BB: One reality TV meme that comes to mind instantly is “woman yelling at cat”. Originally two separate memes, the mashup features The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, Taylor Armstrong, and (Ontario’s own) Smudge the Cat. The history of the Taylor Armstrong image is actually quite sad. She’s upset at her castmate, Camille Grammar, for revealing details of her abusive marriage on the show. Knowing this backstory, it’s strange to see her image paired with a cat who “no like vegetables”, but the meme took on a life of its own and was quickly adopted as a way to poke fun at someone experiencing big feelings. I think the meme ribs into The Real Housewives franchise more generally too as it’s known for high drama and high emotion.
"Knowing this backstory, it’s strange to see her image paired with a cat who “no like vegetables”..."
SWK: The intensity of Taylor's pointed manicured finger and pained face is a high contrast to the slightly stoned-looking cat, and that contrast is partly what makes the meme so weirdly funny, even if you have no idea who the "woman yelling" is. Armstrong has helped feed the meme machine by responding on Twitter and laughing at people who dress up as it for Halloween. She doesn't seem bothered by the darker "reality" of the moment on TV, or maybe she smartly realized the meme isn't going anywhere, so she might as well give in and embrace it.
BB: Right, she chose to laugh along with everyone rather than fight it. The “woman yelling at cat” meme reminds me of Tyra’s “I was rooting for you” meme, as they both deliver the emotional intensity we’ve come to expect with reality TV. Interestingly, both feature women having a “hysterical” moment. Freud would have something to say about this, but thankfully he’s not around to comment.
SWK: I think the Tyra meme is so popular because it happened before "meme-fication" became so normalized and accessible. It feels especially campy because the stakes were so low outside of the reality of the show, but in that moment, Tyra upped the ante and made us all lean into the drama of the show's setup. She went full "hysterical woman" and turning it into a meme pushed it even further into camp territory. It's also a great meme to share in day-to-day life, because nothing in it will match the drama or camp of that moment. Like who am I rooting that hard for on the daily?!
BB: I root for you that hard, Steph :)
SWK: Thanks for rooting for me hard, Beth. :) It's also wild to think about which moments become memes, growing beyond the context of the moment on a show or even the person doing it. The Jasmine Masters "and I oop" video clip is a great example of this, where Masters genuinely is responding to something accidental off camera. People then took that moment and turned it into an enduring meme that has grown beyond Masters as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, with 6.7 million views and counting. It's often quoted in conversations or as a verbal joke, moving from a meme to a sort of inside quip people would only get if they've seen the meme. It's transcended its meme status to become part of our lingo. I use it regularly to highlight when something has gone awry, or when I accidentally trip or fall. It's multi-purpose.
BB: “And I oop” really has worked its way into our everyday vocabulary. It’s interesting that, despite how popular this meme was, Jasmine Masters is still relatively unknown outside of Drag Race fan circles. Some people become memes and are launched into stardom and some are slowly forgotten. Smudge the Cat, for example, has 1.25 million more Instagram followers than Jasmine Masters and that is just wrong on so many levels. “And I oop” is unlike the other memes we’ve mentioned so far because we are laughing along with Jasmine. She’s not an unaware or unwilling participant of the meme, she took part in creating it. I hope she is making money off of it somehow. Jasmine makes me think of another hilarious Meme Queen, Tiffany Pollard.
SWK: The "sitting on a bed" meme of Tiffany Pollard embodies the whole idea of "you don't have to get ready if you stay ready." Tiffany in her sunglasses with her shoes on in bed has the opposite energy of the intensity of the Tyra meme, she's unbothered and that feels iconic in its own way. It works as a meme because it can apply to so many different situations. I often use this one and the Kandy Muse "Alone in the VIP room" with co-workers at my corporate job to sum up my feelings of frustration. A meme often says more than my words ever could.
BB: Right, these memes become the easiest, most succinct way of articulating ourselves when we are in a situation we’d rather not be in. The Kandy Muse meme definitely references the Pollard one, with the sunglasses and the unbothered energy. These become artifacts referencing one another, taking on slightly new meaning.
