Misinterpretation (Comedy Trope)
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About
Misinterpretation refers to a comedy trope and a meme archetype that draws humor from a person failing to properly interpret the meaning of a word or a sentence, instead interpreting it in a literal or an unexpected way.
Origin
In memes, the misinterpretation archetype gained notable popularity starting approximately in mid-2019, often utilized in "extremely online" meme communities such as iFunny and /r/okbuddyretard. The rise in the popularity of the archetype is largely tied to the spread of Group Names Misinterpretation memes (aka Pansexuals Are Attracted to Pans) and Who Is He and Why Does He? snowclone in the second half of 2019.
Notable Formats
Pansexuals Attracted to Pans / Group Names Misinterpretation
Pansexuals Attracted to Pans, or Group Names Misinterpretation, refers to a series of memes which interpret names of various groups such as pansexuals, asexuals, Millennials, accelerationists, capitalists in literal or incorrect ways, such as assuming that pansexuals would have a sexual preference for pans, or that capitalists would be preoccupied with caps or country capitals.
Who Is He and Why Does He?
Who Is He And Why Does He? refers to a series of snowclone memes based on an intentional misinterpretation of certain words and expressions. The format gained popularity on /r/okbuddyretard subreddit in late September 2019.
IDK I've Never
IDK I've Never and IDK I Haven't refer to a series of snowclone memes in which an uneducated guess is made about the plot of books, films and video games based solely on their name, with the author of the meme then admitting that they have never read, seen or played it. The memes gained notable popularity on Twitter in February 2020, also spreading to TikTok.
the animals when they cross idk i didnt play it pic.twitter.com/YsCs2HVCwY
— rice 🌱 (@rice_deity) March 13, 2020
Based on What? / Slang Misinterpretation
Slang Misinterpretation refers to a genre of memes in which various slang expressions such as "based," "let's fucking go" and others are interpreted in their literal rather than slang sense, with various characters demanding further explanation. The trend gained popularity in early February 2020 following a viral Based on What? meme, with the images often being used to react to various slang expressions.
Are You Far-Left or Far-Right
Are You Far-Left or Far-Right refers to a series of misinterpretation snowclone memes in which a person replies to the inquiry "are you far left or far right," defining themselves as something unrelated that also starts with "far." The format gained notable popularity online in August 2020.
Funny? Funny How?
Funny? Funny How? refers to a series of misinterpretation memes in which Goodfellas character Tommy DeVito demands to be explained what is being meant by a certain word. Originating from a viral Based on What? meme, the format gained moderate popularity in 2020.
Antonymic Misinterpretation / X Implies the Existence of Y
Antonymic Misinterpretation refers to a group of memes that use contextual antonyms also out of their context to produce a humorous effect when the situation is imagined. The common pairs of words used in the meme are "casual" and "competitive," "domestic" and "international" and "based" and "cringe," with the snowclones X Implies the Existence of Y and Enough X, We Are Going Y often used to structure the memes.
