwards of 4,600 “London” vertical postings on /fit/ and 3,200 on /r9k/[10] between April 2014 and June 2015. In March 2015, 4chan users began submitted vertical posts of the phrase “Bravo Vince” in threads about the television crime drama series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul producer Vince Gilligan.
On May 26th, Redditor that_random_potato submitted a post asking where the meme came from to the /r/OutOfTheLoop[6] subreddit, where several users cited various 4chan boards as the origin. On November 4th, Redditor guidance submitted another post about the vertical typing practice to /r/OutOfTheLoop.[7]
Tubgirl is a shock site image depicting a naked woman lying in a bathtub with her legs placed behind her head while a fountain of orange liquid gushes from her anus and falls back onto her face.
Origin
On December 12th, 2000, Rotten.com featured the image in a post titled “Feco Japanese I Really Think So.”.[1]
Spread
According to the shock image database Shock Chan,[3] the image appeared on the entertainment/news blog Stile Project in 2001. On February 15th, 2002, the domain TubGirl.com was registered.[2] On August 1st, 2005, Urban Dictionary[4] user Mike Oxlong submitted an entry for “tubgirl,” which describes the photo in detail. On October 18th, 2007, the tubgirl image was featured on the frontpage of the gaming news site Kotaku as part of a prank orchestrated by Gizmodo editor Briam Lam.[6] That day, Kotaku[7] posted an apology to readers who had seen the explicit image. On November 30th, YouTuber bambammargerashane uploaded a reaction video featuring two young boys viewing tubgirl and other shock sites (shown below, left). On December 11th, YouTuber Kat[8] uploaded footage of herself mimicking the tubgirl pose on the floor of a dressing room. Within nine years, the video gained over 1.7 million views. On December 18th, YouTuber AutomaticTLC uploaded a short reaction clip in which a young woman views the tubgirl image and says “is that poop? It’s like water” (shown below, right).
On January 4th, 2008, Gawker[9] published an article by writer Nick Douglas providing a descriptions of tubgirl and other shock site media. On June 30th, 2009, YouTuber MultiCoolTV22 uploaded a reaction video in which two young women view the original tubgirl video (shown below, left). On July 21st, YouTuber Mama Dorkiness Everyday uploaded another reaction video of two women viewing the video (shown below, right).
On April 16th, 2011, YouTuber Billy Nunez uploaded audio of comedian Patrice O’Neal’s appearance on The Black Phillip Show, during which he discusses tubgirl and other shock sites (shown below, left). On January 9th, 2016, YouTuber PewDiePie posted a video titled “Things You Should Never Google (Warning Gross) #2”, in which he views the tubgirl image along with other shock media (shown below, right). Within three months, the video gained over 5.3 million views and 32,000 comments.
Search Interest
The large spike in search queries for “tubgirl” in early 2016 coincides with the release of PewDiePie’s “Things You Should Never Google (Warning Gross) #2” video.
Shitty Charmander, alternatively Shitmander or Shartmander, is the online nickname given to a poorly inked tattoo of the Pokemon character Charmander that went viral after a photograph of the finished work was submitted to Reddit in April 2015.
Origin
On April 14th, 2015, Redditor Yllwsnow2 uploaded an image of a black-faced lizard-like creature tattooed on his friend with the caption “My friend was drunk and on Xanax when he decided to tattoo a black face Charmander with no experience or artistic ability. The flame saves it” (shown below). Within first 48 hours, the original image on Imgur garnered more than 2.4 million views, while the Reddit post reached the front page and garnered than 5,108 points and 1,200 comments.
Spread
In the comments section, Redditor gotNoodles pointed out the similarity between the tattoo and a Tim Burtonian fan illustration of the Pokemon character drawn by Tumblr artist Hatboy (shown below, far left).
On April 15th, Imgur highlighted the overnight trend with a selection of notable fan artworks on its official blog in a post titled “That Escalated Quickly”. On April 16th, a standalone subreddit devoted to the fan art meme was created on Reddit at /r/shartmander, as well a Twitter account with the identical handle @Charmander. Later that day, Redditor Yllwsnow2 followed up on his original post with another photograph revealing the face of the friend with a timestamped message addressed to /r/funny.