SWK: Thinking about all of these memes more broadly, there's a thread of memes coming out of people taking themselves too seriously on reality shows. If contestants are trying too hard, or their performance feels especially heightened within the absurd context of a reality show, they tend to get roasted by being turned into a meme. In some cases, like the Taylor Armstrong situation, a meme can diffuse the darker elements of a storyline and turn it into a stupid, enjoyable joke. In other cases, like the Tyra or Tiffany Pollard one, it lets us make fun of their oversized personalities and the drama they manufactured on their respective shows.
BB: Right, all of these memes allow us to laugh at the absurdity of reality TV in general and when we incorporate them into our own life, they serve a similar purpose: they allow us to laugh at our own lives and remind us to not take things too seriously. Otherwise, we risk being memes in our own lives. Dun, dun duuun.
SWK: That's true, if I started turning funny photos of my friends into memes, it likely won't get picked up by hundreds or thousands of people (though who knows!).
BB: Memes typically have a universal quality that allows us to see ourselves in them to some degree. Even in memes where we are poking fun, we often recognize ourselves in them and relate to an underlying truth on some level. At some point, we have all been Kim crying or Kandy waiting alone (in the Zoom waiting room).
"...how did we manage to express ourselves before memes existed?"
SWK: It's almost like, how did we manage to express ourselves before memes existed? They sum up a mood instantly and save us the trouble of having to put our emotions into words. The more we use them, the more value they hold for us as references in our lives. When I tune in to new seasons of reality TV shows, I'm already excited for the birth of future memes.
No words, just memes
Inspired by What Do You Meme? A party game for our modern times (not an endorsement)!
When a reality TV show doesn't upload all the episodes at once
SWK: This meme from RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 2 of Alaska lipsynching for the crown, looking like a deranged beauty queen, speaks volumes about my sadness.
BB: Jan from RuPaul's Drag Race season 12 deeply disappointed in being safe mirrors my disappointment at having to wait for more You episodes.
When your favourite reality TV star turns out to be especially problematic
SWK: Tiffany Pollard always says what needs to be said.
BB: Countess Luann from Real Housewives of New York speaking her mind.
When Nick Lachey is the surprise host
SWK: Like, we get ittttttt.
BB: NeNe says it all.
BB: One reality TV meme that comes to mind instantly is “woman yelling at cat”. Originally two separate memes, the mashup features The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, Taylor Armstrong, and (Ontario’s own) Smudge the Cat. The history of the Taylor Armstrong image is actually quite sad. She’s upset at her castmate, Camille Grammar, for revealing details of her abusive marriage on the show. Knowing this backstory, it’s strange to see her image paired with a cat who “no like vegetables”, but the meme took on a life of its own and was quickly adopted as a way to poke fun at someone experiencing big feelings. I think the meme ribs into The Real Housewives franchise more generally too as it’s known for high drama and high emotion.
"Knowing this backstory, it’s strange to see her image paired with a cat who “no like vegetables”..."
SWK: The intensity of Taylor's pointed manicured finger and pained face is a high contrast to the slightly stoned-looking cat, and that contrast is partly what makes the meme so weirdly funny, even if you have no idea who the "woman yelling" is. Armstrong has helped feed the meme machine by responding on Twitter and laughing at people who dress up as it for Halloween. She doesn't seem bothered by the darker "reality" of the moment on TV, or maybe she smartly realized the meme isn't going anywhere, so she might as well give in and embrace it.
BB: Right, she chose to laugh along with everyone rather than fight it. The “woman yelling at cat” meme reminds me of Tyra’s “I was rooting for you” meme, as they both deliver the emotional intensity we’ve come to expect with reality TV. Interestingly, both feature women having a “hysterical” moment. Freud would have something to say about this, but thankfully he’s not around to comment.
SWK: I think the Tyra meme is so popular because it happened before "meme-fication" became so normalized and accessible. It feels especially campy because the stakes were so low outside of the reality of the show, but in that moment, Tyra upped the ante and made us all lean into the drama of the show's setup. She went full "hysterical woman" and turning it into a meme pushed it even further into camp territory. It's also a great meme to share in day-to-day life, because nothing in it will match the drama or camp of that moment. Like who am I rooting that hard for on the daily?!
