About

Matt Damon Yelling or Odysseus Screaming is a reaction image and image macro meme depicting actor Matt Damon screaming in anguish as the Ancient Greek hero Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's 2026 epic fantasy film The Odyssey. The format appeared online shortly after the release of the movie in mid-July 2026.

Typically, the meme of Odysseus crying out in pain or misery, which comes from the scene in which he's attempting to resist the call of the sirens, is used alongside text captions that describe something horrible, negative or extremely frustrating that's happening to someone, with Damon's expression used to capture the emotion. Instead of a still image from the scene, it's also sometimes used as a reaction GIF or video.

Origin

The original scene from The Odyssey in which the meme comes from takes place during Odysseus and his crew's journey home while traveling at sea. During the moment, Odysseus (portrayed by Matt Damon) is bound to his ship's mast in an attempt to stop him from diving into the water and swimming toward an island as the sirens call out to him, shouting in anguish due to their temptations.

The screenshot of Matt Damon screaming from the film then appeared online in memes just a few days after it was released in mid-July 2026.

One of the earliest known examples was posted by X / Twitter^[1] user Adam_Karpiak on July 20th, 2026, which used the still image of Odysseus under a caption that read, "when you upload your resume and still have to retype your entire work history," garnering over 962,100 views, 71,000 likes and 140 replies in four days.

Spread

The Odysseus Screaming meme continued to spread over the following days, with some using the still in image macros or as a reaction and others using the clip as a GIF caption format.

On July 21st, 2026, X / Twitter^[2] user corporatedudes posted a Blasting Fetty Wap on the JBL Speaker meme using the clip from the movie, garnering over 1.3 million views, 32,000 likes and 30 replies in three days.

POV: Passing siren island but they got the JBL Charge 4 bumping 2016 rap pic.twitter.com/9QxM5aN2Wg

— Corporate Dudes (@corporatedudes) July 21, 2026

That same day, Redditor Waitingforlunch posted another example to the /r/memes^[4] subreddit about the restarting your computer trick not working, garnering over 410 upvotes and 20 comments in three days,

On July 22nd, 2026, Redditor KEORANDOMDOTCOM shared a version to the /r/memes^[3] subreddit about wearing socks and stepping in something wet, receiving over 3,200 upvotes and 40 comments in two days.

Also on July 22nd, Twitter^[5] user airbagg3d tweeted another example using the clip of the siren scene in a White People At The Function meme about hearing the song "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers, garnering over 1.5 million views, 63,000 likes and 110 replies in two days.

white people when they hear "mr brightside" at the function pic.twitter.com/6Hcg3INSTY

— kate bush’s husband (@airbagg3d) July 22, 2026

Later on July 22nd, 2026, Threads^[6] user hollabackcards posted a variant using the format to express themselves resisting the urge to see The Odyssey movie for a third time, receiving over 1,200 likes, 30 comments and 55 reposts in two days.

Various Examples

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Search Interest

External References