meme-review
The Top 50 Memes of the Decade: 40-31
This month, we asked you to help us narrow down the top memes of the 2010s in our Memes of the Decade community poll. Over the last 10 days, nearly 55,000 votes were cast as users passionately campaigned for their favorite viral phenomena, hoping they might secure their spot among the best memes circulated during this iconic era in internet history.
From now until Friday, join us as we run down the list showcasing which memes had what it takes to be ranked among the top 50 of the decade.
40. Lord Marquaad E
About the Meme: A deep-fried image of Markiplier's face superimposed onto Lord Farquaad from Shrek's face with the letter "E" added as the text.
Peak Year: 2018
Highlights: A series of memes used the template to comment the surreality of the era's meme culture.
39. Navy Seal Copypasta
About the Meme: An oft-copied paragraph featuring ridiculous boasts ostensibly written by an angry man on a message board. The paragraph starts, "What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals," giving it the name "Navy Seal Copypasta."
Peak Year: 2012
Highlights: On May 22nd, 2012, "Copypasta Sings" posted a musical version of the copypasta, gaining over 1.1 million views (shown below).
38. It's Time to Stop
About the Meme: A GIF of Filthy Frank holding a giant clock as he shouts "It's time to stop!"
Peak Year: 2016
Highlights: Multiple image macros used the meme synonymously with stop posting.
37. Hitler Reacts "Downfall" Parodies
About the Meme: A scene from the German film Der Untergang (2004) in which Adolf Hitler receives bad news and begins to rant. Parodies have altered the subtitles of the scene to fit a variety of topics.
Peak Year: 2010
Highlights: Parodies had become so ubiquitous by 2019 that Fox Searchlight Pictures used a parody to promote their film Jojo Rabbit.
36. 60's Spider-Man
About the Meme: A series of clips and stills from the 1960s Spider-Man cartoon which were joked about due to their goofiness when taken out of context.
Peak Year: 2011
Highlights: The series spawned several individual memes, including Spider-Man Pointing At Spider-man, Masturbating Spider-Man, and This Is Now a Spider-Man Thread.
35. Meme Man
About the Meme: A poorly-made 3D head who became the mascot of Surreal Memes as a genre.
Peak Year: 2016
Highlights: The character grew popular in the Layers of Irony meme which peaked in popularity in 2016. It saw another peak in 2019 when it became popular as the face of the Stonks meme.
34. Dat Boi
About the Meme: A picture of a 3D-animated frog riding a unicycle often paired with the caption "Here come dat boi, oh shit waddup!"
Peak Year: 2016
Highlights: Dat boi is a completely self-made meme. So many other memes are based in nostalgic childrens shows, funny faces, relatable situations, or references. Not dat boi.
33. Nyan Cat
About the Meme: An 8-bit animation of a cat with a body of a pop-tart flying through space while a memorable song plays in the background.
Peak Year: 2011
Highlights: The April 8th, 2011 upload of the animation set to the "Nyan" song gained over 174 million views, launching it into viral fame.
32. This Is Fine
About the Meme: A comic by KC Green depicting a dog in a room on fire, sipping coffee and happily saying "This is Fine."
Peak Year: 2016
Highlights: The comic began surging in popularity during the 2016 United States Presidential Election as both American political parties used it as a means of commenting on increasingly absurd scenarios while trying to remain calm. It has continued to see use in political contexts since.
31. Baneposting
About the Meme: Dialogue parodies of a scene from The Dark Knight Rises where Bane tells a CIA agent that "it would be extremely painful" if the agent pulled off his mask. The agent says "You're a big guy," and Bane replies "…For you."
Peak Year: 2014
Highlights: The scene remained popular for several years and expanded to include several other Bane quotes from the film.
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