About

Patrick in Chains is a meme format based on an image taken from the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "The Smoking Peanut" that shows Patrick Star chained up in an arena with a blank stare. In the fall of 2023, it was used on X (formerly known as Twitter) as part of a viral challenge asking users to share a controversial or hot take of theirs under the catchphrase and question What's An X Opinion That'll Get You Like This? that would lead to them being persecuted like Patrick. It is also commonly used among fandoms online to inquire about opinions that result in heated reactions from other fans.

Origin

In "The Smoking Peanut," season two, episode 31b of SpongeBob SquarePants, which originally aired on May 12th, 2001, in the United States, Patrick Star is blamed for upsetting Clamu, a famous giant oyster, by throwing a peanut at her. The people of Bikini Bottom apprehend Patrick and carry him to Oyster Stadium, where they tie him up in chains and the crowd throws peanuts at him (the source of the screen cap image). It is eventually revealed that Eugene Krabs is the culprit because he stole Clamu's pearl, and Patrick is innocent.^[1]

Early versions of the Patrick Chained image had circulated in different contexts. A November 18th, 2019, post on /r/MemeEconomy, which received over 150 upvotes in four years, used the chained Patrick image paired with Krabs, the real culprit (seen below left) to describe the challenges faced by gamers.^[10]

On June 16th, 2021, X user @s4m3lp4n shared the same image with a different (perhaps suggestive) caption, earning almost 2,400 likes over the course of two years (seen below right).^[3] Other postings in a similar vein existed on Tumblr as well.^[12]

However, the first usage of the meme in the context of asking users to share their controversial views was made on May 4th, 2022, on the Elden Ring subreddit in a post by u/Elibenz936 (seen below) that received almost 22,000 upvotes over a year and a half.^[11]

Spread

On November 2nd, 2022, a repost of the meme was made to /r/shitposting on Reddit, showing a screencap of a since-deleted post from /r/memes (seen below).^[9] This post received 9,500 upvotes over the course of almost a year and spawned a series of other memes on subreddits relating to specific fandoms and ideas.

On September 14th, 2023, Twitter user @ncunderscore2 posted the Patrick image with a caption asking people to share a view they held which would attract controversy. The post (seen below) received almost 2,000 likes over the course of four days.^[2]

The initial @ncunderscore2 September 14th post, made on a Friday, about an unpopular progressive take received over 7,000 quote-tweets over the course of that weekend. Some of the quote-tweets were highly visible and popular. For example, X user @ImTheReasonWhy received over 51,000 likes in two days for a September 16th post (seen below, left) calling for a Universal Basic Income. ^[4] Not all successful posts were about serious policy matters, however, such as X user @damnitoni, who received over 307,000 likes in the course of two days for their tweet (seen below right) dunking on Apple.^[5]

Other invitations to come up with takes also spread in mid-September 2023. A version for the wizarding community received significant engagement with posters like @itskindred (seen below left) receiving almost 24,000 likes in the day after September 17th.^[6] A version of the meme for the trans community also spread widely, with @GABAGOOLMODER receiving nearly 4,000 likes also on the 17th for their post (seen below, right).^[7]

Some backlash to meme spread, with some accusing it of stoking disagreements and fanning the flames within tight-knit online communities. For example, X user @hmardukis504 called the meme "engagement farming" and predicted it would spread to right-wing communities next on September 17th — representing feelings that were often put in the replies to all postings of the meme (shown below).^[8]

Related Memes

Unpopular Opinion Swords

Unpopular Opinion Swords also known as Flynn Surrounded by Swords, is a reaction image and an object-labeling meme featuring a frame from the 2010 Disney animated fantasy film Tangled. The shot sees the character Flynn with a number of swords pointing to his neck as he looks unfazed and comfortable. Online, some use the image as a prompt to engage with people and their unpopular opinions.

Various Examples

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External References