Mystery Skulls is the stage name of American indie pop / electronica musician Luis Dubuc, who is most known by his song Ghost. Originally Ghost was released on May 8th of 2012 and an official live action video was released on February 6th of 2014. However, Dubuc’s songs gained much of its online traction following the release of an animated version of the music video in October 2014, by Flash animator Mystery Ben.[11] This series of animated music videos eventually became known as Mystery Skulls Animated.
History
Dubuc’s “Ghost” was initially released as a preview on the Mystery Skulls Tumblr on May 8th, 2012.[9] The song was later remastered and released as a single via iTunes on January 31st, 2014, followed by the YouTube debut of the live action music video on February 4th (shown below, right). However, the song didn’t receive much attention until an animated version of the music video, commissioned by Dubuc onto YouTube animator Ben Mangum (a.k.a MysteryBen27), was released on October 26th (shown below, left). Within a week, the animated rendition of the music video[3] drew more than 750,000 views and over 25,000 up votes.
Prior to their collaboration on the music video for “Ghost,” Mystery Ben, who first rose to YouTube fame through his 2011 fan music video tributes to My Little Pony, had produced a fan music video for Mystery Skull’s “Money,”[1] which featured various animated characters from the Phoenix Wright Attorney video games (shown below). Upon its debut in May 2012, Mangum’s music video tribute to “Money” quickly became a hit, garnering nearly 1.6 million views in the following three years. Having taken note of the music video’s success, Mystery Skulls then contacted Ben Mangum to commission an official animated music video for his single Ghost.[2]
Sequel
On April 15, 2016, roughly two years after the release of Mystery Skulls Animated – Ghost, Mystery Ben uploaded the second installment to the series, to the song of Mystery Skull’s Freaking Out. The video gained approximately 300k views in just the first two days the video has been uploaded.
Impact
On October 27th, Redditor GamingAnarchy submitted the animated music video to /r/animation. On October 29th, Kotaku user PrinceofTheUniverse submitted the music video in a post titled “Animation Underground: Mystery Skulls Animated – Ghost.” On October 30th, BuzzBandsLA highlighted the animated music video in a blog post. In addition to the music and animation blog coverage, some of the characters featured in the music video quickly inspired a series of fan art illustrations on DeviantART and Tumblr. On November 5th, the Tumblr music staff announced a Q&A session with artist Mystery Skulls scheduled for the following day to answer questions about the success of the music videos and his music in general.[10]
A year after the release of Ben’s animated ghost music video, fellow animator yuracon[12] has borrowed from Ben’s rhythmic approach to yet another Myster Skulls song, Magic. The animatic itself of yuracon’s upcoming music video has accumulated 2.3 million views (shown below).
Fandom
Lewis The Skeleton
Lewis The Skeleton is the name given to the fictional skeleton character in the video that subsequently became popular on DeviantART and Tumblr through fan art, cosplay and plush toys since the video was first posted on YouTube. In addition, people have taken to calling him ‘Bara Skeleton,’ which is a reference to his masculine size and shape. As of October 31st, 2014, DeviantART host hundreds of original sketches and drawings related to Lewis.[4]
“Squidward Fad” refers to a series of videos that feature an image with various filters flipped around the screen with the song “Gentle Breeze” playing in the backgroud.
Origin
The first use of the fad originates from a video uploaded by YouTube user ChristopherCooler sometime in 2008. The video featured an image of the character Squidward from the series Spongebob Squarepants with his mouth open being flipped around the screen while the song “Gentle Breeze” from the game Trauma Center 2 plays in the background. While the original video and account have been deleted, a reupload was posted on January 1st, 2011.
Spread
A video was later uploaded by Kortez3000/SantaWithTeeth combining the fad with the image of Moar Krabs. The video has since been taken down, however a reupload of the video was posted on February 19th, 2009. The reupload has since gained over 250 thousand views in 7 years.
A video of the image of Squidward gradually multiplying was uploaded on April 10th, 2009 by YouTube user PooPTuBeNoob (shown below, left). The video has since gained over 300 thousand views in under 7 years. A video of the fan combined with an image of Handsome Squidward titled “skidward” was uploaded by YouTube user cox on September 21st, 2008 (shown below, right). The video has since gained over 500 thousand views in under 8 years.
Editor’s Note: Please do not use the comments section to debate about WWII and/or the Holocaust.
