What Does 'Kubrick Stare' Mean? The Directorial Technique Employed By Filmmaker Stanley Kubrick And Its Memes Explained

Some memes make an impression: glowering psychotically from the screen, radiating chaotic energy -- these posts can startle and scare. The internet has long been fascinated by characters like Patrick Bateman who show this energy, and by one specific film technique that narrates it: the Kubrick Stare.

What Is The Kubrick Stare?

The Kubrick Stare is a specific kind of shot that is often featured in the work of British director Stanley Kubrick. A character, pictured from the chest up, looks at the camera with their head tilted downwards. It's used to depict madness, insanity and derangement. For example, Jack Nicholson in The Shining does a Kubrick Stare right before he goes on his murderous rampage.

But this shot, well known to the nerds over at Film Twitter and the video essayists of Film YouTube, became a broader meme in February of 2023.

Where Did The Kubrick Stare Come From?

In 2019, Twitter user @DxGGEAUX posted a tweet about the Kubrick stare, alongside four examples. The last example, however, didn't come from the filmography of Stanley Kubrick, but from the 21st-century cinematic masterpiece It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

The tweet's text described, in a really over-academic way, the shot composition, which rapidly became a copypasta. Users began posting the text with their own takes on the Kubrick stare, often adding in a surprise fourth panel.

Why Do People Post Kubrick Stare Memes?

It seems that the butt of the joke here are pretentious film snobs who love Stanley Kubrick: by putting in a face doing the Kubrick stare that comes from a different, less prestigious kind of film, they poke fun at the sort of lofty clout-chasing discussions about film that characterize some online spaces.

But at the same time, like many memes such as Girl explaining, it also has a two-sidedness: it makes fun of an online community that just won't shut up, but it also can express pride in belonging to such a community. A little bit of self-deprecation becomes a way for film nerds to justify themselves.

After all, this is cinema. It's important stuff.

For the full history of the Kubrick stare, be sure to "check out our entry for even more information.