Memeing Classic Movies: Top Films From The '90s For Memes

While we rarely stop and think about it during our chaotic 2020 lifestyle, thousands of memes uploaded to the internet every day are inspired by movies of the past. Some are movies we remember, and others are those we've forgotten about or never even knew existed. But all of them are infamous on their own and deserving of recognition through memes. If you're in search of a great meme template and don't know where to start, '90s movies contain a lot of classic and modern memes, plus it gives you a great excuse to watch a movie instead of doing something more important. Here are our top three recommendations for meme movies from the 1990s.

The Matrix (1999)

Perhaps the most obvious on our list is The Matrix, one of the most memed movies of all time. In this film, which leads to a trilogy and millions of existential crises across the globe, the protagonist Neo discovers he is living in a simulated world and wakes up to the reality that survivors of humanity are fighting a constant war against a species of machines … a "rage against the machine" if you will.

This kind of light-hearted topic is great for making jokes, especially when Elon Musk himself has stated his belief that we all live in a version of The Matrix. This, of course, has been memed, as well as a famous image of Lawrence Fishburne’s character accompanied by the caption “What if I told you,” creating Matrix Morpheus, as well as the numerous Red Pill and Blue Pill memes. Another reason to become an expert on The Matrix is that it happens to be one of the most famous roles for Keanu Reeves, who is himself a very wholesome meme, and the hours of his footage this movie provides makes great fuel for reaction images.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Big Lebowski is a rather obscure and nihilistic cult classic. It tells the story of professional bowler Jeff “The Dude” Lebowski as he is confused for another man of the same name and becomes involved in a plot to rescue “Big” Lebowski’s wife from kidnappers. As we all know, the internet inevitably jumps at weird, dark content and finds a way to corrupt it further.

This movie is perfectly quotable to the online community for a few key reasons. First, its story sounds like the writers got drunk and pointed to the first few words they could find in separate newspapers, then pieced all the different subjects together into a surprisingly hilarious plot. Second, it’s a funny, borderline depressing and very watchable movie despite the strange premise, so it has a following that loves to reference it at any chance they get. Third, there are a number of scenes where characters were screenshotted and actually became memes. If you think hard enough about 2008, you’ll probably recall the memes "Am I the only one around here who…" and "That’s just, like, your opinion man."

Star Wars: Episode 1–The Phantom Menace (1999)

In The Phantom Menace, we are introduced to the infamous Star Wars villain Darth Vader through the character of young Anakin Skywalker as he trains to become a Jedi. Some fans consider the prequel trilogy, beginning with this film in 1999, to be the worst the Star Wars saga has to offer, while others suggest that the sequels are now more fitting of that title. The animation and plot don't seem to hold much value compared to the older, original trilogy, yet there are some redeeming qualities. Many find impactful messages and a valuable origin story within them, and these people have created the well-known Prequel Memes phenomenon.

It’s now an undeniable law of the internet: any moment in The Phantom Menace can instantly become a meme. So can any character, as seen by the controversial Jar Jar Binks. There is an entire subreddit devoted to Prequel Memes, and they’re still one of the most popular today even though their versatility means they’ve been around since nearly the dawn of the memeing era. Young Anakin makes a great meme in this movie for his "Now this is podracing" quote, as do lines like "The ability to speak does not make you intelligent" and “There is always a bigger fish.” If you're looking for some reliable meme material, this is a great place to find plenty, especially since the fanbase alone will flood your memes with likes and upvotes more than any other.

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