About
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who served as the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. Mainly known for his central involvement in several acts of atrocities against humanity, including Nazism, World War II and the Holocaust, Hitler is often regarded as one of the most universally despicable public figures in the history of mankind. Online, Hitler has been a popular subject of satires and parodies due to the historical notoriety and taboos surrounding his name.
Online History
Since the early days of the Internet, Adolf Hitler has been a regular subject of online discussions and jokes. In 1990, Mike Godwin introduced the “Godwin’s Law”[1] which he coined as a “natural law of Usenet.” During the first half of the 2000s, Hitler was a subject of several YTMND parodies with the earliest instance submitted in 2006[2]. Later that same year, the release of the 2004 German war epic film Downfall, which recounts the last ten days of Hitler’s life and eventual suicide in his Berlin underground bunker, gave birth to Hitler Reaction Videos, one of the most well-known Hitler-themed internet memes to date.
Online Presence
Satires of Adolf Hitler exists in many different forms across a wide range of Internet humor sites and communities, most notably on 4chan, Tumblr, Reddit, among others.
Reputation
Given his exceptionally unfavorable reputation and public image, various aspects of Hitler’s personal life have been subject to countless posthumous myths, speculations and rumors, including his medical conditions, religious beliefs, sexual identity and ethnic heritage.
Genital Deformities
On December 18th, 2015, German historian and university professor Peter Fleischmann released a report asserting that Hitler indeed had only one testicle, a decades-old rumor which had been partly inspired by the lyrics of a World War II-era British playground song, based on the analysis of his medical examination records from November 12th, 1923, shortly after Hitler was arrested for his unsuccessful coup attempt in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch. According to the document as logged by the Landsberg prison doctor Josef Steiner Brin, Hitler was deemed to be “healthy and strong” aside from his “right-side cryptorchidism.” On February 22nd, 2016, The Telegraph ran an article titled “Hitler ‘had tiny deformed penis’ as well as just one testicle,” which underscored another claim based on medical records that Hitler had suffered from a rare condition known as hypospadias, which left him with an abnormally small penis, as asserted by German historians Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie in their 2015 book Hitler’s Last Day: Minute by Minute. In the following days, the story about “Hitler’s micropenis” was picked up by dozens of news sites and online publications in many different languages.
Related Memes
Godwin’s Law
Godwin’s Law is an internet adage that is derived from one of the earliest bits of Usenet wisdoms, which goes “if you mention Adolf Hitler or Nazis within a discussion thread, you’ve automatically ended whatever discussion you were taking part in.”
“When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Hitler”
When You Ride Alone, You Ride with Hitler is an anti-Nazi propaganda poster created and widely distributed by the United States government during the World War II to encourage carpooling among American citizens to conserve gasoline for the war (shown below, far left). Due to its relevance to the Godwin’s Law, the image has inspired various propaganda parodies online.
Downfall Hitler Rant Parodies
Downfall also known as “Hitler Finds Out…” or “Hitler Reacts To…” is a series of parody-subtitled videos based on a pinnacle scene from Der Untergang (2004), a German WWII drama revisiting the last ten days of Adolf Hitler’s life and eventual suicide in his Berlin underground bunker. Due to the film’s international success and Bruno Ganz’ portrayal of the Nazi dictator, numerous segments from the movie soon fell fodder to parodies on YouTube, spawning hundreds of anachronistically subtitled videos of Hitler getting upset over topical events and trivial gossip.
Hipster Hitler
Hipster Hitler (also known as “Adolf Hipster”) is a series of comics and image macros of a Hipster version of Adolf Hitler. The images typically dress the former German dictator in skinny jeans and hipster glasses with a side-swept hairstyle.
Hitler House
Hitler House is the nickname given to a two-story townhouse in Swansea, Wales that is said to resemble the face of Hitler. The photograph of the house facade was taken by a 22-year-old British youth worker and posted via Twitter, which has been since viewed hundreds of thousands of times.
Kitler
“Kitler” is a nickname used to describe white cats with black markings under their noses that resemble Adolf Hitler’s toothbrush mustache. Cats with these coats were popularized in June 2006 by the single topic site Cats that Look Like Hitler.
Ignore Hitler
Ignore Hitler refers to a series of user-submitted artworks on the mobile gaming app Draw Something that incorporate caricatures of Adolf Hitler regardless of its contextual relevance. The images gained significant attention after its creator launched a single topic blog in April 2012.
