Disintegration Effect / I Don't Feel So Good

Editor's Note: This entry contains spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War; read at your own caution.

About

Disintegration Effect, also known as "Particle Dispersion Effect" and "I Don't Feel So Good" is a series of photoshopped image macros in which the subject appears to be dissolving using Photoshop's "dispersion" technique (called "dispersion" or "burst" in the application PicsArt). Following the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the meme was revived for a series of jokes about the film's ending. In this context, it is usually paired with a line from the film "I don't feel so good."

Origin

The disintegration effect is a technique used in photograph editing in which the user maniuplates the image so that it appears as though the subject is disintegrating piece by piece. This is usually achieved with a digital brush and looks like little circle or triangles filled with pieces of the image.

The earliest known example of the effect being used for the purposes of a meme was posted on May 11th, 2017 by Twitter ^[1] user @KingxVendrick. That day, they posted a photoshopped version of the You Know I Had To Do It To Em meme disintegrating with a quote from The Last: Naruto the Movie. ^[2] They wrote, "Your fists will never reach me. Face me when you become stronger, until then farewell." The post (shown below) received more than 3,000 retweets and 4,900 likes in one year.

Spread

Later that month, Instagram user @seth.v.2 ^[3] posted the quote with an image of a disintegrating lizard holding a thumbtack. The post (shown below, left) received more than 3,600 likes in one year. Later that year, they posted a second one (shown below, right), which received more than 6,500 likes in seven months.^[4]

I Don't Feel So Good

Following the release of Avengers: Infinity War in April 2018, the meme was revived to reference the film's ending. On April 29th, 2018, Facebook ^[5] 8memes posted an image of the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants disintegrating. The post (shown below) received more than 20,000 reactions, 42,000 shares and 8,300 comments in 24 hours.

That day, Facebook^[5] user Zak Seelbach posted a version of the Ralph Wiggum in danger meme in which Ralph is disintegrating in the Simpsons Shitposting Facebook group. The post (shown below, left) received more than 2,200 reactions, 150 shares and 50 comments in two days.

On April 30th, Twitter^[6] user @buckleyjack posted a version featuring the sitcom character Fraiser from the television series Fraiser. The post (shown below, center) received more than 645 retweets and 3,100 likes in 24 hours.

Many online paired the images with a quote from the film, "I don't feel so good, Mr. Stark." The line is uttered by the character Spider-Man before he disintegrates. On April 30th, Twitter^[7] user @IceSeason101 tweeted an image from The Simpsons Steamed Hams meme. The post (shown below, right) received more than 865 retweets and 2,900 likes in 24 hours.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References