About

"You Can't Scare Me With This" is a memorable quote uttered by Neo, the main protagonist of the science fiction action franchise The Matrix, in the original 1999 feature film. Online, the scene in which Neo says the line has been edited for exploitables and video remixes, with people replacing the object that frightens the character.

Origin

On March 31st, 1999, The Matrix was released in theaters in the United States.^[1] In the film, Neo (portrayed by Keanu Reeves) is approached by a mysterious group of men in black suit, known as Agents, and taken into their custody for interrogation. In the process, two Agents try to intimidate Neo by showing him that they already have detailed information about his secret life, to which Neo responds by invoking his right to counsel:

"You can't scare me with this Gestapo crap. I know my rights. I want my phone call."

More than a decade later, YouTuber Kai Miller posted an edited version of the scene, in which the Agent throwing the folder on the desk grows louder in volume. The volume, thanks to the edit, seems to scare Neo. Within three years, the post received more than 1.9 million views (shown below, right).

Spread

Two years later, on July 20th, YouTuber nihonium edited the scene to feature an explosion. The post received more than 2,200 views in a year and a half.

On August 2nd, 2017, an anonymous Imgur ^[2] user posted an exploitable of the scene, using the YouTube edit as a template. In the meme, Neo is wearing a Make America Great Again hat, while a Black Lives Matter shirt is photoshopped over the folder (shown below, left).

On December 20th, YouTuber posted a variation of the video meme in which a small skeleton with a trumpet scares Neo. The post received more than 9,500 views in less than one year (shown below, right).

[This video has been removed]

On September 24th, 2018, Redditor ^[3] triangul8er posted a varation in the /r/MemeEconomy subreddit. Within 24 hours the post received more than 1,000 points (98% upvoted) and 515 comments (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References