“Hitler Did Nothing Wrong”
“Hitler Did Nothing Wrong” is an incendiary statement used for trolling purposes to deny that the acts Adolf Hitler was responsible for during his reign were morally wrong. Over time the phrase become widely used as a snowclone “X did nothing wrong”.
“Literally Hitler”
“Literally Hitler” is a hyperbolic expression that can be used to denounce an individual or group as being worse than Hitler. On the social networking site Reddit, the phrase is also used to mock circle jerk discussions that ultimately manifest into examples of Godwin’s Law.
Kung Fury
Kung Fury is a 2015 martial arts comedy short film about the adventures of a 1980s Miami renegade cop who seeks to revenge his friend’s death by traveling back in time to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Nazi Germany and martial arts master known as “Kung Führer.” Written, directed by, and starring David Sandberg, the film instantly went viral upon its YouTube debut.
Would You Kill Baby Hitler?
Would You Kill Baby Hitler? is a thought experiment which ponders the ethics of traveling back in time to kill Adolf Hitler as an infant in order to prevent the holocaust.
420, 4:20, or 4/20 (pronounced four-twenty) is a code-term used to call for consumption of cannabis, particularly around the time 4:20 p.m. or on the day of April 20th, and by extension, a way to identify oneself with cannabis culture.
Background
According to Steven Hager, the editor of High Times, and other various sources of cannabis literature, the term “420” was coined in 1971 by a group of students at San Rafael High School in San Rafael, California, who called themselves the “Waldos” and congregated by the campus statue of Louis Pasteur to smoke weed at 4:20 p.m. The group initially referred to the meeting by the code phrase “4:20 Louis” on the school grounds, before they shortened it to simply “4:20.” From there, the code word began spreading around the city of San Rafael, a strong foothold for the fans of the psychedelic rock band Grateful Dead, and gradually, it became adopted by marijuana smokers across the rest of the country.
Etymology
Due to the largely anecdotal nature of the backstory, the coinage of the term has long been misattributed to a number of urban legends and unfounded connections that became widespread as cannabis culture thrived across North America and Europe. Some of the most well-known myths that have been since debunked include:
420 is the penal code section for marijuana use in the state of California and the radio code for suspected consumption of marijuana within the Los Angeles Police Department (Section 420 of the California penal code refers to obstructing entry on public land);
420 is named after the birthday or memorial day of Bob Marley, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, all of whom had strongly identified with cannabis use during their lifetime (none of these artists were born or had passed away on April 20th);
420 refers to the number of chemical compounds that are found in cannabis (the number of chemical compounds in marijuana is 315);
420 is named after the time of the day at which Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann deliberately ingested LSD for the first time on April 19th, 1943 (the fact in itself is accurate according to his lab notes, though there is no connection to the coinage of the term);
420 is named after the number of the suite that Grateful Dead chose to stay at during their tours (_the story has been debunked as untrue by the band’s spokesperson Dennis McNally).
Notable Developments
As cannabis culture continued to gain traction across North America following a period of renaissance during the 1970s, the term “420” also became widely adopted by cannabis smokers in the 1980s, though mostly “passed along from stoner to stoner as a completely underground grassroots phenomenon,” according to The High Times.
The Grateful Dead Flyer
In December 1990, fans of Grateful Dead circulated a mysterious flyer promoting a smoking event scheduled to take place on April 20th, 1991 in Marin County, California. The flyer also came complete with an alleged backstory for the term “420.”
“We are going to meet at 4:20 on 4/20 for 420-ing in Marin County at the Bolinas Ridge sunset spot on Mt. Tamalpais,”
“420 started somewhere in San Rafael, California in the late ‘70s. It started as the police code for Marijuana Smoking in Progress. After local heads heard of the police call, they started using the expression 420 when referring to herb – Let’s Go 420, dude!"
Although the validity of the backstory has been since disputed by members of The Waldos, the flyer and its variations (shown below) played a vital role in popularizing April 20th as the unofficial holiday of cannabis culture among the fans of Grateful Dead and beyond, as well as the term “420” after The High Times published the Deadheads’ flyer in 1991 and continued to reference the number in its subsequent issues. In 1998, The High Times recognized The Waldos as the “inventors” of 420.
