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The best memes that defined 2020

 
The best memes that defined 2020

This year was no joke. Just when we thought we’d be in flying cars by now, the world experienced a devastating pandemic, terrible wildfires, the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, social unrest, political upheavals and various natural disasters. With 2020 finally coming to a close, let’s look back and give thanks for what really got us through it all (and perhaps that the only good things to come out this year): the memes. Here’s our list of 2020 memes that did the trick.

 

“I’m going to create an environment that is so toxic,”

“I’m going to create an environment that is so toxic,” a quote by Sue Sylvester from Glee, has been doing the rounds on Twitter and it’s unlocked untold creativity from the meme lords. The dialogue comes from the seventh episode of the show’s first season in which Sue determines to ruin the school glee club by sowing divisions in the team, hence the “toxic environment”. It quickly gained traction as users use the screenshot to describe multitude of a bad environment and then it grew where people expertly applied to various scenarios by blacking out the words “environment” and “toxic” and replacing them with whatever made the meme work. With this meme exists, maybe the environment isn’t toxic at all…right? Thank you, Sue.

 

 

Gossip Girl

This meme is so basic that it’s actually kind of genius. The meme features Blake Lively’s Serena up top, asking a question of making a statement, then Leighton Meester’s Blair below retorting back with some sort of anagram or edit of the term “gossip girl”. Our favourite? This one below – Go piss girl. It does not get better than that.

 

 

Everything is Cake

This meme proves that everything and anything could be a cake in this chaos year. This kind of creative food video have gone viral on social media but this one is the chameleon cake’s most powerful viral moment, thanks to the pandemic. The video features everyday life objects that are secretly a cake which is either a herculean feat of food design or proof that we’ve lost our minds. That’s all the explaining one can really do, you just have to watch the videos to understand.

 

 

Robert Pattison in a tracksuit

Robert Pattison has been headlining news several times this year for several reasons, mostly because of his Batman role and his cursed photo from 2017 that has become one of the biggest memes this year. You’ve seen it. You know it. It’s an old photo of him standing awkwardly in the kitchen, wearing an oversized brown tracksuit, hair slicked back with his hands by his side. It’s about his vibe in the picture that made the image a blank slate and has been used in countless reaction images. The image that has put the actor in the social media spotlight is originally a set picture from the time when he filmed the crime/thriller film Good Time back in 2017.

 

 

My plans vs 2020

 

This one doesn’t need any explanation because 2020 really did go and ruin everything, didn’t it?

 

 

“I know a spot”

This meme takes you places, from your worst points in the relationships, physical places you’ve never been to, exposing certain traits and profession and often times, to a place which is only too relatable that will make you stare into the abyss, thinking “omg that’s me”.

 

 

“Did it work?”

Lisa from Blackpink released a dance performance video to QUIN AND 6LACK’S Mushroom Chocolate and her legs became an instant meme called ‘did it work’. In the video, the K-Pop star flexed her lengthy limbs while sporting a pair of black boots that went straight up her thighs which triggered a surge of Twitter users to crop her legs and put attach them to famous photos.

 

 

Disappointed Muhammad Sarim Akhtar

This meme describes exactly how we feel of 2020. The disappointed Pakistani fan Muhammad Sarim Akhtar who had gone viral in 2019 for his expression while watching the World Cup between Pakistan and Autralia at Taunton once again made a return to fame this year which prompted a series of hilarious reactions online in the form of memes and jokes that are mostly used to express disappointment or anger at a situation. Meanwhile, Malaysians are quick to crop Muhammad’s face and put Dr. Hisham face onto the picture to portray what is he feeling whenever there are news of people breaking SOPs during MCO.

 

 

Emily in Paris

Netflix’s Emily In Paris had mixed reviews from fans but the memes are so good. Again, locals did it again with clever photoshop where the memes show Emily in glamorous outfits while taking selfies at some familiar places in Malaysia but Paris. While international fans use the meme to throw shades at the plots of the show, outfits etc.

 

 

‘Meatier, meteor’

23-year-old Eliza Pettersen posted a TikTok video about dinosaur where she plays two roles as an angle and God and they discuss about how the dinosaurs accidentally went extinct. As they go back and forth about what God had originally requested the angel to give the species, the pair realised there was a definite misunderstanding along the way. The video ends with both of them repeating “meatier and “meteor” as they tear up. Despite the clip literally only being 22 seconds long, Petersen’s pretty genius dinosaur joke and acting skill that deserved an Oscar award was viewed over 15 million times across TikTok and Twitter. Fun fact: Eliza is actually an actual Paleontologist.

 

 

 

 

 

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