What's The 'Napoleon' Meme On TikTok? The 'There Is Nothing We Can Do' Trend Explained

A new TikTok trend has surfaced which, oddly enough, has to do with former French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, centering on an imaginary quote from him: "There is nothing we can do."

The Napoleon meme on TikTok is based on the man's exile to the island of St. Helena, far off the western coast of Africa. There, Napoleon spent his last days. The memes are manifesting in TikTok slideshows and are romanticizing his banished hopelessness.

It might sound strange, but the meme format is going viral on the web right now. How did this start and what's the appeal? Let's explain.

Who Was Napoleon Bonaparte?

For those who aren't history buffs, Napoleon Bonaparte is most known for his role as Emperor of France in the 1800s. Prior to being dubbed Emperor in the year 1800, Napoleon was a prominent military leader in France during a time of government unrest. However, he was seemingly well-respected and good at his job. Regardless, he achieved emperor status after a coup.

Overall, Napoleon is one of the most well-known Frenchman to have ever lived. Pretty much every person with a middle school level education knows the man's name. You can read more about him on History.com.

What Was Napoleon's Exile On St. Helena?

Napoleon was actually exiled twice in his life. His second exile was to the island of St. Helena, which is far off the western coast of Africa, practically right-in-the-middle of Africa and South America. He was sent there after being defeated by the British. They exiled him instead of killing him because his execution could have made him a martyr.

He arrived in St. Helena in 1815 and was left there alone, confined to one building which was guarded around the clock. He later died in 1821. You can read more about his St. Helena exile on History.com.

What Is The 'There Is Nothing We Can Do' Napoleon Meme?

Last month, a history meme page on TikTok called @history.awakes.around posted a photo slideshow which used rage comic characters resembling Napoleon and one of his Frenchmen. In the images, Napoleon's man is shown asking, "Napoleon, what will we do?" to which Napoleon is shown replying, "There's nothing we can do."

After the first two images, the slideshow continued. Next were a series of paintings showing Napoleon on the island of St. Helena. He's depicted looking out over the water, drawing an "N" in the sand, and overall, contemplating his seemingly hopeless exile.

Since the aforementioned post, many meme creators on TikTok have picked up on the trend, using the same TikTok sound as the original.

As the meme has developed over the past month, the iterations have gotten a lot funnier. A prominent example shows Napoleon realizing that he has a math test next period, to which he depressingly says, "There is nothing we can do…" Many of the memes satirize the serious tone of Napoleon's fake quote.

What Is The Napoleon Meme Song On TikTok?

Many are wondering what the song is that's a part of the meme trend. It's the song "Amour plastique" by Videoclub, a French pop band. The song was released in 2018.

For the full history of Napoleon "There Is Nothing We Can Do," be sure to check out our entry on the meme here for even more information.