Now That We’ve Hit Peak Meme, Let’s Take A Deep Dive Into Meme Culture

Turning Real People Into Memes

Photo credit: @jtemperton / Twitter

As memes evolved, real-life moments that struck a chord with their audience slowly took over meme culture. This had been done before but in the advice animals format. Success Kid, Confused Keanu, and Scumbag Steve are all an evolution of memes that repurposed people for humor.

US gymnast McKayla Maroney’s angry look when she didn’t win gold became a viral hit. Kanye interrupting Taylor Swift blew up. The internet even turned Hot Convict and Pharrell’s Hat into memes. By 2012, instead of creating viral content, people and celebrities were being turned into memes in a very organic way.