From Joey’s “How you doing?” in Friends to “That’s what she said” by Michael in The Office, to “You know nothing, Jon Snow,” by Ygritte in Game of Thrones, our TV series are filled with numerous catchphrases that have seeped into daily life. Although they are widely appreciated, many viewers dislike these quotes in recent years because they think it panders for an online audience. An example of this is “I never jest about cake,” a line young Rhaenyra told her friend in the first episode of House of the Dragon.
Zack Budryk, a reporter at The Hill, tweeted, “Ugh someone in the Game of Thrones prequel just said ‘I never jest about cake’ so this is gonna be part of the ‘primarily written with the epic gifs in mind’ genre of shows.” While it is natural in today’s day and age for fans to use social media to share their favourite ‘meme-able’ quotes, it does raise the question of whether today’s series are using this as a way to sell the show. This also shows how certain shows are very specific about these lines, knowing that social media can either make or break the show.
Ugh! Someone in Game of Thrones Prequel just said “I don’t jest about cakes” so this is going to be part of “primarily written with epic GIFs” genre of shows.
— Zack Budryk (@BudrykZack) August 22, 2022
— no context schitt’s creek (@nocontxtSC) October 13, 2022
A critical example of this is a slew of shows such as Succession, Euphoria, Sex Education, House of Cards, You, Schitt’s Creek, and so on. Each of these shows has characters who specifically mention Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Their dialogues are used to create memes on social networks. In Succession, “Bad tweet” was said by a character that was instantly “tweeted” as a screen grab on the platform. Many of these quotes from other series are also widely used across platforms, making them even more popular.
A meme or a GIF helps a show’s popularity grow and gather more audience. As James Capel, a screenwriter for series including ITV’s Cold Feet, told The Guardian, “Becoming a meme totally helps a show. A whole new audience can be reached by seeing memes appear online. It can get to the point that I need to watch a show to understand all the memes. It’s the same way we feel about having our shows make it on to Gogglebox: if it’s creating memorable moments that are quotable, funny, emotional, then we’re doing our job right.”
We are delighted to have you included in our article on no context Twitter accounts. https://t.co/kyWFRuy6l9 pic.twitter.com/0dm1Gr8dFA
— no context succession (@nocontextroyco) June 16, 2022
But, it seems that the claims that writers are making content for internet popularity are superficial. To illustrate, it could be that the writers threaten the entire plot and the flow to make an impression on a small number of internet users. As It’s not complicated tweeted, “Can’t wait for the coming era of screenwriting wherein people avoid saying anything at all memorable to avoid accusations of writing with gifs in mind.”
This is secondly because catchphrases such as these have been around since the beginning of time. As Kelsey Kirvan, a writing instructor at Vancouver film school, tells The Guardian, “Writers have always sought to create these ‘meme-able’ moments, even before the invention of social media, sitcom writers would craft catchphrases for their characters that could easily be referenced by fans of the show, even if they didn’t always get the line quite right. ‘Lucy, you’ve got some explaining to do!’ from I Love Lucy is an often misquoted example from the earliest days of the medium. So, if it’s a trend, it’s been a very long one.”
— out of context bojack horseman (@nobojackcontext) August 11, 2020
— out of context euphoria (@ooceuphoria) March 5, 2022
One thing to note is the ease with which social media has made it easier for fandoms to mix and mingle. For instance, there are ‘no context’ pages that use completely random, yet, very meme-able lines, on their pages. For popular shows, there are already many of them. House of the Dragon: Out of ContextThere are three types of No Context Succession: No Context Brooklyn Nine-Nine and No Context Brooklyn Succession. These shows bring together like-minded people who share a common interest. These shows will be remembered fondly by people who love them. It is not, in any way, the writer’s fault. They are doing their job and are great at it.
It is important to note that some characters on these shows are dependent on social networks. Bojack, Kendall and Joe Golderbeg, for example, have a love/hate relationship to the internet. While the former two need the internet for validation, the latter needs it for… stalking. It’s just that they become memes because people either like this depiction or they relate to it.
“From a TV writer’s perspective, it’s not something that’s thought about too much,” says Capel. “When crafting a show, of course, we’re looking to create funny, emotional or memorable moments – but generally we’re thinking about it in terms of the wider story. Each audience member has a different reaction to memes and quotations. It is our job to make it work. It’s not up to us to necessarily anticipate how they’ll react.”
Finally, memes, gifs, and other visuals are here to stay, no matter what your opinion. Our lives revolve around social media so much that we are connected to it in such a way. Every thing we do, no matter how political or personal, ends up on social networks. Why should we doubt the entertainment industry if all of it is available online? After all, it’s that one place where people can disagree without leading to the end of relationships and friendships, unlike political opinions. The characters we see on the show are often the best or worst versions of the people we know online. So memes and gifs should continue to be shared, no matter how much you like them.
