guides
What Does 'Corecore' Mean On TikTok? The Video Aesthetic Explained
As far as -core suffixes go, corecore might be the epitome of them all. Cottagecore, normcore, blokecore… None of them compare to the aesthetic mess that is TikTok's corecore.
Although corecore videos might seem messy, they're inherently stylized, consisting of specific themes that have held true since their start. Often discussed in the same breath as NicheTok, corecore videos started off as inspirational but quickly divulged into the nonsensical.
If your "For You" page is full of corecore, you're not alone. Like many, you might be curious about what corecore is, where it started and how it took over TikTok. Let's explain.
What is 'Corecore?'
On its face, corecore makes a "core" out of the collective consciousness of all "cores," alluding to an oversaturation of popular media in the mind of the consumer.
Of course, the idea of "cores" started with the phonetic categorization of music that started with the word "hardcore," as in hardcore music. Nowadays, there are lots of "cores" in music, like nightcore, for example.
Within online culture, "cores" also developed to categorize visual aesthetics and subcultures, starting with the word normcore. Going into the 2010s and 2020s, many ironic "cores" emerged in memes, similar to how the -pilled or -cel suffixes are used.
Recently, the most ironic meme "core" is corecore, which makes a "core" out of the collective consciousness of all memetic "cores."
@distortgang dopamine supplement #pinkcore #corecore #distcore ♬ original sound – distortgang
Where Did 'Corecore' Start?
Although there are traces of the hashtag "#corecore" on Tumblr in 2020, corecore is entirely associated with a video style unique to TikTok, although it borrows from its predecessor YouTube Poop and sporadic shitpost videos present on Twitter and Instagram before TikTok's 2019 spike in usage.
The corecore video style started on TikTok as early as January 2021, with many tracing the style back to TikToker @masonoelle. In these original videos, @masonoelle used clips ranging from American Psycho to Charli D'Amelio in order to portray an oversaturation of content that led to romanticized insanity in the consumer.
Going into 2022, TikTokers like @highenquiries and @batmanisjustlikemefr, among others, started to build on the video style, making edits that harked on social change, global issues, and overall, overconsumption of media. Many of these original videos used uniquely British pop culture references, such as The Inbetweeners and filmmaker Adam Curtis.
Although all of these aforementioned videos surfaced in early 2022, the word "corecore" wasn't actually coined until July 2022 by TikToker @heksensabbat. The "core" then got legs, as "#corecore" racked up millions of views going into late 2022. Many of the original video creators started identifying their work as "corecore" in order to get in the algorithm's favor.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/6912766346455567622
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7077982776565255429
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7099093414448352517
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7120821352604568878
In early 2023, corecore videos have become increasingly chaotic and nonsensical. Between them, it's hard to draw a line between defining themes. This is, however, what makes corecore "corecore," as it's every theme mashed into one. The videos seem to require an oddly deep knowledge of TikTok and meme trends to fully comprehend them; therefore, they require a knowledge of all "cores," both identifiable and not yet identified.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7158789701875371266
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7156321678669270318
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7161619103705206058
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7178974277209787690
For the full history of Corecore, be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.