Observances
On April 20th, 1995, the Cannabis Action Network staged the first annual 4/20 Ball at Maritime Hall in San Francisco, California, one of the earliest known instances of organized and recurring events in observance of 420, from 4:20 p.m. to 4:20 a.m. Since then, dozens of similar congregations to celebrate cannabis culture on April 20th have emerged under the coordinated efforts of various cannabis advocacy groups across North America, most notably at the Hippie Hill in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, University of Colorado’s Boulder campus and University of California’s Santa Cruz campus in the United States, as well as Ottawa’s Parliament Hill and Major’s Hill Park, Montreal’s Mount Royal monument and Edmonton’s Alberta Legislature Building in Canada, among many other places in Europe.
2000
On April 20th, 2000, San Francisco Gate published an article titled “Stoner Chic Traces Origin To San Rafael,” which highlights various myths surrounding the origin of “420” and credits The Waldos of San Rafael High School for coining the term, citing The High Times editor Steven Hager’s research on the topic.
2005
On April 20th, 2005, Something Awful forums member Kirtaner registered the domain name 420chan.org, which eventually became the home of 420chan, an English-language imageboard mainly focused on the discussion of cannabis culture and professional wrestling, following a massive exodus of raiders to spin-off imageboards in late-August 2006.
2014
Easter 4/20 was the simultaneous observation of Easter, the Christian holiday on which Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, and 4/20 on April 20th, 2014.
Impact
The term 420 can be used to directly refer to marijuana. The term “420 friendly” is also commonly used among those who smoke and even those who do not to refer to people or places that are acceptable and open to the use of marijuana.
“420 Blaze it” is a catchphrase used in celebration of smoking marijuana. The phrase is often used ironically to mock cannabis enthusiasts who identify themselves with the stoner subculture.
In 2001, the forReal.org web site of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Substance Abuse Prevention put out a public service document titled, “It’s 4:20 — Do You Know Where Your Teen Is?”
On January 1st, 2004, the Governor of California signed California Senate Bill 420 into law, which regulates marijuana used for medical purposes. This bill comes years after the term ‘420’ was associated with marijuana and indeed its number likely was chosen because of the existing pop culture connection.
The term “420” has been routinely referenced in various popular movies and television shows. In Fast Times at Ridgemont High the final score of the football game is displayed as 42-0. Most of the clocks used as props in Pulp Fiction are set to 4:20.
With the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana, many hemp-based and cannabis culture products have taken on the term as part of their brand, including Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing Co. 420 Pale Ale, 420 Tours (low-cost travel packages to the Netherlands and Jamaica), Highway 420 Radio, as well as video games, record labels and musical acts.
The Absolute Madman refers to a Facebook post that shows an image of two boys who told their friend named Dean to lay down on the floor. The image is often mocked by users for being boastful over a simple feat and has since spawn edits and fanart with other known situations from various events, shows and video games.
Origin
Though the origin of the post itself is unknown, The earliest examples of it was posted in Funnyjunk on May 27th, 2014 by user superstephtime as part of his compilation post titled “Cringe Comp”. As of April, 2015, the compilation has gathered more than 58.000 views and 1698 upvotes[1] . On the very same day, a standalone image which was followed by the Neil deGrasse Tyson Reaction image was posted on Cepcerk[2].
Spread
On June 1st, 2014, Imgur user TurtleThatCanStrut reposted the image and as of April, 2015, has gathered more than 54.000 views[3]. On July 3rd, 2014, reddit user hyug_5 posted the image on /r/4chanMeta which as of April, 2015, has gathered 861 points (99% upvoted) and 37 comments[4]. On October 22nd, 2014, Twitter page Year 9 Banter tweeted the image which as of April, 2015, has gathered more than 2.300 favorites and was retweeted more than 2.700 times[5].
On May 28th, 2014, Funnyjunk user CrushOrange upload an edited image which shows Dean in the fashion of a Super Smash Bros 4 character announcement as a reply to the Cringe Comp post[6]. As of April, 2015, the reply has gathered 451 upvotes. On September 19th, 2014, Funnyjunk user teranin posted a drawn image titled “HAHAHA oh wow!” which replaces the three people in the original with veteran figures from Nintendo. As of April, 2015, the post has gathered more than 12.000 views[7].
