About

I Told You We Are Going to Watch X and Then You Can Leave, sometimes written I Told You We Are Going to Play X, refers to an exploitable image macro and phrasal template where Evan Peters, playing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, sits in front of a TV photoshopped to be playing a bad, memeable or ironically bad movie or TV show with a caption reading, "I told you we are going to watch X and then you can leave," "X" being the show or movie, as well as video games using the "Play" variant. The format first appeared online on September 24th and gained viral spread that month. That month, the meme spread to TikTok as a video format where a video clip is imposed onto the TV screen, known as Going To Hang Out, Watch a Movie.

Origin

On September 21st, 2022, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, starring Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer, was released on Netflix.^[1] On September 24th, Facebook^[2] page The Band Office Memes posted an image macro using a scene from the series where Dahmer sits in front of a TV. The TV is photoshopped to show the title card for North of 60. The caption reads, "I told you we are going to watch North of 60 then you can leave." The post gained over 500 reactions and shares in two days and is the earliest known meme to use the format. In the actual scene, Dahmer puts a VHS tape into the VCR and says, "I told you, we're going to hang out, watch a movie," to one of his victims.

Spread

The meme gained viral spread over the course of the month, becoming especially popularized on Instagram and iFunny. On September 24th, 2022, Instagram^[3] user studress_xo posted a version of the meme replacing the media on the TV with an image from Shrek, garnering over 1,800 likes in two days (shown below, left). On the same day, iFunny^[4] user PsiloDragon posted a version with Barbie: Swan Lake on the TV, garnering over 870 smiles in two days (shown below, right).

That day, Instagram^[5] user gothsdoingthings reposted a meme from the private page betteroffdead.rip replacing the TV image with footage from Twilight, garnering over 15,000 likes in two days (shown below). Later that day, Facebook^[6] page No es más que basura marina posted a version of the meme referencing SpongeBob Squarepants, garnering over 1,100 shares and 2,900 reactions in two days.

On September 25th, Instagram^[7] user beavisnbuttheadcollector posted a version of the meme referencing Beavis and Butthead, garnering over 2,000 likes in a day (shown below, left). That same day, iFunny^[8] user guymovingincrediblyfast posted a version referencing King of the Hill, garnering over 440 smiles in under 24 hours (shown below, right). On September 26th, The Chive^[9] featured a version of the meme in their collection post, "Get your week started with some filthy memes."

I Told You, We're Gonna Hang Out, Watch a Movie

On September 28th, 2022, TikToker^[10] @aligaturr posted a video using the same scene, captioned, "POV: me forcing my girl to watch my gaming clips." In the video, Dahmer puts a VHS into the VCR and a Call of Duty clip plays on the TV as he says, "I told you, we're gonna hang out, watch a movie" (show below). The video gained over 9.2 million views in two days.

Over the following days, TikTokers^[11][12] made their own versions of the meme, replacing the Call of Duty footage with other game, movie or TV footage (examples shown below, left and right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References