BB: I root for you that hard, Steph :)
SWK: Thanks for rooting for me hard, Beth. :) It's also wild to think about which moments become memes, growing beyond the context of the moment on a show or even the person doing it. The Jasmine Masters "and I oop" video clip is a great example of this, where Masters genuinely is responding to something accidental off camera. People then took that moment and turned it into an enduring meme that has grown beyond Masters as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race, with 6.7 million views and counting. It's often quoted in conversations or as a verbal joke, moving from a meme to a sort of inside quip people would only get if they've seen the meme. It's transcended its meme status to become part of our lingo. I use it regularly to highlight when something has gone awry, or when I accidentally trip or fall. It's multi-purpose.
BB: “And I oop” really has worked its way into our everyday vocabulary. It’s interesting that, despite how popular this meme was, Jasmine Masters is still relatively unknown outside of Drag Race fan circles. Some people become memes and are launched into stardom and some are slowly forgotten. Smudge the Cat, for example, has 1.25 million more Instagram followers than Jasmine Masters and that is just wrong on so many levels. “And I oop” is unlike the other memes we’ve mentioned so far because we are laughing along with Jasmine. She’s not an unaware or unwilling participant of the meme, she took part in creating it. I hope she is making money off of it somehow. Jasmine makes me think of another hilarious Meme Queen, Tiffany Pollard.
SWK: The "sitting on a bed" meme of Tiffany Pollard embodies the whole idea of "you don't have to get ready if you stay ready." Tiffany in her sunglasses with her shoes on in bed has the opposite energy of the intensity of the Tyra meme, she's unbothered and that feels iconic in its own way. It works as a meme because it can apply to so many different situations. I often use this one and the Kandy Muse "Alone in the VIP room" with co-workers at my corporate job to sum up my feelings of frustration. A meme often says more than my words ever could.
BB: Right, these memes become the easiest, most succinct way of articulating ourselves when we are in a situation we’d rather not be in. The Kandy Muse meme definitely references the Pollard one, with the sunglasses and the unbothered energy. These become artifacts referencing one another, taking on slightly new meaning.
SWK: Thinking about all of these memes more broadly, there's a thread of memes coming out of people taking themselves too seriously on reality shows. If contestants are trying too hard, or their performance feels especially heightened within the absurd context of a reality show, they tend to get roasted by being turned into a meme. In some cases, like the Taylor Armstrong situation, a meme can diffuse the darker elements of a storyline and turn it into a stupid, enjoyable joke. In other cases, like the Tyra or Tiffany Pollard one, it lets us make fun of their oversized personalities and the drama they manufactured on their respective shows.
BB: Right, all of these memes allow us to laugh at the absurdity of reality TV in general and when we incorporate them into our own life, they serve a similar purpose: they allow us to laugh at our own lives and remind us to not take things too seriously. Otherwise, we risk being memes in our own lives. Dun, dun duuun.
SWK: That's true, if I started turning funny photos of my friends into memes, it likely won't get picked up by hundreds or thousands of people (though who knows!).
BB: Memes typically have a universal quality that allows us to see ourselves in them to some degree. Even in memes where we are poking fun, we often recognize ourselves in them and relate to an underlying truth on some level. At some point, we have all been Kim crying or Kandy waiting alone (in the Zoom waiting room).
"...how did we manage to express ourselves before memes existed?"
SWK: It's almost like, how did we manage to express ourselves before memes existed? They sum up a mood instantly and save us the trouble of having to put our emotions into words. The more we use them, the more value they hold for us as references in our lives. When I tune in to new seasons of reality TV shows, I'm already excited for the birth of future memes.
No words, just memes
Inspired by What Do You Meme? A party game for our modern times (not an endorsement)!
When a reality TV show doesn't upload all the episodes at once
SWK: This meme from RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 2 of Alaska lipsynching for the crown, looking like a deranged beauty queen, speaks volumes about my sadness.
BB: Jan from RuPaul's Drag Race season 12 deeply disappointed in being safe mirrors my disappointment at having to wait for more You episodes.
When your favourite reality TV star turns out to be especially problematic
SWK: Tiffany Pollard always says what needs to be said.
BB: Countess Luann from Real Housewives of New York speaking her mind.
When Nick Lachey is the surprise host
SWK: Like, we get ittttttt.
BB: NeNe says it all.