Hello Internet
And Welcome to Behind The Meme
Where we take a look at the meaning
and the origin of your favorite memes
Today we have a look at Pepe The Frog
Pepe the frog is a human-like frog character
Who has gained substantial popularity
And become one of the most recognizable figures in the meme world.
He has earned his spot in internet culture
Thanks in part to his widespread use as a go-to
reaction image online.
In various forms in comment sections
across the web his face is used to represent
a person's expression or response
far better than words possibly could.
We have happy Pepe
which is often used when an individual is pleased
There's sad Pepe
Used to express sadness or dissapointment.
Then there's angry Pepe.
Used to express feelings of rage or frustration.
And of course we have the ever-so-popular
Smug Pepe
Often used when something sinister
or malicious is occuring.
Those are just a few in the library of
expressions the meme has
Pepe started his life in 2005
In a black and white comic series titled Boy's Club
Which was created by artist Matt Furie
Matt, Dude, Your last name is pretty badass.
Pepe made the transition from run-of-the-mill comic character
to internet trend when
a comic is seen with Pepe pulling his pants
down all the way to his ankles while urinating became popular
on the website 4chan
In the final panel of the comic
Pepe is questioned by another character
about his prior actions
His response is a happy Pepe face
Which is accompanied by the text
Feels good man
And I bet it did
Wait, You guys, Do frogs have penises?
Serious Question
The feels good Pepe face is what initially began to make the reaction popular
with its use on forums throughout 2008
eventually the black and white picture of the frog
had color added to it
creating the colorful Pepe we now know today
At that point, its popularity began to spread even further.
By 2009 various other Pepe reactions began to appear online.
The first variation on the feels good man Pepe
Was a sad faced Pepe with the phrase, feels bad man
Which was created by simply turning the smile upside down and flipping it around.
As we entered a new decade
Pepe was well on his way to becoming the meme we now know and love today
Various sub-genres of the Pepe the frog meme started
to take shape such as PooPoo PeePee Pepe
In which a smug Pepe
is typcially involved in mischevious acts involving urine or feces
Y-uck
Theres also the well meme'd memes in which Pepe was originally depicted
He is seen laughing and then saluting with a beverage in hand
along with the captions haha great post
as well as well meme'd my friend
The original Pepe version of the meme
has branched off to encompass various other characters doing
the same thing
Pepe has become such a big deal on the internet that
in 2014 users on 4chan began
to share and trade images of Pepe as if they were sports or trading cards
A rare Pepe is an image of Pepe not commonly found on images or search engines
typically a rare Pepe has Pepe in unusual circumstances
or with strange appearances
various rare Pepes
have even made their way onto ebay and other auction sites
an auction of a collection of rare Pepes
recently reached a price of over $100,000
And was viewed over 250,000 times before it was removed from the website
Thorughout my research I could not find an instance where somebody actually
paid a crazy amount for a rare Pepe online
But I wouldn't doubt it because this little green guy has become a pretty great thing on the internet
But hey, that's the internet for you, and on the internet, memes are king
Thank you all so very much for watching
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Who knows? Maybe you'll learn about a meme you never knew about before!
I'll catch you guys next time